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To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN -HRRARY ftMD ( nrORMATIQf^J 3CICWCC a tr\r\ a r\\ / rm ifibvo'*; FeO 1 199J y^1l 5 legg JUN 3 m 01999 IO2S80 RUG -^^^ L161— O-1096 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/publiclibrariesi04unit . 4 ±Th^ ^-KJO PUBLIC LIBRAR IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PART I 1876 REPORT UHl^t:'::- •TY ?!r !M^"' LiD^' PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA j^ART I '1876 REPORT ( f?€p^if^-^- University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science MONOGRAPH SERIES NUMBER 4 University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science Monograph Series Harold Goldstein, ed. Implications oj the New Media for the Teaching of Library Science. (No. 1), 1963. $2.00 paperback, $3.00 hard cover. Elizabeth W. Stone. Training jor the Improvement oj Library Administration. (No. 2). In preparation. 1962 Statistics of Public Libraries Serving Populations of 35,000 and Below. (No. 3). In preparation. (Compiled by the U.S. Office of Education) The Library of Congress. Descriptive Cataloging Division. Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress. (1949). (No. 5), 1966. $2.00 paperback, $3.00 hard cover. Distributed by the lUini Union Bookstore, 715 South Wright Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820. 1876 AND NOW— THE PUBLIC LIBRARY The year 1876, when this Special Report on Public Libraries in the United States was published, holds special significance for librarians. That was the year that a number of librarians — custodians for some two million volumes, we are told — met during the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia to form the American Library Association. That same year the American Library Journal was established as a monthly publication. That was the year, too, in which Melvil Dewey of the Amherst College Library first explained (in this report) a uniform system of cataloging books which he had devised after several years of experimentation. Each of these events signified an early advance by American librarians toward professionalism. This goal has long since passed from hope to fact. No longer need librarians complain, as some did in this report, that their jobs were considered sinecures or that they were bestowed on professors to permit them to pursue favorite studies. The modest contention that "only a man specially trained can successfully fill the place of the librar- ian" has been entirely vindicated. But the most important message the Special Report had for librarians of that day, as well as for ours, is that public libraries are auxiliaries to public education, that "librarians should not only understand their pri- mary duties as purveyors of literary supplies to the people, but also realize their high privileges and responsibilities as teachers." Professional librarians who regarded their calling as a privilege as well as a responsibil- ity have helped the United States to assemble the largest and finest libraries in the world . . . and within a remarkably short time. According to this Special Report, the 29 public libraries in the 13 original colonies held about 45,000 volumes in 1776. One hundred years later, in 1876, we had 3,682 libraries with 12,276,964 volumes and 1,500,000 pamphlets. We can draw deep satisfaction from the progress we have made since this Report was published. In 1965, we have 8,000 public library systems with more than 200,000,000 volumes. We have added to this storehouse of learning millions of films, records, slides, and tapes to breathe new life and zest into the learning process. Some of our libraries use giant elec- tronic brains to digest texts and transfer them to phototype machines setting 3,600 words a minute. But even so, our progress has been too uneven to allow us to be complacent. Our libraries are still 100,000,000 volumes short of meeting approved standards. Almost 70 percent of our public elementary schools have no libraries at all. The majority of our college and university facilities are below par. Our knowledge has so far outstripped our ability to classify and store it that the Office of Education is now engaged in a five-year program to make available at all educational levels the library facilities essential to high quality education throughout the Nation. We have made a bold beginning. With the help and guidance of the library community, we can and will remedy the deficiencies that have crept upon us over the years. We are determined that before the time comes for another Special Report, our libraries will fulfill in every respect their high station as indispensable aids to public education, to the priv- ilege and responsibility of instructing our American democracy. Francis Keppel Former U.S. Commissioner of Education PUBLIC LIBRARIES UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HISTORY, CONDITION, AND MANAGEMENT SPECIAL REPORT DEPARTME]^T OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OP EDUCATION I>.A.I^T I WASHINGTON Government Printing Office 1876 EERATA. Page 14. For "Bellamont" read Bellomoat. Page 143. For "Baptist Theological Se mi aary" read Baptist Unioti Theological Semi- nary. Page 252. For " capitol " read capital . Page 271. For " W. P. Taylor" read W. B. Taylor. Page 538 (note.) For "rdrjog" read rdnoc. Page 618. For -'Begua (ia 1872) by C. K. Lowell, etc.," read Begun by C. R. Lowell ; finished, after his death, and edited by C. A. Cutter. The first sheet was issued June 25, 1872. PART II. Page 5. For "Journal of Speculative Philosophy for 1869" read Journal of Specula- tive Philosophy for 1870. ^ L5X TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. Letter of the Commissioner of Education to the Secretary of the Interior vii-ix Introduction xi-xxxv Chapter I. Public libraries a hundred years ago, Horace E. Scudder 1 II. School and asylum libraries, editors 38 III. College libraries, editors 60 IV. Theological libraries in the United States : Part I, a librarian 127 Part II, Prof. John S. Sumner, S. J 137 Part III, editors 142 V. Law libraries, Stephen B. Gris wold, LL. B Ifil VI. Medical libraries in the United States, J. S. Billings, assistant sur- geon, U. S. A 171 Vn. Scientific libraries in the United States, Prof. Theodore Gill, M. D., Ph. D 183 VIII. Libraries in prisons and reformatories, editors 218 IX. Professorships of books and reading : Part I, F. B. Perkins 230 Part II, William Mathews, A. M , 240 X. Libraries of the General Government, editors 252 XI. Copyright, distribution, exchanges and duties, editors 279 XII. State and Territorial libraries, Henry A. Homes, LL. D 292 XIII. Historical societies in the United States : Part I, Henry A. Homes, LL. D 312 Part n, W. L Fletcher 325 Part III, editors 332 XTV. Young men's mercantile libraries, F. B. Perkins 378 XV. Young men's Christian associations, Cephas Brainerd 386 XVL Free libraries, J. P. Quincy 389 XVII. Public libraries in manufacturing communities, W. I. Fletcher 403 XVIII. Public libraries and the young, W. I. Fletcher 412 XIX. How to make town libraries successful, F. B. Perkins 419 XX. Reading in popular libraries, Justin Winsor 431 XXI. Art museums and their connection with public libraries. Prof. H. S. Frieze, LL.D 434 XXII. Free town libraries, editors 445 XXin. Free reading rooms, W. C. Todd 460 XXIV. Library buildings, Justin Winsor 465 XXV. The organization and management of public libraries, William F. Poole 476 XXVI. College library administration, Prof. Otis H. Eobinson 505 XXVII. Library catalogues, C. A. Cutter 526 XXVIII. Catalogues and cataloguing : Part I, Melvil Dewey 623 Part II, S. B. Noyes 648 Part III, Jacob Schwartz 657 Part IV, John J. Bailey 660 IV Contents. Page. Chapter XXJX. On indexing periodical and miscellaneous literature, Prof. Otis H. Kobinson , 6«3 XXX. Binding and preservation of books, A. R. Spofford 673 XXXI. Periodical literature and society publications, A. K. Spofford.. 679 XXXII. Works of reference for libraries, A. E. Spofford 686 XXXIII. Library memoranda, Justin Winsor 711 XXXIV. Titles of books, Prof. Otis H. Robinson 715 XXXV. Book indexes, F. B. Perkins 727 XXXVI. Library bibliography, A. R. Spofford 733 XXXVII. Library reports and statistics, editors 745 XXXVIII. Public libraries of ten principal cities, several contributors.. . 837 XXXIX. General statistics of all public libraries in the United States, editors 1010 Index 1175 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Loganian Library, Philadelphia, Pa 7 Red wodd Library, Newport, R. 1 17 Wellesley College Library, Wellesley, Mass 91 Library of the College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J 101 Public Library, Concord, Mass 391 Roxbury Branch Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass 397 Public Library, Northampton, Mass 441 Public Library, Worcester, Mase 449 Cornell Library, Ithaca, N. Y 457 Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass 861 Boston Public Library, (Bates HaU,) Boston, Mass 865 Boston Public Library, (reading room for periodicals,) Boston, Mass 869 Public Library, Cincinnati, O., (extetior) 909 Public Library, Cincinnati, O., (interior) 913 Lenox Library, New York, N. Y 947 Library Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa 955 Ridgway Library, Philadelphia, Pa 959 Apprentices' Library, Philadelphia, Pa 971 LETTER. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Washingtonj D. C, August 31, 1876. Sir : I have the honor to submit the completed report on Public Libraries in the United States, undertaken in the year 1874, and ordered printed by your predecessor. This report, it will be observed, constitutes a part of the exhibit made by this Office at the Centennial Exhibition, and is modified accordingly. Lack of funds prevents the reproduction here of the graphic views of the growth of libraries based on the statistics of this report, which form a part of that exhibit. The other portions of the special exhibit are made up of views of library buildings and collections of reports and catalogues of libraries. In no other country, it is believed, do so many libraries publish either catalogues or reports. It having been decided to do what was in the power of the Office to increase the usefulness of public library work in this country, by pub- lishing information respecting public libraries and the results of the experience of librarians, the undertaking was committed to the special care of Mr. Samuel R. Warren, who manifested an intelligent interest in the subject, and whose attention bad already been occupied with it in connection with the statistics of libraries collated and published in my annual reports. He has remained in charge until its compl-etion, and much of the value of the report is due to his judgment, scholarship, and fidelity. After the difficulties ot the task had so increased as to require addi- tional labor, Maj. S. N. Clark, long before favorably known to me for his ability, extensive reading, facility in research, and thorough method of work, temporarily employed in the Office, was assigned to assist Mr. Warren, They are the editors. Their labors have not been limited to the forms or hours of office work. Special acknowledgments are due Mr. Thomas Hampson, the accom- plished proof-reader of the Office, not only for the unwearied care he has bestowed upon the proofs, but also for his many important critical suggestions in every part of the work ; also to Miss Mary E. McLellan, an assistant in the statistical division of the Office, for the excel- lent manner in which she has performed the difficult task of compil- ing the statistical tables; also to my chief clerk. Dr. Charles Warren, viii Public Libraries in the United States. for the care with which he has carried out my wishes when he has acted in my place. I am indebted to the officers of the Grovernment Printing Office, especially to Capt. H. T. Brian, foreman of printing, for efficient assistance in the mechanical execution of the work ; to many gentlem en who have aided by advice and suggestions in the preparation of this re- port; to Mr. A. R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, who has throughout the progress of the work cordially given the benefit of his wide experi- ence and intimate knowledge of the subject; to Mr. Justin Winsor and Mr. F. B. Perkins, of the Boston Public Library; to Mr. C. A. Cutter, of the Boston Athenaeum ; to Mr. W. F. Foole, of the Chicago Public Library ; to Mr. H. A. Homes, of the New York State Library ; to Mr. W. H. Venable, of Cincinnati; and to the other contributors, nearly all of whom have rendered much valuable aid in addition to the treatment of the special subjects confided to them. To many librarians and others interested in libraries whose names do not appear as con- tributors, many thanks are due for valuable assistance and advice, among whom should be mentioned President D. C. Gilman, LL. D., of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore ; Rev. Frederic Vinton, A. M., librarian of the College of New Jersey; Mr. Thomas Hale Williams, librarian of the Minneapo is Athenaeum, Minneapolis, Minn. ; Mr. S. S. Green, librarian of the Worcester (Mass.) Free Public Library; Mr. Charles Evans, librarian of the Public Library of Indianapolis, Iiyi. ; Mr. E. B. Elliott and Mr. Rafael A. Bayley, of the United States Treas- ury Department ; Mr. J. G. Barnwell, of the Philadelphia. Mercantile Library; General 3- S. Ewell, president' of the College of William and Mary, Virginia ; Mr. R. A. Brock, secretary of the Virginia Historical Society ; Rev. William S. Southgate, Annapolis, Md. ; Mr. J. L. Ridgely, G. C. Secretary L O. O. F., Baltimore; Mr Addison Hutton, architect, Philadelphia; Mr. J. W. McLaughlin, architect, Cincinnati; Mr. R. M. Hunt, architect. New York ; Messrs. Sturgis and Brighani, architects, Boston; Mr. W. A. Potter, late Supervising Architect United States Treasury Department; and the Hon. George F. Hoar, of Worcester, Mass. To the many school officers, librarians, and officers of societies and other correspondents, who have kindly furnished reports and infor- mation, thanks are gratefully tendered. The issue of this report makes it proper to call attention to some features of the plan of work in this Office. It has been my desire in reference to each phase of education or class of institutions, such as colleges, libraries, and normal schools, embraced in the annual reports of the Office — First, to perfect the statistics as far as the means appropriated would permit and as voluntary cooperation should be accorded. The extreme diversity in the manner of conducting the business and keeping the records of educational institutions of all classes in the coun- try rendered that harmony of results essential to useful comparison and correct inference difficult of attainment ; and required (a) sound discrim- Letter. ix ination in selecting the points of the various systems concerning which inquiries should be addressed; and (6) great care in devising a nomen- clature which, suitable for general adoption, should mean the same to all. Second. A second part of my plan of work has been, when the statis- tics of any class of institutions become reasonably complete, to use them as the basis of a special report, embracing the most important points in their history, administration, and management ; then to bring out, for the benefit of each, the most instructive lessons in the experience of all. This report is the first attempt to carry out the second portion of the scheme. Third. As a third item in the plan of work upon statistics, I have kept in mind a correspondence in substance and form which should enable a student in the future to gather those rich results that can only be derived from facts noted year by year and extending through a long period of time. Fourth. A fourth item in the plan looks toward bringing into a com- mon nomenclature the statistics of the principal phases of education or classes of institutions throughout the world. It will be observed that neither the third nor fourth part of this plan for the statistical work of the Office has been attempted to any consid- erable extent in this report. If the means of the Office were adequate, it would be my desire to treat each year, in a special publication, some one class of institutions or systems included in the tabulated portions of my annual report. The value of a series of these comprehensive surveys of various systems, methods, or Institutions of education couM hardly be overestimated. The demand for them is increasing, and will not long be satisfied without them. Those who comprehend the general plan of the work of this Office need no explanation of its difficulties. Acknowledging, with great pleasure, the constant and cordial cooper- ation of your Department, I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN EATON, Commissioner. Hon. Z. Chandler, Secretary of the Interior. INTEODUCTION. PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND EDUCATION. For forty years the importauce of public libraries as auxiliaries to public education has beeu recognized and dwelt upon by American edu- cators wherever common schools have flourished. Beginning as ad- juncts of the district schools in New York and Massachusetts, free public libraries in some form have been established in nearly twenty States of the Union. It was known that within the last quarter of a century the number of public libraries had greatly multiplied, and that they had assumed a position of commanding importance as an educa- tional force, but there were no data for determining the^extent of their influence. THE LIBRARIAN AN EDUCATOR. The influence of the librarian as an educator is rarely estimated by outside observers, and probably seldom fully realized even by himself. Performing his duties independently of direct control as to their details, usually selecting the books that are to be purchased by the library and read by its patrons, often advising individual readers as to a proper course of reading and placing in their hands the books they are to read, and pursuing his own methods of administration generally without ref- erence to those in use elsewhere, the librarian has silently, almost un- consciously, gained ascendency over the habits of thought and literary tastes of a multitude of readers, who find in the public library their only means of intellectual improvement. That educators should be able to know the direction and gauge the extent and results of this potential influence, and that librarians should not only understand their primary duties as purveyors of literary supplies to the people, but also realize their high privileges and responsibilities as teachers, are matters of great import to the interests of public education. NECESSITY FOR A SPECIAL REPORT. Recognizing these conditions, the United States Commissioner of Ed- ucation began in 1870 to gather and publish the statistics of public libraries in this country, a work which has been steadily continued each year since that time. As the statistics became more complete and the number of libraries making reports increased, the awakened interest of all engaged in educational work expressed itself in more frequent calls xii Public Libraries in the United States. for information regarding not only the uumbef and extent of libraries already existing, but also respecting the diflferent plans of organization, sources of revenue, etc. ; and asking advice and information on the sub- jects of library economy and administration, the selection, arrangement, cataloguing, binding, and preservation of books, the proper buildings, and all the multifarious interests of a public library. Similar calls came from librarians, from library committees, and from others charged with the duty of organizing new libraries, but having little experience in such affairs. At the same time it became evident that the number of iibraries con- tinued to increase in an unexampled ratio, and that a reasonably com- plete account of their condition could be obtained only by a special and systematic inquiry. The increasing demands for information already mentioned not only made the need of such an inquiry imperative, but required that the result should be accompanied by the suggestions and conclusions of librarians and others whose ability and experience enable them to speak with authority on library subjects. Another consideration was influential in determining the preparation of this report. The interest of the General Government in libraries, as shown by its liberal grants to the Territories and by the building up at the capital of the nation of valuable working libraries for the several Departments, and its disposition to add to the general sum of knowl- edge among the people — as evinced by the liberal expenditures for the publication and distribution of public documents — have never been measured. It is known, in a general way, that many million volumes of Government publications of greater or less value have been distributed among the people at a cost of some millions of dollars; how many no one can tell. Notwithstanding the depreciatory criticism of this class of publications, there is probably hardly one among them that does not possess positive value to many persons. The results of the explo- rations and surveys that made the Pacific Eailroad a possibility were published by the Government; the patent room of the Boston Public Library containing the slighted Patent Office Eeports and Specifications was visited for study and consultation last year by 1,765 persons ; and the number of users of these reports is yearly increasing; the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, published by the Gov- ernment, forms one of the most valuable contributions to medical and surgical science that has appeared within the last century; ^nd an element of actual value belongs to most if not all these publications. They are designed for the use and benefit of all the people, and should be placed where they will be readily accessible to all. It is hardly cred- itable that there should not be in any public depository in the United States, even in the National Library, a complete series of Government publications. Thanks to a higher estimate of their value and impor- tance, earnest efforts are being made to supply this deficiency by several libraries, especially the one mentioned, and it is hoped they may prove Introduction. xiii successfal. Many librarians are unacqaainted with the steps they should take to procure these publications for their libraries as issued, and so lose the opportunity of procuring them at all, and many larg^ communities are thus deprived of benefits intended for them. Private individuals cannot be expected to collect complete series of public docu- ments, and if they should do so the benefit to the public would be small. Public libraries are the proper place of deposit for such collections, and the time has arrived when, by knowledge of their privileges and of the means of acquisition on the part of librarians, and by more systematic and thorough methods of distribution by the Government, these collec- tions will be begun and regularly increased and maintained in every part of the Union. A careful abstract of the laws and regulations governing the distri- bution and exchange of public documents by the General Government and the Smithsonian Institution, and a statement furnished by the Treasury Department at the request of the Secretary of the Interior, showing the amounts expended by the General Government for libraries and for certain special publications for distribution, were therefore deemed essential and will be found in the proper places in this report. It has been judged both necessary and expedient to issue the report at once and as a whole, rather than in a series of Circulars of Informa- tion extending over a considerable period, not only because the proper presentation of the subject and the exigencies of the case seemed to re- quire it, but for reasons of economy as to time, labor, and expense. PLAN OF THE REPORT. After considerable study of the subject and consultation and corre- spondence with eminent librarians, the following plan was adopted: To present, first, the history of public libraries in the United States ; second, to show their present condition and extent; third, to discuss the various questions of library economy and management; and fourth, to present as complete statistical information of all classes of public libraries as practicable. The number of libraries is so great and the history of many of them so rich that to print even the briefest sketch of each one individually, the plan adopted by Jewett and Ehees, would require many volumes, and it therefore became necessary to divide them into classes and treat of their history in that form, though this plan has been departed from as regards the principal libraries of colleges, of theological schools, and of historical societies, brief sketches of which will be found in the proper chapters. A further exception will be found in Chapter XXXVIII, which contains sketches of the public libraries in leading cities of the United States, where the chief depositories of literary treasures are found. Gentlemen who by their local information or their special knowledge were considered competent were invited to prepare such sketches. It has been found necessary, as the plan of this report has been modified xiv Public Libraries in the United States. by circnmstaDces, to abridge some of the notices furnished and to omit others. In many instances work has been done and appears which was performed by librarians of particular libraries, but the general re- sponsibility remains with the authors whose names are given at the beginning of the sketches for the several cities. The one hundredth year of our existence as a nation was deemed a suitable occasion on which to present a sketch of American public libra- ries at the time of the Revolution. It has been prepared with great care and most industrious research, and forms a chapter that will excite the deep interest of every lover of his country who reads it and contrasts the literary resources of our country one hundred years ago with those of the present time. Public libraries are next considered in their direct relations to edu- cation, as adjuncts of common schools and academies, of colleges, of professional schools, theological, law, medical, and scientific ; and as a necessary factor in the elevation of the unfortunate in asylums, and in the instruction and elevation of the vicious and criminal in reforma- tories and prisons. The necessity and practicability of enhancing the usefulness of col- lege libraries by means of professorships of books and reading are dis- cussed and advocated. Next the history of the relations of the General and State Govern - ments to public libraries is traced, showing the province of each as defined by necessity and experience, and exhibiting in detail the results that have followed. Following this the libraries of historical societies, of young men's mercantile and young men's Christian associations have been sketched, and their influence on the increase and diffusion of intelligence described. And last, free public libraries, established and maintained on the same principle that free public schools are, receive attention and considera- tion. These libraries are regarded as fulfilling for all a function similar to that which the college libraries perform for those fortunate enough to pursue a college course ; rightly administered they are indeed what one writer has called them, " tlie people's colleges." The propriety and feasibility of establishing art museums in connec- tion with free public libraries are discussed, and considerations favoring the creation of such museums urged. The history of the several classes of public libraries, together with some general considerations touching their management, and some facts respecting their present extent and condition, having been presented, the many details belonging to what may be called the economy and administration of public libraries are considered. Here are presented the fruits of the ripe experience and best thought of eminent librarians respecting the different topics suggested by the above general defini- tion; they will, it is hoped, answer satisfactorily the numerous appeals for advice and information, as well as stimulate the already rapid growth Introduction. xv of free libraries, and so of general intelligence and culture. The division and arrangement of subjects in this department are as follows : 1. Li- brary buildings, including plans and descriptions. 2. The organization and management of public libraries. 3. The administration of college libraries. 4. Catalogues, comprising an essay on the subject by 0. A. Cutter, librarian of the Boston Athenaeum, and a table, chronologically arranged, of printed catalogues of American public libraries, followed, in a succeeding chapter, by descriptions by their authors of two notable catalogues now being published ; a plan of indexing and arranging a library, which has received the approval of several distinguished libra- rians, and is now in use in the library of Amherst College : and a descrip - tion of the classification adopted for the Public School Library of St. Louis. (The Rules for making a Dictionary Catalogue, by Mr. Cutter, are printed separately as Part II of this report, for the convenience of librarians, for whose use they were mainly prepared.) 5. Indexing periodical and miscellaneous literature, giving a description of the ex- cellent plan in use by Professor Robinson, of the University of Rochester, 1^. Y. 6. Binding and preservation of books. 7. Periodical literature and society publications. 8. Reference books. 9. Library memoranda. 10. Titles of books. 11. Book indexes. 12. Library bibliography^ All of which, it is believed, will be found of high value to librarians and others interested in the establishment and management of public libraries. REPORTS AND STATISTICS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Considerable space has been devoted to library reports and statistics in Chapter XXXVII, where will be found, besides remarks and illustra- tive tables showing the discrepancies in the reports of different investi- gators and the difificulties of gathering such statistics, the following, viz: A table of public libraries in 1776, 1800, and 1876 ; a table show- ing the number and eltent of public libraries which now contain 10,030 volumes or more in the years 1836, 1846, 1849, 1856, 1857-'58, 1863, 1874, and 1875; a table showing the increase in number of American public libraries during the last one hundred years, by periods of twenty - five years each, and the number of volumes they contained in 1875 ; a summary table of public libraries numbering 500 volumes and upward, classified according to size ; a summary table of all public libraries in the United States, by classes and States ; and a number of other tables re- specting funds, circulation of books, loss and wear of books, etc., together with sodie analyses of the library tables published by the Bureau of Ed u- cation in 1871, 1872, and 1874; and last, the statement of the expendi- tures of the General Government on account of libraries and publica. tions, before mentioned. Following this will be found sketches of libraries in ten of the chief cities of the Union, prepared by gentlemen (generally librarians) in the respec- tive cities. One of these papers, describing the libraries of Charles- ton, S. C, contains also some notices of public libraries in the Southern xvi Public Libraries in the United States. States ; and another on the public libraries of San Francisco notices other libraries on the Pacific coast. Chapter XXXIX comprises the general table of statistics of all public libraries in the United States from which reports have been received, prefaced by a summary of its contents, and followed by a list of the names of librarians and other officers reporting. A few items gathered, from the tables of statistics will indicate the remarkable growth and present extent and importance of public libraries in the United States. So far as is known, there were in 1776 twenty- nine public libraries in the thirteen American colonies, and they num- bered altogether 45,623 volumes; in the year 1800 the number of li- braries had increased to 49, and the number of volumes to about 80,000; in 1876 there are reported (including the society libraries of students in colleges, reported separately) 3,682 libraries, numbering in the aggre- gate 12,276,964 volumes, besides 1,500,000 pamphlets; the latter very incompletely reported. The above do not include the libraries of common and Sunday schools, except a few of the former class not of sufficient importance to materi- ally modify the figures given. For several reasons, mainly because it did not seem essential to the completeness of this report, no attempt was made to collect the statistics of church and Sunday school libraries, of which the number is almost as great as that of the churches in the United States ; these contained altogether, according to the census of 1870, about 10,000,000 volumes. Of the 3,682 libraries, 358 report permanent funds, amounting alto- gether to $6,105,581, and 1,364 report that they possess no such funds, while the returns of 1,960 libraries afford no information on the subject. Only 742 libraries reported the yearly circulation, which forms an aggre- gate of 8,879,869 volumes ; 1,510 reported an aggregate yearly increase of 434,339 volumes; 830 reported a total yearly income of $1,398, '/56; while 769 reported an aggregate yearly expenditure of $562,407 for books, periodicals, and binding ; and 643 reported a total yearly expend- iture of $682,166 for salaries and incidental expenses. The increasing rate of growth of public libraries in the last twenty-five years is well exhibited by the table, which shows that 20 libraries were formed from 1775 to 1800, 179 from 1820 to 1825,551 from 1825 to 1850, and 2,240 from 1850 to 1875. It is altogether probable that nearly all the 688 libraries the dates of organization of which are not reported were also begun within the last twenty-five years. It has been impracticable to obtain definite and complete returns of the total amount received by public libraries in the last century from gifts and bequests in money; some $15,000,000 in all are reported, but it is safe to estimate the whole amount at $30,000,000. This amount includes only private benefactions and does not take account of money received from Government, State, or municipal grants or taxation. No estimate can be formed of the vast contributions of books that have been made during that period. Introduction. x^^i PRIVATE LIBEARIES. It will, of course, be understood that do attempt has been made to collect information respecting private libraries. While a multitude of these libraries exist, thoasauds of which are of great value, some rival- ing in completeness, in special departments of knowledge, even the col- lections of the leading public libraries, it would be impracticable, if otherwise expedient, for the General Government to gather and present reasonably complete and satisfactory information respecting them. On this subject the remarks of Gen. F. A. Walker, Superintendent of the Ninth Census, are regarded as conclusive. He says :' At the ninth census (1870) the total number of libraries returned was 163,353, contain- ing 44,539,184 volumes. Of these, 107,673 were private libraries, containing 25,571,503 volumes. No return under this head was made from the State of Connecticut, the deputy marshal reporting that no exact information could be obtained. While this increase in the number of private libraries and vojumes therein over the returns of 1860 shows that this portion of the census work has been performed with far greater effort and care on the part of the assistant and deputy marshals charged wifh the col- lection of this class of statistics, the results are yet manifestly far below the truth of the case for the whole country, while, in respect to certain States, the figures of the following table are almost ludicrously disproportionate. The only compensation for this failure — for such it must be pronounced, in spite of the increase over the returns of former censuses — is fouud in the consideration that the statistics of private libraries are not, from any proper point of view, among the desirable inquiries of the census. The statistics of the manufacture and importation of books would be far more signifi- cant and instructive, while obtained with one-teuth of one per ceut. of the effort that would be required to collect accurate statistics of private libraries based upon any classification that might be adopted. The last clause of the foregoing sentence intimates a practical difi&culty which, however tte methods of the census might be improved, would always render the sta- tistics of private libraries of the least possible value. Unless each one of the two or three hundred thousand private collections of books which might claim admission to such a table as that in contemplation of the census law were to be personally visited and inspected by a competent judge, it would be impossible to prevent the intrusion into that table of tens of thousands of such collections without any merit to entitle them to a place there. No matter how carefully assistant marshals might perform this duty, or how fully instructed they might be from the central office, the mere fact of six or seven thousand persons being employed in collecting these statistics would be sufficient to defeat, utterly and hopelessly, all approach to uniformity of treatment. One-half of the assistant marshals would call that a library which the other half would not, or, more probably, nine out of ten such officers would admit everything that claimed to be a library to their lists. The plan most commonly urged for preventing such a want of uniformity in the col- lection of the statistics of private libraries is to fix a number of volumes below which no collection of books shall be returned as a library, as, say, 100, 200, 300, or 500 vol- umes; but it is quite sufficient, without argument, to disprove such a proposition, to indicate the practical difficulties arising from such questions as these: What shall be done with pamphlets and unbound volumes? With children's books? With school books, old and new ? With public documents. State and national ? It is not too much to say, that if all these classes were to be rejected, niue out of ten collections iu the United States which would otherwise pass into a table of private libraries containing one hundred volumes and over would be thrown out, while, on the other hand, it is difficult to see what value such a table can have for auy use, scientitic or popular, if these classes are to be indiscriminately admitted. iNiuth CourUi of the United States : Population aud Social Statistics, pp. 472, 473. K— 11 xviii Public Libraries in the United States. PLAN OF aATHERING STATISTICS. It may not be amiss to describe here the plan followed in gatheriug the statistics, for this report. As has been already intimated, there was until 1870 little information respecting public libraries in existence. As late as 1850 an American Secretary of State was obliged to reply to the application by a committee of the British Parliament for such in- formation that, with the best disposition to do so, he found it impossible to comply with their request.^ At that time the late accomplished Professor Jewett was preparing for publication his report on public libraries io the United States, which appeared the next year, and was the pioneer attempt to give a description of all oar libraries. In 1859 Ehees published his Manual of Pnblic Libraries, which contains a list of the names of 2,902 libraries; bat he was unable to obtain an account of the number of volumes in more than 1,338 of them. The works of Jewett and Khees were prepared with great care ami in- dustry ; but the rapid increase of public libraries within the last few years has made them of little value for purposes of reference. Other partial statistics were published at different times, but no systematic attempt was made until 1870 to procure returns from all classes of public libraries, except in the returns of the United States census in the years 1850, 1860, and 1870. These returns did not attempt to name and localize the different libraries, and were for other reasons incom- plete and untrustworthy.^ The Keports of the Commissioner of Educa- tion for 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874 furnished statistics of several huTidred libraries. Beyond this little was known save that there were in the country two thousand or more public libraries, each exerting a less or greater educational intiueuce, of which nothing was generally known ; even a knowledge of their names and whereabouts was limited to their immediate localities. It therefore became necessary to ascertain first the name of every town in the United States the population of which was sufficient to seem to justify the belief that it possessed a public library of some sort. Letters of inquiry were sent to all such towns, generally to the postmaster, asking whether a public library existed, and its name ; the name of the library being obtained, direct inquiries were sent to it. In each of the larger towns and smaller cities the superin- tendent of public schools was chosen as a correspondent ; in the larger cities persons were selected to make special investigations ; the directo- ries of cities were consulted ; gazetteers were examined ; the officers of all institutions and societies that might be supposed to possess libraries were applied to for information ; and correspondence opened with clergy- men, officers of courts, of cities, counties. States, and with other persons likely to possess information on the subject of libraries in their respective localities. The reports of Professor Jewett and Mr. Rhees, and a list of ' For his letter see page 759. 2 Ninth Census of the United States : Population and Social Statistics, p, 472. IntrodactiGn. xix societies and institutions published in 1872 by the Smithonian Institu- tion also afforded considerable information respecting the names of libraries. This preliminary work involved the writing of some 10,000 letters, to which the responses hav^e generally been most prompt and gratifying. A mass of information was thus gathered which formed the basis for subse- quent specific inquiry and correspondence ; and the cordial cooperation of all interested enables us to present, astheresultof much time and labor expended, definite and trustworthy information respecting nearly 3,700 public libraries of all classes. It will be observed that the table includes statistics of some public libraries containing no more than three hundred volumes each. These have been added in cases where the recent dates of the establishment or other known circumstances of the libraries justify the expectation of their permanence and rapid growth. ILLUSTRATIONS. Each of the library buildings chosen as a subject for illustration has been selected with reference to its historic or representative character. Thus representations of the Redwood and Loganian Libraries are given solely because of the historical interest that attaches to them as the first on the Western Continent devoted entirely to library purposes. Both were built about the same time, a quarter of a century before the Revolution, and one of them, the Redwood Library, though greatly en- larged, is still devoted to library uses. The Lenox and Ridgway Libra,- ries, now nearing completion, each the gift of a single individual, are also represented ; and perhaps no more striking evidence of the vast growth of public libraries in this country could be found than is afforded by the contrast between the first two buildings (each also the gift of a single public spirited citizen) and the two last named. College libraries are well represented by illustrations of the library building of the Col- lege of New Jersey and the interior of Wellesley College Library, (for women,) each of which is a monument to the munificent liberality of a wealthy citizen. Engravings of the Boston Public and Cincinnati Pub- lic Libraries are presented as examples of the largest free librarries in the United States built and maintained at the public expense ; while the Concord,^ Roxbury Branch, Northampton, Worcester, and Cornell Libraries are included as representatives of free library architecture in the smaller cities and towns. The last, bearing the name of its builder and founder, who presented it to his fellow citizens, is properly assigned a place with the remarks respecting patronymic libraries, in Chapter XXI1.2 A cut of the building of the Library Company of Phila^lelphia, organized by Franklin in 1731, properly represents the early proprietary libraries. It was the third library built in this country, dating from ' For this cut ackaowledgments are due Messrs. Harper & Brothers. 2 Page 457. XX Public Libraries in the United States. 1792, and is still devoted to its original uses. The cut of tlie Appren- tices' Library of Philadelphia represents a class of libraries that has conferred great and lasting benefits on many young artisans, but which is being rapidly superseded by the free and other public libraries which offer equal advantages to all. While perhaps no one of the buildings represented may be regarded as a model in all respects, neither is any one without its points of excel- lence, and several are admirably adapted to their special uses. Taken together they fairly represent the past and present of library architect- ure in America, and certainly show an improvement in some degree commensurate with the growth of the libraries they shelter. The plans accompanying Mr. Winsor's contribution on library build- ings (Chapter XXIV, pp. 473-475) are the expression of long experience and careful study of the subject, and will doubtless prove of much prac- tical value. With the exception of the Wellesley College, Concord Public, Cornell, Loganian, Library Company and Apprentices' of Philadelphia, *and the Cincinnati Public (exterior) libraries, the engravings have been executed by Miss C. A. Powell, a graduate of the Cooper Union Free Art School, of Xew York. SUNDAY READING IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Within the last few years several public libraries in the larger cities have thrown open their rooms for reading on Sundays; notable among these being the Boston Public Library, the Free Public Library of Wor- cester, Mass., the Cincinnati Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and the Public School Library of St. Louis. The reports show that a large number of persons avail themselves of this privilege for improve- ment and recreation, and that the number of Sunday users of books and periodicals at most of the libraries has steadily increased from year to year. The number of Sunday readers at the Free Public Library of Wor- cester, Mass., the first public library in [N'ew England to open its doors to Sunday visitors, for each year since 1872, when the privilege was first granted, was as follows : In 1872-'73, Sunday readers, 5,706 ; 1873- ^74, 7,179 ; 1874-'75, 10;i42. The superintendent of the Boston Public Library, in his report for 1873, remarks that the use of the reading rooms for periodicals on Sun- days " was from one-half to three-quarters of the average week day use. The frequenters were uniformly decorous ; the most favorable feature of the result being that a large proportion of the Sunday visitors were not such as are seen in the rooms on week days." And in his report for 1875, in summing up the experience of the library in this regard, he says, " that from the start the use of the Central reading room has been abundantly commensurate, and has justified the movement." Some interesting remarks on the results of the Sunday opening of the Introduction. xxi Public Library of Cincinnati and of the Public School Library of St. Louis will be found in the sketches of those libraries in another part of this report. ART MUSEUMS AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH PUBLIC LIBRARIES. While the plan of making art museums adjuncts of public libraries, as advocated in Chapter XXI, may at first seem unpractical and un- wise a study of the experience of the British Free Libraries in this regard leads to a directly opposite conclusion. The art gallery of the Birmingham Free Library was established in 1867 ; in the five follow- ing years it was visited by more than 600,000 persons ; in 1872 it was open 36 Sundays, 49 Saturday evenings, and 289 week days ; the Sun- day visitors numbered 13,064, the Saturday evening visitors 12,817, and the week day visitors 119,880, making a total of 145,761 for the year. The gallery then contained 35 paintings, 4 statues and busts, and 11 collections, more or less extensive, of artistic manufactures in glass, pottery, and metals, owned by the corporation, a large proportion of which had been presented ; 9 paintings, an interesting series of draw- ings from nature, and a collection of enamels deposited by the Birming- ham and Midland Institute ; and 23 paintings and three collections of Japanese enamels and metal work lent for exhibition by their owners. The library committee in its report for 1872 says : The reading rooms, especially at nigbt, have been greatly crowded during the year, and the art gallery has also been used by a largely increased number of visitors. Looking to the growing usefulness of all departments of the libraries and of the art gallery, and to the advancing demands upon their spa«e, the committee regard with much satisfaction the wise and liberal resolution of the town council authorizing the extension of the libraries and the art gallery. The report of the Liverpool Free Public Library, Museum, and Gal- lery of Art for the year 1873 contains the following : The success of the annual exhibitions of pictures held during two successive years naturally drew attention to the want of a suitable building where a permanent, gal- lery of art might be collected, and the annual exhibitions held without the necessity of disturbing the arrangements of the museum for several months in the year, as has hitherto been the case. An application to the city council for aid to provide a proper building was unsuccessful, but the mayor of the city announced his interftion to devote £20,000 for a building. The same report con tinues : The subcommittee have now the pleasure to report the results of the late autuoux exhibition of pictures at the Free Library and Museum. The exhibition was opened to the public from Monday, September 1, to Saturday, November 29, during the day, at a charge of !«., and in the evening, from Monday October 13, to Saturday, November 29, at id. The number of adipissions by payments at the door amounted to 13,318 in the morn- ing and 1H,361 in the evening, making a total of^I,679, besides ^3 season tickets, and about 10,000 pupils of educational establishments of all classes and denominations ad- niitted gratuitously. xxii Public Libraries in the United States. The number of works exhibited consisted of 454 oil colors, 56S water colors, 35 pieces of sculpture aud other works of art, forming a total of r,057. Of these, 972 were for sale, and 271 were actually sold for sums amounting to £7,402 17«. Qd.; £787 lOs. being expended by the corporation in pictures for the per- manent gallery of art now in the course of forujation. The total receipts amounted to £1,566 Is. 3d., leading a profit of £466 Is. The general results of this exhibition have been encouraging, as the following figures denote, and when their nature is examined they are still more satisfactory : Daily 1872. average. Day admissions, (Is., 12 days at 6d. each)... 13,276 90 days 147||i Eveningadmissions, (12 nights at 3(?) 9,618 43 nights 200^1 1873. Day admissions, (all at Is. each) 13,318 78 days 170^ Evening admissions, (all at 3d!.) 18,361 .42 nights 43rfsr "SViiter 8culp- Oil. color, ture, etc. Works exhibited, 1873 454 568 35 Works exhibited, 1872 430 501 29 Increase 24 67 6 The large increase in the number of season tickets, viz, 523, as against 332 in 1872, demonstrates the existence of a rapidly increasing section of the public who return again and again to study the pictures carefully, and who will in time form a body of independent and cultivated art opinion, the effects of which must be most advan- tageous to the town. Hitherto the committee have been somewhat disappointed at the comparative apathy of the artisan class, but this year the attendance in the evenings has been very hope- ful, so much so, indeed, as to warrant the expectation that an interest in art may be thoroughly excited, and a knowledge diffused among that class which may be pro- ductive of valuable industrial results. The presence of art galleries and museums in Paris has enabled that city, fti the absence of most material advantages, to become a large manufacturing centre, owing solely to the educated taste of her artisans. London has, within the last few years, become the seat of art manufactures which have in several instances been the direct outgrowth of South Kensington, and which in most cases owe their success to the interest in art it has excited and the opportunity of study it affords. If Liverpool is to become eventually more than a mere warehous- ing port, any means of attracting such manufactures into her midst should be most anxiously improved. The attendance of the artisan class at these exhibitions is, therefore, a most important element from an industrial point of view. In addition to the art gallery thus successfully established, the Liver- pool Free Library possesses also a valuable museum of natural his- tory, etc. The annual report of the Museum Library and Park Committee of the borough of Salford, for 1873-74, shows that there were in that year 627,500 visitors to the museum, 800,000 to the park, and that the issue of books belonging to the Central Library and its two branches (contain- ing altogether 53.024 volumes) was 313,389, while the number of readers in the reading and news rooms was 477,000. Like satisfactory results have followed the joining of art and natural history museums with other free libraries in England, and it is believed that similar benefits would accrue from the union of public libraries and museums here. Introduction. xxiii THE STUDY OF LIBRARY SCIENCE. Considerable space has been devoted, under the title of Professorships of Books and Keading, to the discussion of the question of a new col- lege professorship the duties of which should be to teach students what and how to read. While this would meet the needs of college students, the much larger constituency of the public libraries would still remain, as now, generally dependent on the librarians for advice and direction. Hence, it is clear that the librarian must soon be called upon to assume a distinct position, as something more than a mere custodian of books, and the scientific scope and value of his office be recognized and esti- mated in a becoming manner. To meet the demands that will be made on him he should be granted opportunities for instruction in all the de- partments of library science. In Germany the importance of this is beginning to be realized, and the plan of making it a subject of special study in the universities finds advocates. Under the title of The science of library arrangement with a view to a common organization among libraries, and to the special study of library science in German universities. Dr. F. Kullmann, libra- rian of the University of Freiburg, says :^ It is very desirable that library science should, more than has been the case hitherto in Germany, form a subject of discussion at the meetings of librarians, and that one of the points to be discussed should be whether library science is to form a special branch of study at the universities. I. LIBRARY SCIENCE SHOULD HAVE A COMMON ORGANIZATION. Three points have to be considered in this connection : 1; The system. — The best authorities agree as to the desirability of a uniform library system for Germany. At present there are very few systems which entireljr satisfy the demands of our age. This is not the place, however, to criticise the faulty systems of various libraries, as they are sufficiently well known. In creating a good bibliographic system we meet with considerable difficulties, especially with regard to the harmonizing of all the theoretical and practical require- ments, so as to combine a scientific with a convenient arrangement. At present one of the two generally preponderates. It frequently occurs that one and the same work is ranged under twelve different heads in twelve different libraries, which, of course, is very confusing. All this tends to show that it should not be left to the will of every librarian to establish a system for his library, but that there should be a uniform sys- tem throughout the country. In order to produce a uniform system, it is of course necessary that individual views should readily submit to the wishes of the majority. The chief feature of such a system should be the logical arrangement of the details, without, however, carrying the method of headings and subheadings too far. Smaller libraries, especially, will be able to do without many of the headings required by larger ones. 2. The catalogue. — The new system, of course, presupposes a rearrangement of the catalogue. We would not advocate absolute uniformity of aatalogues, because the results would not be commensurate with the amount of labor bestowed. It would, however, be very useful if the "catchwords" iu all the German libraries could, as 1 Die Bibliothekseinrichtnngskunde zum Theile einer gemeinsamen Organisation, die Bibliothekswissenschaft als solche einem besonderen Universitatsstudiura in Deutschland unterworfen, von Dr. F. RuUmann, Gustos der Frpiburger Universitats- bibliothek. Freiburg i. Br., 1874, 28 pp. xxiv Public Libraries in the United States. mnch as possible, be selected and be treated according to a nniform principle, so a» not to let individual opinion be the only gnide in the matter. To show how necessary this is, we will only mention, as an instance, the different way in which various im- portant questions are answered, e. g., regarding anonymous books, compound words, obsolete words, etc. 3. Placing of hooks. — The most convenient way will be to place the books on the shelves from the left to the right, commencing from the lower shelves, and to have every book numbered. This numbering should not be continuous through a whole library, but merely through a division, as the very high numbers, especially in large libraries, would cause considerable inconvenience. As in many German libraries the system, cataloguing, and arrangement have not kept step with the times and with the development of science, and will therefore have to be changed sooner or later, all such libraries, after they have been authorized by their respective authorities to make a new organization, might derive the full benefit of a common discussion of the whole subject. Other libraries might without great difficulty adopt some things immediately, but should certainly, whenever circum- stances demand it, carry out practically all the theories, after they had helped to discuss them in the interest of library science. What excellent results could in this way be gradually obtained, not only with regard to the mutual usefulness of all libraries, but also with regard to their individual usefulness ! Many of the present inconsistencies and egotistical arbitrary rules would vanish* because these things could then be under much more thorough supervision and con- trol. It would, moreover, simplify the conscientious fulfilment of the librarian's duties, so that it would no longer be necessary for each librarian to have detailed accounts regarding his treatment of library science. Such a "diary," as Ebert calls it, is, unfortunately, seldom made, for many librarians do not leave any manuscript notes for their successors regarding their work and the principles according to which they have carried it on. This circumstance proves very detrimental to the library in case of removal or death of the librarian, especially if no oral tradition has been pre- served regarding the method of working. This will explain, to a great extent, why at present so many libraries, in spite of an immense amount of work, do not reach their object as fully as would be the case if a uniform system were established. Such a system, by making librarians at once at home in any library, and by producing a uniform method of working in all, greatly facilitates the use of libraries for our men of science. Thus it will not be entirely chimerical to suppose that in course of time, even if centuries should pass, a general systematic repertory of literature will be the result, which would at once show any gap still existing in a library. II. LIBRARY SCIENCE A SPECIAL STUDY AT THE CXIVERSITIES. Supposing that a uniform library system according to our ideas should gradually become prevalent, we do not thereby have a sufficient guarantee of the greatest possi- ble perfection of our libraries. For this will essentially depend on a suitable library administration ; and this leads us to the question, how the qualifications requisite for a librarian can best be obtained. Although the importance of the office of the librarian has from time immemorial been fully appreciated, such appreciation has hitherto not been sufficiently general. For not only was a librarian's place often considered as a pleasant and respectable sinecure, or as an office of secondary importance which would allow the office holder conveniently to pursue his favorite studies, but even to the present day has the office of a librarian at our universities not generally been considered an independent office, but has been given to one of the professors. We are glad to see, however, that, both theoretically and practically, the opinion is gaining ground that only a man specially trained for it can successfully fill the place Introduction. xxv of librarian. Such a special training belongs very properly to the university course, as we intend to prove by the following remarks. In appointing librarians there is no such guarantee of their competency as is de- manded of other aspirants to public oflQce when they finish their studies, A most essential point is wanting here, viz, the opportunity for a suitable preparation. For the occupation of an assistant librarian seems to be scarcely a full equivalent for it. Aside from the fragmentary character of such a preparation, it can scarcely be taken into account, because there are comparatively few such places, and the choice for future librarians would be limited to a small number of persons. Thus the practical occupation of the officer in the library has hitherto had to take the place of his education for his duties. This had the great disadvantage, that especially in modern times, when the extent of human knowledge has increased to such enor- mous dimensions, it took, contrary to the true interests of the library, a very long time for the librarian to acquire the necessary amount of knowledge in branches of 8(Jieoce with which hitherto he had'been but little familiar. Schrettinger, in his Manual of Library Science, Vienna, 1834, was the first who advocated the necessity of a special school for educating librarians. He only touches the subject very briefly, and desires that such an education should be given at the chief library of the country, where his mannal might form the basis of lectures on library science, and that only the futfure library officers of that country should have the benefit of such instruction. This, however, would scarcely supply the want of librarians for Germany, and we would therefore, instead of instruction at a library, recommend that library science be studied at the universities, not only in one state, but in the whole of Germany; i. e., we desire that at one of our universities, gradually perhaps at several, lectures on library science should be delivered by competent men. This course of lectures should extend through three years. As on leaving the gymnasium most young men will have become proficient only in German, French, Latin, and Greek, there will be required : 1. Further Unguistic studies, which may be pursued outside of the lecture room. As most important in this respect we would recommend the study of Hebrew, English , Kalian, and Spanish. These studies should be carried so far at least as to enable the student to read a book with the help of a dictionary and grammar, and to acquire a knowledge of the library technical terms. IL Lectures should be attended on : 1,. General history and collateral studies, e. g., diplomacy. 2. Systematic universal encyclopaedia of sciences, with special regard to the best way of defining the proper limits of each science. 3. Universal history of the more important literary productions, with special mention of their scientific and booksellers' value. 4. Knowledge of manuscripts. 5. History of the art of printing. 6. History of the book trade. 7. Some knowledge of the fine arts, so as to enable the librarian to know the true value of engravings, (copper, steel, and wood,) lithographs, and photographs. 8. Gradual development of library science and introduction to it. 9. The most interesting data concerning the well known libraries of the world : " bibliothecography." 10. Library economy, (administration, financial management, etc.) 11. Practical exercises in cataloguing and classifying, (especially the more difficult subjects, e. g., manuscripts and incunabula.) 12. Management of archives. Of the subjects mentioned under IT, Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 should be in the hands of competent librarians or men thoroughly versed in library science ; Nos. 1 and 4 are treated of in most universities. After finishing such a course the student would have to pass an examination before xxvi Public Libraries in the United States. & special committee composed of the professors or persons lecturing on library science, and receive a certificate of qualification for the office of librarian. Such a certificate only should secure a person the office of librarian, and no distinction should be made between students from the different states of Germany. It will of course be understood that such a course of instruction in library science ofters a great probability but no absolute certainty of being good in practice too. Only in two cases does such a study not seem to offer any advantages : first, in places like Strasbourg, where the number of officers is so large that there is a special librarian for nearly every chief division. In this case the man acquainted with the specialty of the library is to be preferred. Second, in special libraries. But apart from these two exceptional cases, we may confidently look to a most bene- ficial result from the study of library science. First of all it will satisfactorily settle a question of vital interest to all libraries, viz, regarding suitable selection in the buying of books. Such a study only will almost entirely remove the danger of having certain portions of the library favored in au undue degree, both as regards the direct expenditure in money, as also the indirect expenditure by having the librarian's time too much occupied by special subjects. Such cases have occurred particularly in university libraries; for these, whether in the hands of " private professors" (Privat-Docenten) or not, have always been mau- siged by specialists, who, as a general rule, favored their own studies at the expense of the whole library. Such a study of library science will also have the effect to produce, much more fre- quently than is the case now, works on libraries and everything connected with them, which of course will be an immense benefit to library science in general. LIBRARY CONVENTION. In May, 1853, a call, signed by Professor Jewett and other librarians, was published, inviting " librarians and others interested in bibliogra- phy " to meet in convention at New York, September 15, 1853, " for the purpose of conferring together upon the means of advancing the pros- perity and usefulness of public libraries, and for the suggestion and dis- cussion of topics of importance to book collectors and readers." The convention met at the time and place appointed, and remained in session three days. About eighty librarians (representing libraries containing altogether some eight hundred thousand volumes) and others interested in bibliographical pursuits were in attendance. The work accomplished was summed up by the editor of Norton's Literary Gazette (October 15, 1853) as follows : Acquaintances have been formed among numerous members of the librarian's profes- sion, who had never seen or corresponded with one another before; an arrangement has been noade for the regular interchange of catalogues aud reports ; the experience of those who have long had charge of public libraries has been brought before those who are novices in the work, upon a great variety of topics ; the Smithsonian system of cataloguiug, which aims at most important changes, has been explained by its originator, and carefully discussed ; facts and statistics concerning a large number of widely scattered institutions have been collected and arranged ; certain new and in- genious inventions for the preservation and exhibition of illustrated works have been introduced to the public ; preliminary steps have been taken for preparing a complete librarian's manual ; suggestions have been made in regard to the establishment of popular libraries all over the country ; and measures have been taken to form a libra- rians' association or bibliographical society of a permanent character, the object of which shall be to promote, in every way, the establishment and efficient conduct of collections of books. Introduction. xxvii The convention adjourned to meet at Washington at the call of the committee on permanent organization, of which Professor Jewett was chairman, but no meeting was afterwards held. Twenty-three years have passed; libraries have increased in number fivefold, and in influence in a much greater ratio ; all the conditions and necessities that demanded the cooperation of library officers then are more important and urgent now, and others equally requiring to be met have arisen. In view of the magnitude of the interests involved, social, financial, intellectual, and moral, it seems proper and expedient that librarians and others interested in the welfare of libraries should again meet to interchange views, compare methods and the results of experience, and discuss practical questions. In August, 1875, Mr. Thomas Hale Williams, librarian of the Minneapolis (Minn.) Athenaeum, wrote suggesting such a national meeting ; his suggestions were favored by a number of the leading librarians of the country, and have recently taken practical form in a preliminary call for a conference of librarians, signed by gen- tlemen representing libraries numbering in the aggregate more than two million volumes. Three of the signers of the call representing, re- spectively, proprietary, college, and free public libraries, were delegates to the convention of 1853, and have been continuously in library service since that time ; two in the same libraries they then represented, while the other, the accomplished author of Poole's Index to Periodical Litera- ture, has since successfully organized the two largest free public libra- ries ill the West. The proposed convention will be held at Philadelphia, October 4, 5, 6, 1876. A LIBRARY JOURNAL. Another evidence of a revival of interest in public libraries is afforded by the proposition to establish a journal to be devoted to the discussion of practical questions relating to. the management of public libraries, and the dissemination of information regarding them. It is expected that the first number of the American Library Journal, to be published monthly, ^yill appear in September. On account of the importance of such a journal to the library interests of the country, an abstract of the prospectus of the American Library Journal is herewith presented. xxviii Public Libraries in the United States. THE AMERICAN LIBRARY JOURNAL. Pablished monthly. MELVIL DEWEY, AMHERST COLLEGE LIBRARY, MANAGING EDITOK. Associate editors. Jnstiu Winsor, Boston Public Library. James L. Whiitney, Boston Public Library. Fred. B. Perkins, Boston Public Library. Charles A. Cutter, Boston Athenaeum. John Fiske, Harvard University Library. Ezra Abbot, Harvard University. Reuben A. Guild, Brown University Library W. I. Fletcher, Watkinson Library. J. Carson Brevoort, Astor Library. H. A. Homes, New York State Library. S. B. Noyes, Brooklyn Mercantile Library. Frederic Vinton, Princeton College Library. Lloyd P. Smith, Philadelphia Library Company. A. R. Spofford, Library of Congress. John S. Billings, Surgeon-General's Office. Wm.F. Poole, Chicago Public Library. Charles Evans, Indianapolis Public Library. Thomas Vickers, Cincinnati Public Library. Wm. T. Harris, St. Louis. John Jay Bailey, St. Louis Public School Library. A. E. Whitaker, Mercantile Library, San Francisco. Publisher : F. Leypoldt, 37 Park Row, New York. P7-08pectus. Extract from the annual report for 1869 of the superintendent of the Public Library of Boston. " We have no schools of bibliographical and bibliothecal training whose graduates can guide the formation of and assume management within the fast increasing libra- ries of our country, and the demand may, perhaps, never warrant their establishment ; but every library with a fair experience can afford inestimable instruction to another in its novitiate; and there have been no duties of my office to which I have given more hearty attention than those that have led to the granting of what we could from our experience to the representatives of other libraries, whether coming with inquiries fitting a collection as large as Cincinnati is to establish, or merely seeking such mat- ters as concern the establishment of a village library." To further these and like purposes it is proposed to publish an American Library Journal. The rapid growth of libraries in this country makes such a medium of ex- changing experience vitally necessary, ^nA it will be a means of economizing both tim& and money. The Journal is meant to be eminently practical, not antiquarian, and the following departments are proposed : Editorials and contributed papers by specialists on library economy, bibliography, classification, construction, and arrangement of library buildings, and like topics. Library notes as to statistics of growth and circulation, donations, new enterprises^ improvements in binding, cataloguing, library fittings, shelf arrangement, charging, loan, and return of books, regulations, restrictions, etc. Bibliography. — Record of every new catalogue, report, or other publication bearing directly on the library interest, in any language. The more Important will be reviewed by specialists. Current periodical literature. — Reference to or analysis of articles of library interest^ appearing in American or foreign periodicals. Introduction: xxix Pseudonyms. — A record of all paeudonyms, anonyms, etc., of which any new informa- tion can be given. Correspondence.— liibraij letters from abroad and from various parts of our own coontry. Notes and queries.— A department that should be of special value. Questions on any subject coming within the scope of the journal will be received, and, if possible, an- swered editorially in the next issue. Otherwise they will be referred to readers for reply. Du-pUcates.— Lists of the more important books offered by the various libraries for sale or exchange. Books wanted. — By purchase or exchange. Situations.— AMvesses of librarians and cataloguers desiring engagements, and of libraries needing such services. Annual index.— A complete index to each volume of the American Library Journal, which will form a finding list of all topics of library interest during the year. The Journal, containing about 32 pages small quarto, will be issued every month from the ofiSce of the Publishers' Weekly, 37 Park Row, New York. The managing editor's office is at 13 Tremont Place, Boston, where it seemed desirable that the journal should be chiefly edited, that the fullest advantage mrght be taken of the daily expe- rience of the justly famed libraries and librarians of that vicitfity. The time chosen for starting the Journal seems very opportune, especially since it follows closely the publication of the Special Report on Public Libraries in the United States, issued by the United States Bureau of Education. Th6 real object of the Journal is, in fact, to form a periodical supplement to this work. The active cooperation of librarians, by way of subscription, as well as by contributions, communications, etc., is earnestly so- licited. Libraries are especially requested to send to the managing editor of the Journal copies of new catalogues, annual reports, regulations, etc. Scraps or notices of articles, reviews, notes in local papers, or any other information concerning library interests, will also be thankfully received. In connection with the American Library Journal it is proposed to form a collec- tion of everything of special interest to librarians for common reference and use by all contributing to it. For this purpose it is requested that every library send to the managing editor of the Journal two copies of every blank, form, card, slip, cata- logue, or anything portable that it may use in its administration, and is willing to contribute ; one set to be arranged by libraries, showing as completely as possible the methods and catalogues of each library by itself; the other under classification show- ing the various methods used by different libraries in the same work, e. g., all the differ- ent catalogue cards that are in use in different libraries. The specimens sent should all be marked with the date, cost, and manner of using; and if, after practical trial, any improvement can be suggested to other libraries using a similar form or appliance, this should also be added. This collection, like the Journal itself, is something to which all should cordially contribute, and from which all may freely draw. Tbe printing of accurate titles of new books in such a way that they can be used for the card catalogues of libraries in general, at a slight expense, is an important field for cooperation. The early completion of Poole's Index to Periodical Literature and ar- rangements for annual or monthly supplements, the preparation of a guide to the special collections and rare and valuable books in the libraries of the United States for the purpose of special research and study, and other enterprises of similar character and intent, are among the purposes which it is hoped to accomplish through the agency of this journal in securing fhe cooperation of all interested in library work. The circulation of such a journal being necessarily limited, the subscription price, in order to put the enterprise on a safe footing, must be made $'-> for the first year. To insure its success will require the hearty cooperation of librarians in pecuniary as well as literary support. Subscriptions should be addressed to F. Leypoldt, 37 Park Row New York; inquiries and other communications to Melvil Dewey, 13 Tremont Place, Boston. XXX Public Libraries in the United States. It may be reasonably expected that, conducted in accordance with the plan above described, under the direction of the gentlemen named, and receiving, as it doubtless will, the hearty support and cooperation of active librarians and educators throughout the country, the Library Journal will find a wide field and abundant opportunities for usefulness. COOPERATIVE CATALOGUES AND INDEXES.' A further illustration of awakened interest, and of the desire to efl'ect cooperation in library work and bring the librarians of diflerent libraries into more intimate relations, is found in the propositions of Professor Robinson and Mr. Winsor in this country, and of a writer in the Academy in England, to economize the labor and expense of cata- loguing and indexing, by associated effort on the part of publishers and librarians of different libraries and countries. These propositions are noticed in detail elsewhere in this report.* PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN CANADA, MEXICO. BRAZIL, AND JAPAN. The following brief notices of public libraries in the countries above named will, it is thought, be of interest to Americans. They comprise all the trustworthy information on the subject that has been found available. Dominion of Canada. Ontario. — Within the past twenty-five years Canada has shared in* the general growth of public libraries. A brief account of the excellent school library system of the province of Ontario will be found in Chap- ter II, pp. 57-58. According to the report of the chief superintendent of education of that province, there were, in 1874, 1,334 libraries of this- class, containing in all 266,046 volumes. An examination of the revised catalogue published by the depart- ment of education shows that great care has been exercised in the choice of books, and that a judicious selection from it would form an excellent library in all departments of literature for adults as well as. for pupils in the public schools. According to the same report, there were also in the province 1^^ other public libraries, not including those of Sunday schools, contain- ing in all 142,732 volumes, making an aggregate of 1,427 public libra- ries, with 408,778 volumes. Quebec. — The following extract from a letter of the secretary of the minister of public instruction of the province of Quebec, dated March 8, 1875, shows the number and extent of public libraries in that province : ' lu a letter dated Auyiist. 4, 1676, Piofessor Kobiu«ou writes : " I may add that 1 have the honor to be chairman of a comoiittee recently appointed at the convocation of the regents in Albany, by the college officers of this State, to devise a general plan oii which the colleges may unite in cataloguing and indexing. I hope something may be-- doue in this direction." ^ See pp. 513, .'314. Introduction. xxxi From the best information we can obtain there are 612 libraries, divided as follows : I^umber. Volumes. Parish libraries 160 92.967 Universities 3 53,500 Colleges, Catholic 12 83,624 Colleges, Protestant 4 2,000 Industrial colleges. Catholic 15 29, 244 Industrial colleges, Protestant 1 70 Normal schools 3 7,850 Academies for boys, and mixed. Catholic 43 7,016 Academies for boys, and mixed, Protestant 29 2, 267 Academies for girls. Catholic 66 33, 923 Model schools. Catholic 233 22,005 Model schools, Protestant 43 2,720 Total 612 337, lb6 If we add to this the library of the local parliament, that of the department of public instruction, and a certain number belonging to the different literary societies, which cannot be less than 100,000 volumes, and which are more or less open to the public, we have a total of 437,186 volumes. The educational reports of the other proviaces ot the Dominion do not afford specific information in regard to libraries. Mexico. The sketcli of the public libraries of Mexico, prepared by Fernando C. Willett, esq., secretary United States legation, Mexico, was kindly furnished by Hon. J. W. Foster, American minister to that republic. The following exhibits the number of states in the republic which have public libra- ries, the number of volumes in each state, and the total number of volumes : Aguas- Calientes, 1,400 ; Campeche, 2,024; Chiapas, 3,758; Durango, 5,022; Guanajuato, 11,382 ; Jalisco, 22,000 ; Mexico, 8,904 ; Michoacau, 12,038 ; Oajaca, 12,922 ; Puebla, 24,821 ; Queretaro, 10,130 ; San Luis Potosi, 2,624 ; Vera Cruz, a library, but not reported ; Yu- catan, 1,143; Zacatecas, 10,000; Federal District, 106,700; making a total of 234,868 volumes. It will thus be seen that of the 29 states and territories of the republic only 16 have any public libraries at all, and respecting those which do exist it should be noted that only a small proportion of the books which they report are of modern dates or of any great value except to the antiquarian and historian, the great majority of them having been obtained from the old ecclesiastical libraries of the closed churches and convents. There are doubtless among these old collections rare copies of valuable works from which something may be realized for the purchase of modern books, but the great bulk of these collections from the convents and churches consists of the religious writings of priests and monks, the value of which almost entirely departed with the age that produced them. The principal library in the republic is the BIBI.IOTECA XACIOXAL. A visit to this library, and an interview with the courteous librarian, Don Joaquin Cardoso, elicited the following facts respecting its origin and present condition : Previous to the promulgation of the laws of reform there existed in the City of Mex- ico the cathedral and university libraries and those of the convents. After the triumph of the liberal party the government came into possession of these libraries, and steps were at once taken to unite them into one, as the basis of a grand national library ; but not until the year 1867 was any definite plan to this end inaugurated. In that year xxxii Ptcblic Libraries in the United States. the fiue old church of Sau Agustiu was taken possession of as a library building, and the work of refitting it for its new nse was begun. The sum of $142,714 Las been appropriated for this purpose, aud when completed it will be one of the fiuest buildiags of its kind on the continent. The work, however, progresses very slowly, and no one, I believe, ventures to predict when it will be finished. In the mean time the large chapel adjoining the church is being used as a library building, where the books are collected, and the work of classification and cataloguing is slowly progressing. It is estimated that there are in all something over 100,000 volumes, but these for the most part are of the character above referred to ; and there being several religious libraries thrown together in the collection, there are, as might be expected, a great many dupli- cates. Some fifteen or twenty young men were consulting books in the reading room when I called, and, ai an indication of the increasing- improvement in the reading habits of the people, the librarian stated that two years ago, when he "first became connected with the management, only four or five would call daily, and they generally only to read the papers or trashy novels. Now the attendance averages over fifty daily, and the demand for scientific, historical, and the better class of literary works is steadily on the increase. For the last four years the sum of $4,000 has been annually appropriated by congress for the purchase of new books, but only a small portion of this sum has been actually expended, as it is not deemed best to increase materially the number of books until the new building is ready for their reception. By law two copies of every work published in Mexico must be presented to this library. CINCO DE MAYO LIBRARY. This is the only other public library in the city of Mexico, and is under the manage- ment of the Lancasterian Society. In the society's report for the last year the follow- ing reference is made to this library : " It is open to the public every day from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, and is constantly attended by persons from all classes of society, but principally by artisans and poor scholars from the national schools, who being in want of text books, are able to procure the use of them in the popular library This establishment received during the year 1873 donations of books not only from the members of the Lahcasteriau Society, but from various other persons, among whom the Messrs. Appleton, of New York, had the goodness to send to the popular library a generous contribution of works of the highest utility." Nearly all the periodicals of the country are found here, but no foreign ones. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. There are in the republic seventy-three associations of this character, of which tweuty-nine are scientific, twenty-one literary, twenty devoted to the cultivation of arts, and three mixed. The most important of all is perhaps the Society of Geography and Statistics. This society was establi;shed in 1851, and comprises among its active members many of the leading scholars of the country. It holds its sessions every Sat- urday, and its discussions cover a much wider range of subjects than the title of the society would indicate, embracing, besides the mere subjects of geography and statis- tics, the various topics of history and science. In the fine building where the meetings are held are the museum and excellent library of the society, the latter being more rich in scientific and historical works than any other in the country. The government annually appropriates $6,000 to defray the expenses of a keeper of the archives, clerk, janitor, and the publication of the society's bulletin. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. The periodical publications in the republic during the year 1874 amounted to 168, of which 18 were scientific; 9, literary; 2, artistic; 26, religious, and 118^ political. Of these there belong to the city of Mexico alone 12 scientific, 3 literary, 4 religious, Introduction. xxxiii aud -20 political pHblications, fourteen of the latter beiu{( daily papers, though it should be uotedthat these dailies are all small, not specially noted for the collection and pub- lication of news, and resorting very little to the use of the telegraph, which now extends to most of the states of the republic. The press association as it exists in the United States is an institution unknown in Mexico,';and there is but one steam printing press in the republic. Brazil. The following iuformatiou respecting the libraries of Brazil is drawn from an official report entitled The Empire of Brazil at the Universal Exhibition of 1876, in Philadelphia. The most important library iu Brazil is the National Public Library, situated at the imperial capital, which numbers more than 120,000 printed volumes, besides valuable collections of manuscripts, maps, charts, and national and foreign newspapers. Of the five main sections or departments into which the library is divided, that of theology numbers 15,000 volumes ; that of history, biography, and voyages, 24,000 volumes; that of science, (moral, politi- cal, and physical,) 39,000 volumes; that of belles-lettres; 10,000 volumes ; that of Greek and Latin classics, 4,000 volumes ; that of arts and trades, about 3,500 volumes ; that of periodical and miscellaneous literature makes np the remainder. The library is free to the public, and is open six days in the week, from 9 a. m. to 2 p. m., and from 6 to 9 p. m. From 1,000 to 1,300 per- sons use the library monthly. Prior to 1873 the yearly grant for the maintenance and increase of the library amounted to £2,500; in 1873 the grant for these purposes was increased to £6,785. At the capital of the empire there are many libraries belonging either to public educational institutions or to associations and religious com- munities, the principal of which are the following : The library of the Faculty of Medicine, 17,317 volumes; the Marine Library, 19,000 vol- umes; Library of the Polytechnic School, 6,000 volumes; Library of the Military School, 2,100 volumes ; the National Museum Library, 8,000 volumes ; Library of the Academy of Fine Arts, 1,000 volumes ; Library of the Imperial Blind Institute, over 1,000 volumes; Portuguese Eead- ing Room Library, 52,000 volumes ; Library Fiuminense, 42,000 volumes ; British Literary Club Library, 6,219 volumes; Germania Association Library, 5,781 volumes ; Historical, Geographical, and Ethnographical Brazilian Institute, 6,841 volumes; St. Benedict's Monastery, 8,000 volumes; the Municipal Library, 14,500 volumes. In the several prov- inces of the empire there are many important libraries, some of which have been recently established under the name of " popular libraries." According to the official document named, the aggregate number of volumes iu all the libraries of the empire which are accessible to the public is 400,272. In 1875, the libraries were attended by 85,044 per- sons. E— III xxxiv Public Libraries in the United States. Not only government, bat private individuals continue to evince solicitude in the establishment of libraries, not only in the capital, bnt in all the provinces of the empire. Japan. As a vivid illustration of the spread of western ideas in regard to popular education among the nations of the East, the free public library recently established at Tokio, in Japan, deserves to be mentioned. For the following brief account of this library we are indebted to the kindness of our countryman, Hon. David Murray, Ph. D,, LL. D., super- intendent of educational affairs in the department of education of the empire of Japan : I think tins library is the first in Japan in which foreign books were to con^stitiite a feature. It is designed to comprise books in Japanese and Chinese, and in European languages. It is a public library, open to all persons, native or foreign, who may desire to con- sult it. In general, the books are not to be taken from the building ; but certain speci- fied classes may, under the sanction of the minister of education, be permitted to borrow from the library. It is in the city of Tokio, (Yedo,) and is now temporarily bestowed in the ancient temple of Confucius, which, although probably the most beautiful building in Tokio, is not specially adapted to the purposes of a library. It was founded by the Mombusho (department of education) and opened to the public in 1875. The nucleus of the col- lection of foreign books was the private library purchased from Hon. Mori-Arinori, formerly the representative of Japan in the United States. By purchase, donation, and otherwise, the foreign department has largely increased. Tlie Japanese and Chinese department has been obtained chiefly from donation by departments of the government and wealthy families. I estimate the foreign collection now to contain, say, G,000 volumes, and the Japanese and Chinese, say, 4,000 volumes. A small annual allowance is made for the support and increase of the library. Ex- traordinary grants will be made from time to time. The management of the libr.ary is in the hands of a bureau of the department of education. CONCLUSION. It is not to be expected that a report covering so long a period of time, and treating of a subject regarding which so little definite information could be obtained from the labors of other investigators, will be com- plete and perfectly accurate ; but it may be fairlj^ claimed that this work, prepared as it has been with painstaking research and attention to accuracy in details of lesser as well as greater importance, may be accepted with a considerable degree of confidence, at least so far as statements of fact are concerned.' Every one who has pursued a sim- ' On pages 446 and 447 of this report it is stated that the shares of the Social Library of Castine, Me., became the property of the town in 18i7. Tiiat statement, made on the authority of the present librarian, is, it appears, incorrect. He states, in a letter dated August 2, 1876, that the town did not establish a public library until March, ISuf), the year- subsequent to the enactment of the state law authorizing the establishment of free town libraries. This information was, unfortunately, received too late for the correction of the error in the proper place, and necessitates this explanation. Introduction. xxxv ilar investigatiou of any subject knows how elusive facts are when ob- scured by the mists of a hundred, fifty, or even twenty-five years ; how difficult the verification of a date a half-century old ; how unsafe a tra- dition or reminiscence of an event antedating the inquiry by even a few years. It will be observed that on several subjects, as cataloguing and novel reading, different opinions are expressed by different contributors ; but as the contrariety in each case respects questions that are still unset- tled and matters of discussion, it is thought quite proper that all sides should be heard. There is also necessarily som.e repetition, resulting from the intimate relations of certain subjects assigned to different con- tributors, who prepared their papers without opportunities for consulta- tion with each other. Usually the texts of both or all have been re- tained, either because each possesses distinctive features of its own, or because the importance of the subject justifies reiteration. In the editorial chapters, the endeavor has been to state facts and the conclusions they appear to justify with as little comment as practicable ; and in the presentation of statistics, the temptation to " estimate " and " approximate " has been steadily resisted. In yo table of statistics in the work does a figure or other item appear that is not substantiated by what in our judgment is the most trustworthy evidence procurable. To the official acknowledgments made elsewhere for assistance and advice in the preparation of this report, the editors desire to add their personal thanks. S. E. WARREN, S. N. CLAEK, EUltors. CHAPTER I. PUBLIC LIBRARIES A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. BY HORACE E. SCL'DDER. Resources fok literary cuLxuiiE a century ago — Proprietary axd subscrip- Tiox libraries — College libraries — Parish libraries. la taking account of the present state of society and education in our country as compared with conditions a hundred years ago, one of the most suggestive points of comparison is in what may be called the im- mediate resources of literary culture. Although true culture can never be attained except by the foregoing of indulgence in meaner pleasures, yet it almost seems as if the day had gone by in the more closely in- habited parts of our country when the obstacles in the way of book- learning required to be overcome by extraordinary means. In our j)rincipal cities and large towns there are free libraries ; bookstores dis- play not only American books but fresh importations constantly from England and the continent, while magazines and newspapers of general or special character are made accessible to the poorest person living in the remotest hamlet. Moreover the business connected with the pro- duction and distribution of literature has become so important an in- dustry that reading is forced upon the notice of people, and by new sys- tems of dealing, the customer for books and periodicals is not waited for but souglit out. A hundred years ago the country was not only sparsely settled, but communication between the different portions was irregular and infre- quent ; there was no highly organized postal system to act as an ex- press from the publisher to his remotest customer; the large towns themselves were very imperfectly supplied with bookstores and print- ing of&ces, and education was much more confined than at present to certain classes of society. The idea of a free public library could hardly find general acceptance until the idea of free public education had be- come familiar to men's minds, and the libraries existing at the time of the Eevolution were necessarily representative of the existing state of public opinion on the subject of culture. They were, with scarcely an exception, either connected directly with 'institutions of learning or the outgrowth of associations of gentlemen having tastes and interests in common. EXPERIENCE OF FEANKLIN. Perhaps nothing could make this clearer than to recite the experience of Benjamin Franklin, who easily represents for us the i)Oor boy of the IE 2 Public Libraries in the United States. period, with a mind quick in its appetite for literary knowledge, and the sagacious citizen whose perception of the wants of his countrymen would lead him to take measures to satisfy them. In what he did not, as well as in what he did, may be read the condition of the most advanced pub- lic sentiment in his time. "From a child," he tells us in his autobi- ography,^ "I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased with the Pilgrim's Progress, my first collection was of John Bunyan's works in separate little volumes. I afterward sold them to enable me to buy E. Churton's Historical Collections; they were small chapmen's books and cheap, forty or fifty in all. My father's little library consisted chiefly of books in polemic divinity, most of which I read, and have since often regretted that, at a time when I had such a thirst for knowledge, more proper books had not fallen iu my way, since it was now resolved I should not be a clergyman. Plutarch's Lives there was in which I read abundantly, and I still think that time spent to great advantage. There was also a book of De Foe's, called an Essay on Projects, and another of Dr. Ma- ther's, called Essays to do Good, which perhaps gave me a turn of thinking that had an influence on some of the principal future events of my life." This bookish inclination, he adds, determined his father to make him a printer, and he was accordingly apprenticed to his elder brother James. " I now had access, " he continues,^ " to better books. An acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me some- times to borrow a small one, which I was careful to return soon and clean. Often I sat up in my room reading the greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in the evening and to be returned early in the morning, lest it should be missed or wanted. And after some time an ingenious tradesman, Mr. Matthew Adams, who had a pretty collection of books, and who frequented our printing-house, took notice of me, invited me to his library and very kindly lent me such books as I chose to read About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator. It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. . . . And now it was that, being on some occasion made ashamed of my igno- rance in figures, which I had twice failed in learning when at school, I took Cocker's book of arithmetic, and went through the whole by my- self with great ease. I also read Seller's and Shermy's books of Naviga- tion, and became acquainted with the little geometry they contain, but never proceeded far in that science ; and 1 read about this time Locke on the Human Understanding and the Art of Thinking, by Messrs. du Port Koyal." These memorabilia of Franklin indicate sufficiently the resources 'The Life of Benjaruia Franklin, written by himself: now first edited from originai manuscripts and from his printed correspondence and other writings. By John IJig- elow, Philadelphia, 1875, vol. i, p. 105. s Ibid., p. 107. Public Lihraries a Hundred Years Ago. 3 which a bright boy of the time — the first quarter of the lastjCentury — had in Boston. A few theological books in his father's library, the use of a book now and then from the bookstore, the chance of borrowing from a " pretty collection of books," and the occasional purchase of a book which was mastered and turned inside out by use, as in the case of the odd volume of the Spectator, which served him, as he tells us, for a copy-book in his attempts at producing literature — these were his lit- erary resources. He was about seventeen years old when he left Boston and began that striking career which has especially identified him, so far as his fame and his induence had losal bounds, with the city of Philadelphia. It was by chance, seemingly, that he went there. One printer only was in New York at the time, and he had no employment for him, but told him that the recent death of a young man in Philadelphia had left a vacancy in a printing office there, and, consequently, Franklin ex- tended his journey to that town. It gives us a lively notion of the slight place which literature held in the economy of the time, when we discov^er that, in 1723, there was but one printer in New York and two only in Philadelphia, both of these poorly qualified for their business, one being illiterate though bred to the business, and the other something of. a scholar but ignorant of press-work. Perhaps an even more significant commentary is in the incident related by Franklin of his return to Philadelphia the next year, when he had been to Boston and had brought back with him his books, together with those of his friend Collins, "a pretty collection of mathematics and natural philoso- phy." Franklin brought the books with him in a sloop by which he traveled from Boston to New York. " The then governor of New York," he relates,' "Burnet, (son of Bishop Burnet,) hearing from the captain that a young man, one of his passengers, had a great many books, desired he would bring me to see him. I waited upon him ac- cordingly, and should have taken Collins with me but that he was not sober. The governor treated me with great civility, showed me his library, which was a very large one, and we had a good deal of conver- sation about books and authors. This," he adds complacently, " was the second governor who had done me the honor to take notice of me, which, to a poor boy like me, was very pleasing." THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. It was about six years after this, when Franklin was fairly established in Philadelphia as a printer, that his interest in philosophy and litera- ture led him to combine with certain associates to form a debating soci- ety, called " The Junto," which grew into the American Philosophical Society, and also was the cause of the establishment of what he calls 1 Ibid., p. 138. 4 FuUic Libraries in the United, States. " tbe mother of all the North American subscription libraries."^ His account^ of the origin of the library is interesting for the picture it gives of the period: At tlie time I established myself iu Philadelphia, there was uot a good bookseller's shop in any of the colonies to the southward of Boston. In New York and Philadel- phia, the printers were indeed stationers; they sold only paper, etc., almanacs, ballads, and a few common school-books. Those who loved reading were obliged to send for their books from England ; the members of the Junto had each a few. We had left the ale-house, where we first met, and hired a room to hold our club iu. I proposed that we should all of us bring our books to that room, where they would not only be ready to consult in our conferences, but become a common benefit, each of us being at liberty to borrow such as he wished to read at home. This was accordingly done and for some time contented us. . . . The number was uot so great as we expected ; and though they had been of great use, yet some iuconveniences occurring for want of due care of them, the collection, af.er about a year, was separated, and each took his books home again. And now I set on foot my first project of a public nature, that for a subscription library. . . . I drew a sketch of the plan and rules that would be necessary, and got a skillful conveyancer, Mr. Charles Brockden, to put the whole in form of articles of agreement to be subscribed, by which each subscriber engaged to pay a certain sum -down for the firet purchase of books, aud an annual contribution for increasing them. So few were the readers at that time in Pliiladelphia, and the majority of us so poor, that I was not able, with great industry, to find more than fifty persons, mostly young trades- men, willing to pay down for this purpose forty shillings each, aud ten shillings per an- num. On this little fund we began. The books were imported ; the library was open one day in the weekfor lending to the subscribers, on their promissory notes to pay double the value if not duly returned. The institution soon manifested its ability, was imi- tated by other towns, and in other provinces. The libraries were augmented by do- nations ; reading became fashionable ; and our people having no public amusements to divert their attention from study, became better acquainted with books, and in a few years were observed by straugers to be better instructed and more intelligent than people of the same rank generally are in other countries. In 1732 the first books were received from London, arrangements for settling the bills having been made with Peter Collinson, mercer, iu Gracious street, London. This gentleman took a lively interest in the matter, and himself added two books, which he accompanied with the following letter :^ London, July 22, 1732. Gentlemen : I am a stranger to most of you but not to your laudable design to erect a public library. I beg your acceptauce of my mite, Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy and Philip Miller's Gardener's Dictionary. It will be an instance of your candour to accept the intention and good will of the giver and not regard the meanness of the gift. I wish you success, and am, with much respect, yours, PETER COLLINSON. The books were at first kept in the chamber of Eobert Grace, one of Franklin's friends, and an associate in establishing the library. A libra- rian was iu attendance an hour on Wednesday and two hours on Satur- day, and he was allowed to permit, as the record shows, " any civil gentleman to peruse the books of the library in the library room, but ' Ibid., p. 208. ' Ibid.^ p. 2<>0. 3 Notes for a history of the Library Company of Philadelphia, [by W. Smith.,] published in Waldio's Portfolio. Philadelphia, 1835. Part ii, p. 100. (Sept. 26.) Piiblic Libraries a Hundred Years Ago, 5 not to lend or to suflfer to be taken out of the library, by any person who is not a subscribing member, any of the said books, Mr. James Logan only excepted." ^ The exception is a notable one, Mr. Logan being at the time a Friend, advanced in years, who had been secretary to William Penn, and having a high reputation as a man of learning and a collector of books, had been consulted by the young associates as to the choice of their books. Joseph Breiutnall, Philip Syng,and Benjamin Franklin were afterward presented with the freedom of the company, that is, excused from paying the yearly contribution; Breintnall for his trouble as secretary six years, Syng for engraving the seal, and Franklin for printing notices each two years. Something of the simplicity of the early years of the library may be discovered in the entries which appear in the records shortly after the formation. Thus we read that, "one of the subscribers having some weeks ago brought to the library a book for the directors to see, and buy if they pleased, belonging to a gentleman lately from London, who is a transient person, the committee this night agreed to buy it for the library, and ordered the librarian to pay the price of fifteen shillings for it, that being less than a cent on the first cost, and the book undefaced. To be paid out of money received for forfeitures or penalties from bor- rowers of books delinquent. 'Tis a Voyage to the South Seas and along the coast of Chili and Peru in the years 1712, 13, and 14, by Mons. Fre- zier, in folio, with thirty seven copper cuts, and well printed and bound on good paper." ^ Ou the 12th of March, 1733, William Rawle presented "six volumes or books of the works of Mr. Edmund Spenser;" whereat the worthy secretary observes, after stating that the directors kindly received this gift for the company, "the famous old English poem called Spenser's Fairy Queen is included in these works.' ^ TnE UNION, ASSOCIATION, AND AMICABLE LIBRARY COMPANIES MERGED IN THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. In 1740 the books were removed to the upper room of the western- most office of the State-house, the use of which had been granted to the company by the assembly. One more removal was made in 1773 to the second floor of Carpenters' Hall, where the library remained until the present building was erected. The company was regularly incorporated in 1742, and by its general prosperity and its excellent management gradually drew to itself other collections of books. Thus in 17G9 the Union Library Company, in 1771 the Association Library Company and the Amicable Company were merged in the Philadelphia Library Com- pany as the institution was called. These libraries were established sub- sequently to the Philatlelphia Library, and were indeed suggested by it. THE LOGANIAN LIBRARY. A more importantjunqtion, however, was that of the Loganian Library, which still forms an important and individual part of the library. James 1 Ibid., p. 100. 6 Public Libraries in the United States. Logan, wbom the young tradesmen had consulted when they began their adventure, had himself a valuable private library, especially rich in classical and foreign works, which he had been fifty years gathering. The character and value of these books may be inferred from the fol- lowing extract from Mr. Logan's will : lu my library, which I have left to the city of Philadelphia for the advancement and facilitating of classical learning, are above one hundred volumes of authors, iu folio, all iu Greek, with mostly their versions. All the Roman classics without exception. All the Greek mathematicians, viz, Archimedes, Euclid, Ptolemy, both his geography and almagest, which I had in Greek, (withTheon's commentary, in folio, above 700 pages) from my learned friend Fabricius, who published fourteen volumes of his Bibliotheqne Grecque, in quarto, iu which after he had finished his account of Ptolemy on my in- quiring of him at Hamburgh, how I should find it, having long sought for it iu vain in Eugland, he sent it to me out of his own library telling me it was so scarce, that neither prayers nor price could purchase it : besides there are many of the most valu- able Latin authors, and a great number of modern mathematicians, with all the three editions of Newton, Dr. Watts, Halley, etc. What a pleasing glimpse this allows us of the book hunter and the book-reader as well. He found time to play a little with literature, and when about sixty years old made a translation of Cicero's tract De Senectute, enriched with notes, which Franklin printed ten years after- ward, himself furnishing a preface. He proposed to erect this collec- tion into a public library, and accordingly, in 1745, conveyed a lot of ground on the west side of Sixth street, between Chestnut and Walnut streets, with a building,^ and some- three thousand books to trustees for this purpose, at the same time placing certain rents in their hands to defray the expenses of a librarian and to increase the library. •He afterward canceled the deed and began the preparation of another, but died before he completed it. After his death, his widow and heirs made a trust-deed, carrying out his wishes. By this deed it was pro- vided " that there should be a perpetual succession of trustees, part of whom should be of the descendants of James Logan, preferring the male line to the female, as long as any of his descendants remained ; that one of his male descendants, taken in priority of birth, and prefer- ring the male line to the female line, should be librarian of the said public library, with a power of employing deputies; that the library should be opened for the public use of the citizens, and that books might be borrowed thereout under certain restrictions." ^ This, we be- lieve, is the only case iu America where a public ofliee is hereditary. A younger brother of James Logan, Dr. William Logan, of Bristol, England, collected many books, which fell to the possession of James Logan's son William, who added to the number, and bequeathed i hem, some thir- ' On page 7 will be found a view of this building, the first iu the United States devoted to the uses of a public library. — Editors. ^Cata'ogue of the Books belonging to the Logauian Library, to which is prefixed a short account of the Institution, with the law for annexing the said library to that belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Rules regulatiug the manner of conducting the same. Philadelphia, 1795, p. vi. LOGANIAN LIBKART, l745-'50. 7-8 Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 9 teen hundred volumes, to the library of which he had been librarian, in accordance with the terms of the trust. After his death, however, in 1776, the library remained closed for several years, and fiuallj'^, in 1792, the only surviving trustee, of those originally appointed, James Logan, at Franklin's suggestion, applied to the legislature of Pennsylvania to vest the property in the Library Company. This was accordingly done by an act which provided that the books should be kept separate, and that one of the trustees should continue to be a descendant of James Logan, but the librarianship was not so restricted, the office passing into the control of the Philadelphia Library Company. The Loganian Library, as we have seen, was chiefly a library for scholars, but the origin of the Philadelphia Library had the effect to make its books read by all classes. There is a small volume of letters,* published in 1774, written by Eev. Jacob Duche, an Episcopal clergy- man, residing in Philadelphia, in which the writer says : " You would be astonished at the general taste for books which prevails among all orders and ranks of people in this city. The librarian (of the City Library) assured me that for one person of distinction and fortune there were twenty tradesmen that frequented this library.'' In another letter ho says : There is less distinction among the citizens of PhiladeFphia than amono; those of any- other civilized city in the world Literary accomplishments here meet -with deserved applause. But such is the prevailing taste for books of every kind, that almost every man is a reader ; and by pronouncing sentence, right or wrong, upon the various- publications that come in his way, puts himself upon a level, in point of knowledge, with their several authors. ^ The character of the books at first composing the Philadelphia Library may be guessed to have reflected to a considerable degree Frankliu's^ own taste. He printed a catalogue in 1741, and afterward, without date, but presumably within a few years, a list of " books added to the library since 1741." These two catalogues, which have no other arrange- ment, than the mechanical division of books into folio, quarto, octavo, and duodecimo, show very simply, within certain limits, the class of books most in vogue at that time in Philadelphia. Of theological books^ and controversial tracts there is scarcely one. There is rather a small allowance of books in polite literature; but travels, science, philosophy,, natural history, and especially the mechanic arts, are well represented. History makes a good show, but politics is not very prominent. A single page in the catalogue is devoted to a short account of the library^ probably by Franklin, in which there is held out an inducement to sub- scribe to the stock. A share, it declares, " is now valued at £G 10s. But for this small sum, which, laid out in books, would go but a little ' Observations on a variety of subjects, literary, moral, and religious ; in a series of Original Letters written by a gentleman of foreign extraction who resided some time iu Philadelphia. Revised by a Friend, to whose hands the manuscript was committed for publication. Philadelphia, 1774. 2Ibid., p. 11. 3ibiil.,p. 29-30. 10 Public Libraries in the United States. way, every member has the use of a Library now worth upwards of jCoOO, whereby knowledge is in this city rendered more cheap and easy to become at, to the great pleasure and advantage of the studious part of the inhabitants. It is now ten years since the company was first established; and we have the pleasure of observing. That tho' 'tis compos'd of so many Persons of different Sects, Parties and ways of Thinking, yet no Differences relating to the affairs of the Library have arisen among us; but every Thing has been conducted with great Har- mony, and to general Satisfaction. Which happy Circumstance will, we hope, always continue."^ The character of the library at a later period may be inferred from the correspondence which passed between the committee on importation and their London agents in 1783, when, after an enforced restraint of nine years, the library resumed its collecting. In their letter accompanying a remittance of £200, the committee say : " We shall confide entirely in your judgement to procure us such books of modern publication as will be proper for a public library, and though we would wish to mix the utile with the dulce, we should not think it €xpedient to add to our present stock anything in the novel way ;'' ^ a principle of selection which has largely governed since. The Philadelphia Library passed through the scenes of the Revolu- tion without suffering any special detriment. Fears, indeed, were enter- tained for it, and an attempt was twice made, without effect, to call a general meeting for the purpose of empowering the directors to remove the books and effects of the company in case of an emergency. Both of the opposing parties had the benefit of the library. In August, 1774, it was, upon motion, ordered "that the librarian furnish the gen- tlemen who are to meet in congress in this city, with such books as they may have occasion for during their sitting, taking a receipt from them ;"3 and the British army officers who occupied the city during the winter of 1777-'78 were in the habit of using the library, but invaria- bly paid for the privilege. At the close of the war the number of books was about five thousand. PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY BUILDING. The library was housed in its present quarters in 1790, the first stone of the edifice being laid August 31, 1789. A tablet was prepared and inserted in the building bearing this inscription : Be it remembered ia honor of the Philadelphia youth (then chiefly artificers) that in M D CC XXX I . they cheerfully, at the instance of Benjamin Franklin * A Catalogue of books belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia. Philadel- phia, 1741, p. 56. 2 Smith's notes, in Waldie's Portfolio, p. 102. 3 Ibid, p. 102. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 11 one of their number, instituted the Philadelphia Library ■which, though small at first, is become highly valuable and extensively useful, and which the walls of this edifice are now destined to contain and preserve : the first stone of whose foundation was here placed the thirty-first day of August 1769. The inscription was prepared by Franklin, with the exception of the reference to himself, which was inserted by the committee. The refer- ence was deserved, though it may be doubted whether the committee in inserting it did not seek the honor which Franklin's name lent to the library quite as much' as they sought to add to his fame. He probably felt more direct interest in the companion Philosophical Society, to which he left a larger bequest in books ; and it does not appear that during his lifetime, after the first institution of the library, he either added much to its collection or gave much thought to it. His absence from America would naturally withdraw him from it, while his connec- tion with the more personal Philosophical Society was easier to main- tain. Be this as it may, the conception of a free public library, as now held, did not occur to Franklin, while the scheme for aiding apprentices, which lay nearer his heart, has been practically dissipated, owing to changes in the social condition of the people, which he did not foresee. The statue of Frankin, which occupies a niche in the front of the building, was. given by William Bingham, who, in consultation with the directors, learned that Dr Franklin " would approve of a gown for his dress and a Roman head."^ It would be a curious inquiry to learn what successive distortions of some simple remark of the doctor re- sulted in this queer recipe for a statue. However, Mr. Bingham, to make sure of the Roman head perhaps, sent an order to Italy, accom- panied with a bust belonging to the Pennsylvania Hospital and a draw- ing of the figure. The resultant statue, we are told, was regarded by his contemporaries as showing a good likeness. Franklin called the Philadelphia Library the mother of all the Korth American subscription libraries, and while some of those existing when he wrote, (1771,) have very possibly been allowed to die, there still remain several libraries whose origin dates from near the period when this present enterprise attracted attention from its success. UNION AND CHESTER LIBRARY COMPANIES. In Pennsylvania there were two other libraries of similar character; one, in Hatborough, a town about sixteen miles north of Philadelphia, the Union Library, founded in 1755, and, perhaps, saved from the fate of other libraries by a bequest which in later years brought a substan- ' ' 'Ibid., p. .103. 12 Public Libraries in the United States. tial building for its preservation ; the other in Chester, the oldest town in the State, the library company being formed in 17C9 by an associa- tion of citizens who contributed thirty shillings each. JULIANA LIBRARY. A third library, dating from 1770, is the Juliana Library, in Lancaster, established by Thomas Penn, one of the proprietaries, and named by him after his wife. But this probably cannot be classified among the subscription libraries. The Juliana Library maintained an indepen- dent but not very animated existence until about 1838, when the books were sold to pay long accruing rents to the heirs of Caspar Weitzel, the last librarian, in whose house the books had been kept. Some of the books found their way into, the Juvenile Library and Young Men's Reading-Room of Lancaster,^ some into a private circulating library, and some were scattered among private citizens; but there is little to show that the library ever had any other impetus than that given by the original founder. CHARLESTON LIBRARY SOCIETY. Outside of Pennsylvania, several libraries appear in the old colonies which may very possibly point to the Library Company as the original suggestion. "The Charleston (S. C.) Library Society" — we quote from the preface to the catalogue of 182G — "owes its origin to seventeen young men who, in the year 1748, associated for the purpose of raising a small fund to collect such new pamphlets and magazines as should occasionally be published in Great Britain. They advanced and re- mitted to London ten pounds sterling as a fund to purchase such pam- phlets as had appeared during the current year, acting at first under a mere verbal agreement and without a name. Beibre the close of the year their views became more extensive ; and on the 28th of December rules for the organization of the society were ratified and signed, when they assumed the name of a Library Society, and made arrangement for the acquisition of books as well as pamphlets; . . . the society be- came popular, and before the close of the year 1750 numbered more than one hundred and sixty members." ^ An effort was made to obtain an act of incorporation. For three successive years applications were made to the colonial assembly, and upon defeat by the governor's veto, to the privy council in Great Britain, but without success. It is difficult now to ascertain the causes which created these obstructions to the incorporation of a literary society. But the effect was iujurious, and had nearly pro- duced a dissolution of the association. The members finally resolved to place their funds at interest, and make no further purchases until a charter could be obtained.* The act of incorporation was finally secured in 1755. From this time the progress of the society was rapid and satisfactory. The members continued to invest a portion of their income in bouds, and soon began to embrace in ■Catalogue of the books belonging to the Charltstou Library Society. Charleston, 182G, p.viii. = Ibid.,p. iv. Piiblic Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 13 their views the establishruent.of an institution for education in connection with their library. Such \7a8 the increase of their funds that in January, 1775, the amount in bonds was £18,000 (about $11,000) and between two and three thousand pounds were added to this sum between this period and the 1st of January. 1778. The library of the society, at the same time, was receiving regular addition from annual purchases, and the donations of individuals, which were then frequent. Great attention appears, from the minutes'of the society, to have been paid, at this period, to classical literature, and many discussions took place as to the portion of the funds which should be annu- ally applied to this department. The collection of classical authors, and of commenta- tors on the classics, was not only respectable from its number, but valuable for the eelection; for some excellent scholars then superintended this portion of its labors.^ m'kenzie library a tart of the society library. The society kept to its intentiou to establish a college eventually, and this probably " induced Mr. John M'Kenzie, a lawyer of eminence, wbo died in 1771, to bequeath a valuable" library to the society for the use of a college, when erected in the province. . . . These books were received, distinctly marked, and always kept apart from the books of the society."^ This library, like others, as we shall see, suffered considerably from the derangement of society and affairs during the Eevolution, when Charles- ton was occupied by the British, and also by the calamity of fire, which iu other cases also wrought great havoc, so that of the five or six thou- sand volumes which had beeu carefully collected, only one hundred and eighty-five were, saved. The M'Kenzie library fared better j its size is not indicated, but the statement is made that two-thirds of the books were saved. For several years the society kept alive as a social club, and the books that had been saved, together with the few added from time to time, served as a nucleus for the present library, which was or- ganized anew in 1790. winyaw indigo society. The only other public library south of Philadelphia which we can discover to have existed prior to the Eevolution, is that which was attached t© the academy under the control of the Winyaw Indigo Society, in Georgetown, S. C. This society, formed about the year 1740, by the planters of Georgetown district, was originally a social club, which met once a month to discuss the latest news from London and the culture of indigo, the staple product of the county. The initiation fees and annual subscription of the members were paid in indigo, and as the expenses were light, there had accumulated by 1753, a sum which seemed to require some special application. The loresident of the society proposed that the surplus fund should be devoted to the establishment of an Independent Charity School for the Poor; and out of this proposi- tion sprang the establishment of a school which, for more than a hun- dred years, was the chief school for all the country lying between Charleston and the North Carolina line, and resorted to by all classes. ' Ibid., p. iv. - Ibid., p. v. 14 PuMic Libraries in the United States. The society was chartered ia 1755, and a library was accumulated, but no records remain to indicate how large it became — the occupation of the academy building at Georgetown during the late war leading to the destruction both of papers and books. NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY. In the Northern States there were others, some of which still exist in dififerent degrees of prospority. The present New York Society Library was incorporated in 1754, twelve years after the incorporation of the Philadelphia Company. It did not at first take that name, but that of the City Library-, and owed its origin to the efforts of a body of gentlemen who clubbed together for the purpose and raised in a few days nearly £000,^ which was laid out in the purchase of about seven hundred volumes of " new, well chosen books." The books were at first deposited in the City Hall, and with them were placed what remained of two previous collections of books, one a small library pre- sented in 1700, by Bev.* John Sharp, chaplain of Lord Bellamont, the other a gift from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to whom, in 1729, alibrary of 1,G22 volumes^ had been bequeathed by the Rev. John Millington, rector of Newington, England. This last gift was made to New York " for the use of the clergy and gentlemen of New York and the neighboring provinces," and the two collections were for a time thus maintained; but the librarian dying, the books were neglected and almost forgotten, until the founding of the Society Library in 1754, called fresh attention to them. In 1772, a charter was granted to the society under the name it now bears, but the war not only interrupted the growth of the library, but nearly destrDyed it. It appears from the minutes that " the accidents of the late war having nearly destroyed the former library, no meeting of the proprietors for the choice of trustees was held from the last Tuesday of April 1774, until Saturday, 21.st December, 1788, when a meeting was summoned and the operations of the society were resumed." ^ In 1789, the original charter was revived, a new collection was begun, and in 1793, a cata- logue was published containing about five thousand titles. It is plain, therefore, that when Benjamin Franklin and John Collins, two young tradesmen, brought their books in a sloop from Boston to New York, the event was significant enough to lead Governor Burnet to make the acquaintance of a young man who contrasted in respect to his love for literature with those about him. It was the gentlemen, indeed, of New York, who, perhaps under the example of the Philadelphia mechanics, - In New York curreucy, or $1,500. — Editous. 2<'J^riZ 22, 1730.— The library from the society for propagating the gospel, etc., arrives, being 1,64'2 voluoies to be pyiced in the City Hall until a place be made to receive them." History of the Now Netherlands Province of New York, etc., by Will- iam Dunlap, New York, 1840, v. ii, appendix, clxii. — Editors. ' Alphabetical and analytical catalogno of the New York Society Library, with a brief historical notice of the institution, the original articles of association in 1754, and the charter and by-laws of the society. New York, 1838, p. viii. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 15 clubbed together to form the Society Library, and it was in a similar class of society that the Eedwood Library of Newport, had its origin. REDWOOD LIBRARY. There was in Newport a literary and philosophical society, founded in 1730, though it does not appear that a collection of books formed at first any important part of their plans. It was founded in part by Bishop Berkeley, who was at this time residing in Rhode Island, a colony exceptionally marked by its wealth and culture. Newport then held a relative commercial importance much beyond its present position, and New York was described as " near Newport." Out of the action of the society there grew a demand for a library, and finally in 17.47, the gift to the society of £500 sterling, from Abraham Redwood, for the purchase of books led to the inauguration of direct measures. Mr. Redwood's gift was a liberal one, but we have rarely seen an acknowledgment of a public benefaction so grandiose as the following, taken from an early catalogue of the Redwood Library. It seems to be in keeping with the general sentiment among book-men, that led them to catalogue and classify their books according to their size, treating folios with a respect which those clumsy books seldom receive in this day. The generous Abraham Redwood Esq ; of Newport on Rhode-Island, sensible of the distinguishing Favour, whereby Heaven had blessed bim with an ample Fortune, pro- posed to acknowledge it by a Design, which could only be the genuine Effect of a grateful Mind, the improving the Place of his Residence in Knowledge and Virtue; that from the Inhabitants some Revenues of Honour might return and be paid to the Douo"i: of all Mercies. To accomplish this happy End, he freely, and without a Prompter, devoted and paid down Five Hundred Pounds Sterling, for purchasing a Liurarv of all Arts and Sciences, put under the most prudent Limitations and Restrictions ; whereuuto the curious and impatient Enquirer after Resolution of Doubts, and the bewildered Ignorant, miglit freely repair for Discovery and Demonstration to the one, and true Knowledge and Satisfaction to the other ; nay to inform the Mind in both, in order to reform the Practice. Now to conduct this Design to the best Advantage, he proposed to form a Company of some of the best Repute and Character, who might join in Consultation upon the most suitable Methods to bring so important a Pioject to a happy Issue.i REDWOOD LIBRARY BUILDING.^ Five thousand pounds^ were subscribed in the town for a suitable 'Laws of the Redwood Library Company. Newport, 1764, p. 3. 2 A view of this building is given page 17. "An Historical Sketch of the Redwood Library and Athenaum," by David King, M.D., contains the following description: "The Library Building, which is a beautiful specimen of the Doric order, was begun in 1748 and completed in 1750. The plan was furnished by Peter Harrison, assist- ant architect of Blenheim House, England. The principal front is ornamented with a portico of four Doric columns seventeen feet in he ight and projecting nine feet from the walls of the building. The edifice consists of a main building and two small wings. The wings furnish two rooms, each about twelve feet square. The principal Library room, occupying the hall of the main building, is thirty-seven feet long, twenty- sis feet broad, and nineteen feet in height. The building on the outside is worked in imitation of rustic and is adorned by the ornaments appropriate to the Doric order." The building was enlarged in 1858. In 1875 further es:tensive additions were begun, which will be finished the present year. — Editors. 3 Colonial currency.— Editors. 16 Public Libraries in the United States. library building, and iti 1750 the present beautiful bouse was built upon land which had been given by Henry Collins. The books bought were mainly of a classical and theological cast, these being the lines of study chiefly pursued by the scholars of the day, and the pro- vision in Newport was for the gentlemen of the colony. Such was the attraction of this library that it was the principal inducement to Dr. Ezra Stiles to Mx his residence in Newport in 1755, and there he re- mained for twenty years, acting as librarian, and by his influence drew many books to the shelves. There is a suggestive entry on the fly-leaf of Montanus' Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, in the handwriting of Dr. Stiles, showing the primitive maq- ner in which books were bought, and perhaps, also, the value set upon a work which required such a company of gentlemen to lift it. Jan. 5, 1774. — Montanus' Polyglot &c in 8 vols., folio, price 21^^ dollars or £4 I6s. sterling was given to the Eedwood Library in Newport, E. I., by the following persons; viz., the Hon. Abraham Eedwood Esq., the founder, two guineas, or 9^ dollars ; Mr. Francis Malbone 1 dollar; Mr. James Eod Eivera, 1^ dollar; Mr. Aaron Lopez, 1 dollar ; Dr. William Hunter, 1 dollar ; Mr. John Bours, 1 dollar ; Mr. Isaac Hart, 1 dollar; Mr. Samuel Eodoian, 1 dollar; Mr. John Cranston, 1^ dollar; Ezra Stiles,! dollar ; viz. 21^ dollars. The books received find deposited in the Eedwood Library by Ezra Stiles, librarian. i From the years 1750 to 1310, not a single tax was laid on the proprie- tors to increase the library. The books bought with Mr. Kedwood's money were considered at the time the finest collection of works on theology, history, the arts and sciences in the American colonies, and very possibly this deterred merchants and others in Newport from giving money further, leading Dr. Stiles to resort to si)ecial subscrip- tions when he wished to purchase particular books. Gifts, indeed, of value, were made from time to time ; but the revenues of the library arising from fines and an annual tax of twenty shillings on each share, were employed for discharging officers' salaries, incidental charges, and unavoidable repairs. The occupation of Newport by the enemy during the Revolution broke up Dr. Stiles's congregation, so that he removed to Portsmouth, N. H., and with the destruction of the commercial prosperity came the reduction of the place to an unimportant town. The library, as in the case of the New York Societ^y Library, suffered during the war, and no meetings of the company were held from 1778 to 1785. The building was defaced, many of the books carried off", and it became necessary to begin almost anew the collection and cataloguing of books, a matter which was the more difficult since the glory of the town had quite de- parted, and upon the death of Mr. Kedwood in 1788, the interest in the library became feebler. The revival of society interest in Newport has led, however, to a renewed prosperity for the library. 1 A catalogue of the Eedwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, E. I., together with a supplement, addenda ai>d index of subjects and titles ; showing all the books belonging to th^ company on the 1st of June, 1880; to which is prefixed a short account of the institution, with the charter, laws and regulations. Boston, 1860, p. xii. REDWOOD LIBRARY, 1748-'50. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 19 PROVIDENCE LIBRARY. There was another librar^^ in Ehode Island, less conspicuous than the Redwood — the Providence Library. It was established in 1753, and suffered the customary trial by fire in 1758, when, along with the town- house, in which it was placed, it was burned, only about seventy volumes, loaned at the time to members, being saved. An effort was made by the proprietors in 1762 to revive it, and some books were imported from Lon- don and i)laced in the new court house, the occupation of a room there being granted in consideration of the free use of the library by the mem- bers of the assembly. The library must have received considerable attention, for in 1768, when the population of Providence was less than four thousand, the proprietors had collected nearly a thousand volumes. It was for a time the only library used by Rhode Island College, after- ward Brown University, which removed to Providence from Warren in 1770. The books were badly used, partly on account of the somewhat irresponsible bauds in which they were placed, and the company accord- ingly sought an act of incorporation, which was granted in 1708. It kept up an independent existence until 1836, when it was united with the Providence Athenaeum. EARLY LIBRARY AT PORTLAND, ME. The city of Portland, Me., had not the relative importance to Provi- dence in its earlier days that it now has; but it was one of the few towns possessing a library formed by the voluntary contribution of citizens. We copy from a paragraph in William Willis's History of Portland : The state of literature iu towu previous to the Revolution was not of a very ele- vated character; nor indeed from the situation of the people could much have been expected. Yet when the small population of the Neck is considered, not exceeding 1,900 at the ver^' eve of the war, perhaps it contained as large a proportion of edu- cated men as any other place in that day. In 1763 several gentlemen upon the Neck, desirous of promoting the ditfusion of useful knowledge and extending the means of information, made some attempts to establish a library. In 1765, twenty-six persons had associated together for this pui-pose, all but two or three of whom lived upon the Neck. The progress of their laudable undertsfking was extremely slow, and at the open- ing of the library in 1766 it contained but ninety-three volumes, of which ancient and modern universal history comprised sixty-two volumes, just two-thirds of the whole number. Only part of this work was first put in, but in 1765 a subscription was raised among the members to complete the set, and £39 1.5s. were contributed on this occasion. Books at that period were not thrown from the press with the rapidity and iu the quantity they are at this time : book-shops were rare, and all works of standard value were imported from England. It will be seen that among those which constituted the first library here, not one was printed in this country. Not much addition was made to the books previous to the Revolution, and in the destruction of the town, the little coHection was widely dispersed and a number of the books lost.i Such of the books as remained were afterward deposited iu the Portland Athenseum. iThe History of Portland from 1632 to 1864, with a notice of previous settlements, colonial grants and changes of government in Maine. By William Willis. Portland, 1865, p. 380. 20 Public Libraries in the United States. REVOLVING LIBRARY. A library, half public, half private, that dates from the same period is the " Revolving Library, for the benefit of the first and second par- ishes in Kittery, (Maine,) and one in York." This library, which, true to its name, revolved bodily upon a small axis, was the result of a gift of Sir William Pepperell and others of books from their private libraries for use as above. The books were at first in the possession of the Rev. Benjamin Stevens, pastor of the first church at Kittery from 1751 to 1790, and the collection had grown, by a special gift from Sir William's son, until the whole library was quite a substantial one of standard books. After Mr. Stevens's death the library for a time remained with his son-in-law, the Rev. J. Buckminster, and then began its revolutions, falling into the hands successively of the oldest settled minister, and traveling about among the parishes. It probably never numbered over three hundred books, and it may be guessed that its wandering life was not calculated to increase the number of the volumes. "Two years ago, (1873,)'' writes a friend, who lately saw the library, " when the present pastor at Kittery Point took possession of the parsonage, he found the library dumped down on the attic floor, like a load of coal, the wife of the former incumbent considering books unhealthy, and so being unwilling to have them in any living-room. The books are now placed on shelves in the minister's study, and though man y have fallen out of the ranks, it contains fine old valuable copies of the standard works of the last century." SOCIAL LIBRARY AT SALEM. In 1760, a number of gentlemen united to form the Social Library of Salem, Mass., placing the shares at five guineas each, and making the number of shares thirty-two. The library could not have been very extensive. A catalogue was published in 1809, showing about 800 books. On a fly-leaf of the copy in the Harvard library is written : A few of us also possess iu this town of Salem a Philosopaical Library of several hun- dred volumes, including the memoirs of the French Academy from the beginning, the Royal Society Transactions from the beginning, Memoirs of the Berlin Academy, American edition of the British Encyclopedia, Harris's Lexicon Technicum, &c., be- sides the philosophical works of Boyle, Newton, Wolf, Leibnitz, Bernouille, Buftou, Franklin, Priestley, Maupertius, «&c., and works by Smith, Maclaurin, Leadbetter, Keil, Stewart, Arbuthnot, Rehault, Spalanzini, Pringle, Price &c., and of several Literary Institutions. This library was captured during the war by an American privateer from a vessel crossing the Irish channel, brought to Beverly, and sold to the gentlemen of the Philosophical Society. It belonged originally to Ur. Richard Kirwan, who, with very good grace, declined to receive the remuneration which the society ofl'ered him. SOCIAL LIBRARY AT LEOMINSTER, MASS. The Leominster, Mass., Social Library was formed in 1763, with about one hundred volumes. For fifty-two years it was kept in the library of Puhlic Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 21 the Eev. Francis Grardner. The case which held it is still in the posses- sion of his niece, Miss E. G. Gardner, and it is designed to deposit it in the Public Library. It hardly seems worth while, perhaps, to call a hundred books a library, but it should be remembered that at that early day we were still colonists of Kiug George, and American literature was still a thing of the futiire. In 1820 the books of this old library were sold and the proceeds invested in a new collection bearing the same name, SECOND SOCIAL LIBRARY AT HINaHaM, MASS. This library, still in existence and containing 1,750 volumes, was begun in 1773. Owing to the absence of records no facts respecting its earl}^ history can be obtained except that, in 1793, there were seventy- six shareholders. •The libraries, then, mentioned above, represent the chief means of general literary culture open to Americans a hundred years or more ago : one in Philadelphia, two or three small ones in Pennsylvania, one in Charleston, one in New York, one in Newport, one in Providence, one in Portland, one in Salem, one in Leominster, one in Hingham, and the Revolving Library 'of Kittery and York. But the distinction between these public libraries and the libraries connected with colleges was not so great then as now, so far as the persons using them are concerned. The Philadelphia Library was an exception and a very interesting one, but the other libraries were mainly formed and used by the persons who in other places, as Cambridge and New Haven, would be using the college libraries. Harvard Library was at the service of the educated men in Boston and the neighborhood, and the same is true of the other college libraries, though they were, of course, most convenient for facul- ties and students. The idea of a free public library has gradually served to separate the great lending and consulting libraries from those connected with institutions, which have gradually come to be more strictly confined to the use of the ofiQcers and students comprising the institutions. COLLEGE LIBRARIES.' — HARVARD. Of these college libraries the most notable is that of Harvard College. The founding of the library was contemporaneous with the founding of 'Almost as soon as the first English settlement was made at Jamestown, Va., the jnitial steps were taken to establish an institution of learning in the infant colony by the grant, at the instance of Sir Edwin Sandys, treasurer of the London Company, of 15,000 acres of laud towards the endowment of a college at Henrico for the colonists and Indians. King James, in 1619, issued a " brief" asking contributions from the English churches to aid the company in "y^ erecting of some churches and schools for ye education of y* children of those Barbarians." The sum of £1,500 was conti'ibuted in response to the King's letter. Other liberal benefactions came in from other aources. The officers and sailors of an East Indiaman gave £70 Ss. 6d. "towards the building of a Free School in Virginia, to be called the East India School." In January, 1621, "a small Bible with a cover richly wrought, a great Church Bible, the Booke of Common 22 Public Libraries in the United States. the college. Like that, it was small and increased only by a slow growth ; but the few books which had been gathered in the course of a hundred and twenty-six years, were, almost without exception, destroyed in the fire of January 34, 1704. This collection of five thousand volumes was the most extensive college collection in the country, although it is doubtful if it was intrinsically more valuable than Mr. Logan's collec- tion then existing. The fire gave an impetus at once to the efforts of the friends of the college to re-establish the library, and the records of the college at the time enable us to form quite an exact notion of the choice of books then made, and of the disposition cf the donors. The library was to be constructed anew, and there is good evidence of the wide- spread interest in the college both in this country and in England. RESTORATION OF THE LIBRARY. The fire occurred January 24, 1764. Governor Bernard promptly sent a recommendation to the legislature that they should take measures to replace Harvard Hall, and, accordingly, the sum of £2,000 was voted. A general subscription was made among the towns and counties of the Prayer, and other bookes were presented to be sent to Virginia, in the name of a per- son who had the yeare before seat lor the use of the CoUedge at Henrico : S. Augustine De ciuitate Dei, Master Perkins, his workcs, and an exact map of America. The giuer is not known, but the books are valued at £10 0. "Giuen by Master Thomas Burgraue, and Minister in Virginia, deceased, for the use of the Colledge, a library valued at 100 marks." In the same year the "gentlemen and manners that came lately home from the East Indies in the two ships called the Hart and Boe-Bucke, being at the Cape of Bona-Spe- ranza, homeward bound, gave towards the building of the aforesaid Free Schoole in Virginia the summe of £66 13s. 4d." Charles City was fixed on, from its convenience to Uenrico, as the place for the East India School, and early in 1622 carpenters were sent from England to put up the nec- essary buildings. The school was designed to prepare students for the college at Hen- rico. There George Thorpe, charged with the preliminary work of organization, had settled with one hundred colonists on the college lands. Rev. Patrick Cppeland, chaplain of the East India Company, a zealous friend and generous patron of the East India School, was appointed president of the New Col- lege and general manager of its property. In April, 1622, being then in London, he was " requested by the company to deliver a thanksgiving sermon . . . for all the late mercies of God to the colony and for the bright prospects before them." About three weeks before this, on the 22u of March, 1622", the torch and tomahawk of the savage had laid waste the infant settlements on the James, and nearly three hun- dred and fifty settlers had lost their lives — among them the noble Thorpe. The savage deeds of that day drove all thoughts of peaceful efforts to civilize and educate the In- dians from the minds of the colonists, who entered on a war of revenge and extermi- nation against their savage foes. More than sixty years elapsed, and then Virginia saw another and happily successful effort made to establish a college, which, in spite of re- peated misfortunes, still lives, the second college in point of age in the United States. For authorities consulted, see Annals of America, by Abiel Holmes D.D., volume i, second edition, Cambridge, Hilliard and Brown, 1829; Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, by Bishop Meade, volume i, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1857 ; and Papers Relating to the History of the Church iu Virginia, edited by William Stevens Perry, D.D., privately printed, 1870.— Editors. Ptiblic Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 23 State, amouuting to £878 16s. M., and Thomas HoUis of Loadou, a former benefactor of the college, sent £200 for the same purpose. But it was in the special gifts of books that the general interest was most displayed. In May the overseers took measures to raise subscriptions for the library. Mr. Hollis, writing some time afterwards, thinks " the government of the college in the wrong, that they did not take a differ- ent method to obtain assistance toward repairing their library than in their weekly papers, (which are seldom read in England.) The method most likely," he says, " was to have made the publication in all the Eng- lish papers and magazines, to have engaged all the booksellers in England in the cause of collecting, etc, etc., but as that was not done in proper season," he recommends " that it be done now; that an account of the fire and the loss be drawn up and published; that the necessity and liberty and consequently the charity of contributing toward the re- pairing the library be properly and pathetically set forth ; the benefac- tions already received gratefully and genteely acknowledged, (studious- ly avoiding the naming particular benefactors,) and at the same time pointing out how very inadequate the books already received are to the greatness of the loss or to the purposes of such a library; that all the booksellers of any note in the kingdom be engaged to undertake for you and appointed to receive donations; that some gentleman of letters and leisure be pitched upon in London to correspond with them and to receive the books or monies to lay out in books." ^ NOTABLE GIFTS. Mr. Hollis gave something more than good advice. In addition to his gift for the building, he gave a like amount to be expended in books, and from time to time sent over special books which he had picked up, and left a sum of money to the college, the interest of which is still ex- pended in the purchase of books. The college had many friends in England. Their agent in London at this time was Jasper Mauduit, and much of the business was transacted through him. He writes, April 17, 1764: I am to acijnaiut you that the New Eugland Company for Propagating the Gospel with you aud parts adjacent at a General Court have ordered me to lay out £200 in such books as shall be most suitable for those persons who shall be willing to qualify themselves for missionaries to go and preach the gospel to and among the Indians. You may therefore please to send me a list of such as were destroyed by the late fire and will be useful.^ The society that gave this liberal gift had always been generously disposed towards the college ; and some notion may be formed of the standard of qualification for missionary work among the Indians when the list of books, 1,101 in number, supplied for this laudable purpose is examined and found to contain solid works in science and classical lit- erature as well as in religion. It is evident that their conception of an 1 Harvard College Papers, vol. ii, 1764-178.5. ^IhiA. 24 Public Libraries in the United States. education which would quality a man for missiouary work in Natick did not materially differ from what they would have required in one to deliver a Thursday lecture in the First Church in Boston. Other English donors were the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the trustees of the British Museum, who gave two folio volumes of the Harleian manuscripts ; Messrs. Dilly, the booksellers, who gave Lang- horne's Plutarch; A. Kiucaid, of Edinburgh, the King's printer, who is credited with a gift of forty-three volumes ; and the Rev. George White- field, who gave his collection of books, procuring, also, by his influence a large number of valuable books from various parts of Great Britain. The purchases of books were necessarily made in England, and the prov- ince of New Hampshire voted £300 sterling to be used in purchasing books for the library. A catalogue was transmitted to the Rev. East Apthorp, in London, by whose care 743 books were purchased. It looks as if the books were more costly than those purchased by the Society for Propagating the Gospel. Besides these- large gifts and purchases, there were many gifts of single books from friends living in America. Lieu- tenant Governor Hutchinson gave his History of Massachusetts Bay, in three volumes, and Harris's collection of voyages. John Greenleaf gave Henry's Expositions, in six volumes, and Rev. Dr. Byles Caffellus's Commentary. Mr. Fleet, presumably the printer and bookseller, gave Thomie Willis, M.D., Opera, and John Hancock, Calasio's Hebrew Lexi- con, in four volumes, folio, a work which that light-minded man was doubt- less glad to be comfortably rid of. Hancock also made a very liberal gift of £500 sterling for the purchase of books. Rev. William Adams, of Rox- bury, is credited with the generous gift of " his sermons and other books," and Hon. Nathaniel Sparhawk, of Kittery, with six copies of the Dissent- ing Gentleman's Answer to White, which may fairly have been distrib- uted among those who were specially qualifying themselves to preach the Gospel to the Indians. Thomas Palmer gave twenty volumes of Roman antiquities, which called out a vote of thanks from the corporation " for the nable addition he has been pleased to make to the library, of that truly royal work The Antiquities of Herculaneum, and a complete set of the remaining monuments of Roman grandeur."^ One gentleman, John Barnard, of Marblehead, who wished to contribute his mite, added also the sentiment : " May Harvard Library rise out of its Ashes with new life and Vigour, and be durable as the Sun, tho' the Building is a Nusance, and may the Blessing of Heaven continue upon that Society at Cambridge and make it a Nursery of pure Religion and accomplished Literature thro'out all Generations."^ The curious phrase respecting the building is not probably as contemptuous as it first strikes the ear, the word "nuisance" being used to' describe the condition of the ruined building. 1 The History of Harvard University. By Josiab Quincy, LL.D. Boston, 1860, vol.-2, p. 487. -Harvard College Papers, ii. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 25 The growth of the library from this time up to the war was quite rapid. The number of books caauot be determined exactly, but it probably was not far from ten thousand volumes, and certainly the col- lection was in many respects made with great care, the books especially selected by Mr. Hollis being substantial and in good editions. The war interrupted the work of the college, and the library was removed, part to Concord, part to A-udover, and deposited for safety elsewhere. It was iucreased also by the grant on the part of the general court of se- questrated libraries from the possession of loyalists, which had been deposited in the province-house, and in some stores. COMPOSITION OF THE LIBRARY. There is in the library a manuscript catalogue, not dated, but prepared about this time, which gives the names of all the books in the library, together with the names of donors ; and the first general catalogue, printed iu 1790, is classified by subjects, and enables one to make some comparison of the prominence given to certain classes of books. We do not know how far Hancock advised as to the selection of books bought with his £500, but they comprise the largest part of such polite litera- ture as the library contains. Spenser, Chaucer, Pope, Dryden, Gay, the Gentleman's Magazine, Vjltaire, and Rabelais were among his gifts, while Hollis gave Milton, Boccacio, La Fontaine, and Shakspere. That he should have given Milton is easy enough to understand, since he was an ardent admirer of his works, and indeed of all writing that breathed the. rarer air of mental and political liberty. The mention of Shakspere reminds us how meager was the entire showing of dramatic works. Franklyn's translation, the works of Moliere, Colley Cibber, one Igno- ramus, and two editions of Shakspere comprise nearly the whole of the dramatic reading at Harvard, but the general drift of the library will be seen when we say that of the 350 pages in the catalogue of 1790 100 are devoted to theological tracts and 50 to theological books. Indeed, the tracts, so called, constitute about two-fifths of all the titles in the library, and indicate how considerably the authorship of the day was expended on these ephemeral publications. They are by no means to be confounded with the siugle-leaf little missiles which are shot out by religious publication societies, but were frequently very solid produc- tioQS. They answered to the articles in our periodicals to-day, to our editorials and newspaper contributions, and, by their form and bearing, testified to the high respect which men of letters entertained toward books. A sudden energy of writing could find vent in a tract, but a book was a much weightier matter. We note also in this catalogue that its list of Bibles occupies three pages and a half, while three-quarters of a page suffices for its periodicals. Books of travel occupy four pages and Greek and Latin authors ten. We have lingered over the Harvard library because the peculiar cir- cumstances of its reconstruction render it the best exponent we have of 26 Public Libraries in the United States. the literary taste and the resources of our ancestors a hundred years ago. There were, however, six other college libraries in existence at the same time. WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE. The College of William and Mary, in Virginia, was founded in 1692, and a library at some unknown subsequent date was established there, but it was small when the war of the Revolution came.^ 1 The college of WilJiam and Mary was the most richly endowed institutiou of learning in North America at the outbreak of the war for independence, its annual income from all sources amounting to nearly £4,000 sterling. The first commencement was held in the year 1700. The nucleus of a library was formed, which was destroyed with fhe college building in 1705. The second college building was not completed till 1723. The record book of the faculty contains the following, under date of August 10, 1723, desiring that the income of a certaiu fund, bequeathed by Hon. Robert Boyle for the education of Indian youth, should be devoted to the purchase of books : "Instructions from the President and Masters of William and Mary Col- lege, IN Virginia, to John Randolph, Esq., now bound for England.* "We have now in bank upon that fund about five hundred pounds, part of which we desired to lay out in a well-chosen library, which wo judge necessary, and, indeed, the most necessary thing that is now wanting towards the tinishing their education and fitting them for what was intended, the being put in orders, and sent out pastours to preach in their own country language, and instruct and convert their own people. As we do not live in an age of miracles, it is not to be doubted that Indian scholars will want the he'lp of many books to qualify them to become good pastours and teach- ers, as well as others. And the fund allotted for their education being able to supply them, what reason can be given why part of it may not be employed that way ? If it be alleged that our College Library, it may be expected, should supply them, it may be truly answered that at present our funds are so poor, and theirs so rich, that they can better supply us than we them, and so it would be no hardship upon them, if whilst we found them with Masters and Professors to teach them Latine, Greek, and Hebrew, and Philosophy, Mathematics, and Divinity, they should in their turn help themselves and us to a few necessary books for those studies. But we are willing to compound the matter with them : we have, we can't say good store of books, but enough to. make a good fouudation and beginning of a library, to the use of which they are welcome, and if we were able, would buy a great many more, which we and they want. This want is their loss as well as ours. What can be more reasonable thau that since their fund is able to do it, and ours not able, they should contribute their share towards so neces- sary means of education ? Some, perhaps, will be apt to object that by this means we think to make a considerable addition to the College Library at their expense, and if it were so, there would be no great harm in it, since the College Library is to be a common Library to them and us. But the case will be really much better ou their, side, for what- ever books are bought with their money shall not only be reposited in distinct presses marked with the name of Boyle or Bratferton, and at their own house, (being without the college,) but every particular book shall have that inscription on the back of it ; 80 that, as to the use we shall have the benefit of their books, as they shall of ours, yet really the property shall not be altered. Every one shall know his own ; and this assist- ance of books we think as necessary a means and instrument of their education, as the paying for their victuals and cloaths, and master's salary, and medicine, and falls fully * Papers relating to the History of the Church in Virginia, A. D. 1C50-1776. Edited by William Stevens Perry, D.D. Privately printed, 1870, pp. 550, 551. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 27 YALE COLLEGE LIBRARY. Yale College, established ia 1700, had, so to speak, its library before it was organized, since its establishment was symbolized by the gift of books. President Clap, in his Annals of Yale College, tells the story, and as he also recites the several gifts which the library received down within the desiga of their noble founder, and therefore we hope the Earl of Burlington and my Lord Bishop of London (whose directions we are to, follow in the management of this charity,) will easily come into it, and then there will remain nothing (for we shall give you a letter of credit to the cashier of this fund) but to take my Lord Bishop of London, our chancellour, his advice concerning the properest books for our use, and thejr best editions ; and to help you in this choice you will have with you two cata- logues, one of those books the college is possessed of already and another of those which an ancient minister designs shortly to leave to it,* that you may not buy them. " Upon this occasion, too, we must desire you to wait on his Grace, my Lord Arch Bishop of Canterbury, who, as he has been upon all occasions a notable friend of the College, so was pleased particularly to signify his good intentions of giving or'loauing something towards our Library; pray render our thanks to his Grace, and so consult him in the books you may buy for us, that he may have his share of supplying us with what part of learning he thinks hiost proper, that what you buy may not interfere with his Grace's intended donation. These are the chief things w'ch occur to us at present. Perhaps you may meet with some charitable benefactors, especially towards our library, that being at present our chief want, and as all this will put you to trouble and charge though you generously say nothing of it, we shall think it our duty not to be ungrateful." In July, 1724, Dr. Blair, minister of Bruton' parish, Williamsburgh, as well as president of the college, wrote as follows : " We have not, nor never had any Parochial Library. The college has a small library. The key is kept by one of the masters." t In 1724, the Rev. Hugh Jones, A.M., minister of Jamestown, and chaplain of the as- sembly, in his Present State of Virginia, published in London that year, thus refers to the college : "There is a library without books, comparatively speaking." t In 1743, Dr. Blair died, leaving £500 in money and his private library to the college. Although the library was not extensive, it was, for the period, very rich and valu- able and appears to have numbered from fifteen hundred to two thousand volumes. The following letter from R. A. Brock, corresponding secretary of the Virginia Histor- ical Society, dated Richmond, Va., January 25, 1876, and including extracts from a letter of Dr. Grigsby, president of the same society and chancellor of the college will be found of interest. After explaining his delay in responding to the request for nformation, he says : "Neither my own library, nor those of the State, the Historical Society, nor of my friends resident in the city contained the desired information. " Mr. Grigsby, the president of our Historical Society, from his long connection with the college and his known familiarity with its history, appeared to me to be the most likely resort. " I have been awaiting his reply, which reached me yesterday. He writes : " ' In answer to your inquiry about the extent of the library bequeathed to William and Mary College by President James Blair, I am inclined to believe from the number of books bearing his name which I have seen in the college library, that they must have reached between six and seven hundred volumes. If you will visit Henrico Court- * Dr. Blair, who was undoubtedly the author of these instructions, t See Papers relating to the Church in Virginia, p. 300. J Ibid, p. 547. 28 Public Libraries in the United States. to L766, we give here ia succession the several paragraphs in his A.n- nals which contain the record of the gradual formation of the library: The miuisters so nominated met at New Haveu, (1700,) and formed themselves into a body or society, to consist of eleven ministers, including a rector, and agreed to found a college in the colony of Connecticut, which they did at their next meeting at Brauford in the following manuer, viz:' Each member brought a number of books and House aad look into the record of wills from August 1, 1743, when Dr. Blair died, you ■will find his will, which may throw some light on the subject. The scattered books to which you allude [I mentioned in my letter to him haviug seen a number of volumes on theological and philosophical subjects, bearing the imprint of the seventeenth cen- tury, and niarked with his label of ownership ' J. Blair,' in printed red letters, having been exposed for sale at public auction in this city some years since — two of them are in my library — R. A. B.] were either some of those which the commissary gave his nephew John Blair, the father of the John Blair of the Supreme Court of the United States, or were taken from the college library by borrowers and never returned. " ' Several months ago I saw in Prince Edward County two folio volumes with the book- mark of Dr. Blair, which had been borrowed by Frank Gilmer and kept by him during life. But the books of Dr. Blair composed but a small portion of the library of William and Mary. I have seen there books bearing the book-plates of nearly all our governors from 1700 to'1775, and of our leading colonial men. There was the finest edition of The Fathers, in many folio volumes, splendidly bound and gilt, which was presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the college between 1750 and 1760. There was one set of works in folio that was estimated to be worth in England, thirty years ago, nearly $700. I should put down the books in 1776 as between fifteen hundred and two thousand volumes of the most valuable kind in Latin, Greek, French, and English. " ' The splendid set of the Eucyclop6die M^thodique in thirty-three folio volumes was presented to the college by Louis the Sixteenth, at the close of the war. It must be remembered that as late as 1776, all our English classics were in quarto fjrm — Shak- spere to Hume,. Robertson, and Gibbon. " 'AnTong the books in the college library before 1776 and until 1859, when the books ■were burned, was the Biblla Sacra Polyglotta, by Brianus Waltonus, printed in 1657, in six volumes, folio. As late as 1843, a distinguished English divine pronounced this work the most complete biblical apparatus in any language. " 'Another book of immense value was the Lexicon Heptaglotton of Edmund Castell, two volumes, folio, 1669. As nearly two-thirds of the edition was destroyed in Eng- land, this great work rose in value, and was estimated in 1825 by Professor Campbell to be worth in England seven hundred dollars. It was presented to the college by Robert Carter Nicholas. But these books, which I took a note of many years ago on a "visit to the library, will show its great completeness and its great cost.' "As suggested by Mr. Grigsby, I have referred to the records of Henrico County court without success. I hardly thought that the records of the ancient James City County would have been lodged in another county. Those of James City were all destroyed during our late unhappy war, as I was informed some years since by the then clerk of the county. There are about a dozen early volumes, however, preserved in the Hen- rico County Court-house, the earliest of date 1678." President Ewell of the college writes under date of December 19, 1875 : " The books given by Dr. Blair counted by hundreds; a complete set of the Church Fathers, said to be the best in the United States, among them. There were books given by Queen Anne and the Georges — the first two at any rate — and by Louis XVI of France." — Editoks. 1 The Annals or History of Yale College, in New Haven, in the Colony of Connecticut, from the first founding thereof, in the year 1700, to the year 1766, with an appendix containing the present state of the college, the Method of Instruction and Government, with the officers, benefactors, and graduates. By Thomas Clap, A.M., President of the college. New Haven, 1766. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 29 presented them to the body ; and laying them on the table, said these words, or to this effect : " I give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." Then the trustees as a body took possession of them and appointed the Rev. Mr. Russel of Branford to be keeper of the library, which then consisted of about 40 volumes in folio. Soon af- ter they received sundry other donations, both of books and money which laid a good foundation. This library with the additions was kept at Branford, in a room set apart for that purpose near three years, and then it was carried to Killing worth.i [1713.] About this time sundry donations of valuable books were made to the library, particularly by Sir John Davie of Groton, who had an estate descended to him in England, together with the title of baronet. Upon his going to England he sent a good collection of books to the library. But, the greatest donation of all was by the generosity and procurement of Jeremiah Dummer, esq., of Boston, then agent at London, who in the year 1714 sent over 800 volumes of ve ry valuable books, about 120 of which were at his own cost and charge, and the rest by his procurement from sundry principal gentlemen in England ; particularly Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Richard Blackmore, Sir Richard Steele, Dr. Burnet, Dr. Woodward, Dr. Halley, Dr. Bentley, Dr. Kennet, Dr. Calamy, Dr. Edwards, the Rev. Mr. Henry, and Mr. Whiston severally gave a collection of their own works, and Governor Yale put in about 40 volumes, all which I suppose to be worth £260 sterling.^ [1717.] Last year he (Yale) sent above 300 volumes, both which parcels I suppose to be worth £100 sterling. Mr. Dummer at this time also sent 76 volumes of books, whereof 20 were folios, in value about £20 sterling.^ [1723.] Mr. Daniel Turner of London sent to the library sundry volumes of his own works on Physic and Chirurgery, and a collection of other valuable books, principally on the same subject, and particularly the large volume of Cowper's Anatomy. Where- upon the trustees sent him a diploma, creating him Doctor of Physic* [1733.] At the same time the Rev. Dr. Berkeley pursuing his generous intentions sent to this college the finest collection of books that ever came together at one time into America. The number was near 1,000 volumes, (including those which he had sent before,) whereof 260 were folios, and generally very large. I judge that this col- lection cost at least £400 sterling. This donation of books was made partly out of the doctor's own estate, but principally out of moneys which he procured from some gen- erous gentlemen in England.^ [1742.] Before this time there never had been any perfect catalogue of the books in the library, for want of which the students were deprived of much of the benefit and advantage of this. The rector therefore placed all the books in the library in a proper order, (but in honor to the Rev. Dr. Berkeley for his extraordinary donation, his books stood by themselves at the south end of the library,) and put a number to every book in its proper class and box, and took three catalogues of the books as they stood in their proper order on the shelves, and another in an alphabetical order, and a third, wherein the most valuable books were placed under proper heads, according to the subject-matter of them, together with figures referring to the place and number of each book. By which means it might be easily known what books were in the library upon any particular subject, and where they might be found, with the utmost expedition. This catalogue was printed and was a great incitement to the dili- gence and industry of the scholars in reading of them.s [1765.] We have a good library consisting of about 4,000 volumes, well furnished with ancient authors such as the Fathers, Historians and Classics. Many modern valuable books of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Mathematics, but not many authors who have wrote within these thirty years. It was two or three years before this that the building was erected which contained the library until it was removed to its present quarters.' I Ibid., p. 3. 2 Ibid., p. 15. 3 Ibid., p. 23. * Ibid., p. 34. 5 Ibid., p. 38. 6 Ibid., p. 43. ' Ibid., p. 86. 30 Public Libraries in the United States. THE BROTHERS IN UNITY AND THE LINONIAN SOCIETIES. At Yale also should be noticed the libraries of the two societies of students, the Brothers in Unity and the Liuonian, established a half dozen years before the Eevolution, and numbering each a hundred vol- umes or so at that time. These societies with their libraries were the precursors of the many similar societies in all our colleges. The libraries probably owed their origin to the almost exclusive attention given at that time by the college libraries to learned works. COLUMBIA COLLEGE. The library of Columbia College, IS"ew York, was established in 1757, shortly after the foundation of the college. Joseph Murray, an English- man, who had resided long in New York as one of His Majesty's coun- cil and attorney-general for the province of New York, left the whole of his estate, including his library, to Kings, now Columbia College, shortly after it was founded. Rev. Dr. Bristowe, of London, also be- queathed his library of about 1,500 volumes. Gifts were also made by the University of Oxford, the Earl of Bute, and others in England, so that the library was one of considerable value at the beginning of the war, but the same fate befell it which the Society Library suffered. The college building was required by the British as a military hospital, and the books were deposited in the City Hall or elsewhere. The consequence was an almost total loss of the library, only six or seven hundred vol- umes being found some thirty years after in a room in St. Paul's Chapel, though how they found refuge there was a mystery to every one. Some of the books still show the book-marks of Murray and Bristowe ; these are principally law books, theological treatises, and other ponderous lit- erature in massive folios, which probably were too heavy to be easily moved and destroyed. Mr. John Pintard, founder of the New York Historical Society, used to say that he had seen the British soldiers carry away the books in their knapsacks and barter them for grog.^ UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. The library of the University of Pennsylvania was a very small one, being composed mainly of books procured by individual donation. Its chief distinction at the time was in the fact that it was the recipient, during the war, of a gift from Louis XVI of books printed at the royal printing office, consisting chiefly of mathematical works and works on natural history. COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY. The library of the College of New Jersey, begun in 1755, was also a very small one 5 it was entirely consumed by fire in 1801. In 1764 an account of the college, published by the trustees, gives the number of books as 1,200, all gifts of patrons in Europe and America. ' Address delivered before the New York Society Library on the one hundredth anni- versary of its incorporation, November 9, 1872. By Thomas Ward, M. D., New York, 1872, p. 10'. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 31 RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE. We have already noticed that Brown University, then called Ehode Island College, depended at first on Providence Library for its books. The collecting of a library however began early, and there are some slight feeling references to it in the correspondence of President Man- ning with the English friends of the institution. In 1772 he wrote to Dr. Llewellyn : "At present we have but about 250 volumes, and these not well chaseu, being su«h as our friends could best spare ;"' a pathetic comment which a good many young libraries could echo. A few mouths later he wrote to Rev. Dr. Kyland : By the last ship we received the works of the great and good Dr. Gill, with fifty-two folio volumes of the Fathers, etc.,. the gift of Messrs. George Keith and John Gill, the doctor's executors. This is by far the greatest donation our little library has yet had.* A year later, November 25, 1773, he writes to the same gentleman : Rev. Benjamin Wallin of Loudoa sent me an agreeable letter, accompanied with all he has published, in ten volumes neatly bound and gilt, with the most valuable works of John Bunyan in six volumes, the Reign of Grace, by William Booth, and Wilson's Sermons — all for the college library.^ DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. The only other college library was that of Dartmouth, but as the col- lege was founded six years only before the opening of the Revolution, its library was insignificant, and can scarcely be counted as a literary influence. pennsylvajSIA hospital library. The professional libraries connected with theological, legal, and med- ical schools did not come into existence until after the present century opened, with the single exception of a library connected with the Penn- sylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, which comprised only about a hun- dred volumes before the Revolution. The library began in a peculiarly quiet way. In 17G2 Dr. John Fothergill gave a single book, Lewis's History of the Materia Medica, and the next year the hospital began to exact a fee from students attending the wards in company with physi- cians, which was devoted to the founding of a library. AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY. The American Philosophical Society, which had its origin among the same persons who started the Philadelphia Library, had a small collec- tion of books at the time of the Revolution. friends' LIBRARY. The Library of Friends, of Philadelphia, was established by a bequest from Thomas Chalkley, in 1742, of his library, consisting of 111 books, ' Life, Times, and Correspondence of James Manning, and the Early History of Brown University. By Reuben Aldridge Guild. Boston, 1864, p. 194. ^ Ibid., p. 200. 3 fbid., p. 221. 32 Public Libraries in the United Stcdes. which was accepted by the Monthly Meeting, and a librarian appointed. The collection was gradually increased by purchase and donations, but received little attention until a special effort was made in 1765, when the scattered books were brought together, new ones purchased, and a catalogue made. It was not until 1794, however, that the library became considerable, when it received a large bequest from John Pemberton. PRINCE LIBRARY A.ND PARISH LIBRARIES. Perhaps this library ought to be included in what are more properly parish libraries. There are occasional glimpses of these before the Revolution, but only two can be named that were of any magnitude.^ The Prince Library, 1 Among the early libraries in the colonies, the parochial libraries, former! between 1698 and 1730, through the efforts of Rev. Thomas Bray, D.D., founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, were prominent. Owing to the zeal of their founder and patron, these libraries increased in number and extent during his lifetime. As we have seen, the first public library of New York became indebted, in 1729, to the society above named for a generous gift of books. The parochial libraries, though designed especially for the use of the clergy, and not public, in the popular sense of the present day, were readily opened to students, on application, and were doubtless, iu many places, the chief means accessible for the pursuit of knowledge. The number of libraries founded in Maryland by Dr. Bray was 30, containing altogether 2,602 volumes; iu the other North American colonies 8 libraries, with 1,1G2 volumes, were formed; and books to the value of £50 given to the College of William and Mary, in Virginia. " Before his laborious and useful life reached its close. Bray had the satisfaction of seeing not less than thirty-nine parochial libraries established in North America. The chief of them was at Annapolis — the princess after whom the city was named having given most valuable contributions toward it ; and others, containing in some instances more than a thousand volumes each, were spread over the whole country, from Massa- chusetts in the north to the farthest borders of South Carolina."* The assembly of South Carolina passed an act November 16, 1700, for the i)reservation of a library which Dr. Bray and others had sent to Charleston for the use of the church in the province.! "In justice also to his' indefatigable zeal to promote the knowledge of true religion it is proper to observe that besides founding the above-mentioned libraries he sent into America upward of thirty-four thousand religious books and tracts to be dispersed among the inhabitants."]: Rev. William Stevens Perry, D.D., of Geneva, N. Y., in a recent letter on the subject, remarks: "It should be noted that the venerable society, independently of Dr. Bray and the doctor's Associates, frequently supplied large and v aluable parochial libraries to the missions they had established in America." The largest of the parochial libraries sent by Dr. Bray was that of St. Ann's parish, af Annapolis, Md., which numbered 1,09.5 volumes. This library was probably scat- tered or destroyed during the Revolution, as no trace of it can now be found. A library of 42 volumes was sent to St. Paul's parish, Baltimore. Respecting the * History of tb^ Colonial Church, by James S. M. Anderson, M. A. London, F. «fe J. Rivington, 1848. 8°. Vol. 2, pp. 624, 625. tibid.. p. 90. 1 Public Spirit illustrated in the life and designs of the Rev. Thomas Bray, D.D. Second edition, revised. 8°. London, 1808, p. 80. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 33 belonging to the Old South Church iu Boston, and lately deposited in the Boston Public Library, is a very valuable collection of books and manuscripts relating to New England history, formed by Thomas Prince, one of the early pastors of the church, and held after his death in 1758, as the public library of the church. NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY. At the same time he bequeathed a separate collection, to which he gave the name of the New Eogland Library, consisting of books and papers either published in New England or pertaining to its his- tory and public affairs. He required that this should be kept in a dif- ferent apartment from the other books, that no person should borrow any book or paper therefrom, but that any person whom the pastors and deacons should approve might have access to it. This collection, numbering in 1814 two hundred and fifty-nine works, was deposited with the Massachusetts Historical Society. remains of this small collectiou, Dr. J. S. B. Hodges, rector of St. Paul's, writes, Jan- uary 26, 1876 : "As a parish library it does not now exist, but in an out-of-the-way place in the church I have found the following volumes, which must have formed a part of the 42 so given : Five books of S. Irenaeus, ed. 1702; Scrivener's Course of Divinity, 1674; Du- pin's Ecclesiastical History, vols. 1 and 3, ed. 1693; Dupin's Ecclesiastical History, vol. 7, ed. 1695; Bray's Lectures on the Catechism, 1697; Sermons on the Apostles' Creed. These are folio volumes, and most of th'^m are imperfect." The following interesting sketch of a parish library sent by Dr. Bray to St. James parish, Anne Arundel County, Md., is kiudly furnished by Rev. T. C. Gambrall, the rec- tor of the parish. He quotes the parish record as follows : " ' 1698. Books received by y« Rev. Chs. Hen. Hall, y« — of May. '•'A catalogue of books belonging to y* library of St. James parish, in A. A. co., in Maryland, sent by y* Rev. Dr. Bray, & marked thus, — belonging to y« library of Her., ring Creeke, Ann Arundell County.' "There were two lots. The first was received in 1698, as seen above. The second was received June 5th, 1703, sent also direct to Herring Creek, by Dr. Bray. " The first lot contained 125 distinct works in 141 vols. "The second lot was composed almost entirely of such works as catechetical lectures, tracts, &-C., tli6r<^ ^-Iso being many duplicates. The total number of copies in this col- lection was at least 200, several items being merely denoted as parcels. The whole collection, therefore, in 1703, was about 341 volumes. " There were, in the lot of 1698, 29 volumes folio, 19 volumes quarto, 93 volumes octavo. "The second lot of 1703, not specified. " Some of the works were iu Latin, while the subjects covered the whole ground of the literature of the day probably, being in theology, (controversial, exegetical, and practical,) in philosophy, geography, history, and travels. These works were also of high character, many of them being standards to-day, especially, of course, those in theology. " Iu 1748 the catalogue is given again, when the list numbers 168 volumes. This is probably the true number and the highest belonging to the library proper, the many duplicates above mentioned having been distributed. " The library was preserved very well, probably down to the Revolution, it being the law of the colony that the vestry should, from time to time, visit and inspect it. In 1740 we find as one of the grievances of the vestry against a rector of the parish, the 3e 34 Public Libraries in the United States. LIBRARY OF KING'S CHAPEL. There was one other library iu Bostou of this general character, that belonging to King's Chapel, of which the following account is given iu the Rev. Mr. Greenwood's history: With the new Governor (May 1698) arrived a very valuable present of books to the church from the Bishop of Loudon. In a footnote M r. Greenwood adds : "The gift of books was actually from the King. This I infer from its being afterward called the King's Library.'" But this might easily have been an abbreviated form of King's Chapel Library. A complete catalogue of them is preserved in the book of records of this i)eriod, and an examination of it enables ^,e to say that they formed a theological library, which was, perhaps, the best at that time in the country, and would be now considered as of great excellence, and such as any institution or individual might be glad to possess. It was carefully deposited in boxes made for the purpose by order of the vrardens, and placed in Mr. Wyles' (the rector's) house. It has since been neglected, dispersed, and abused in various veays, till the sad remnant was saved by being deposited, a few years ago, in the Library of the Bostou Atheuajum.i The books were, however, first deposited in 1807 with the theological library in the vestry-room of First Church, an institution established shortly before that. A catalogue of the theological library, published the year following, keeps the books of King's Chapel Library separate, and bears out Mr. Greenwood's estimate of the value of them. Those given originally by the bishop of London are mainly the writings of complaint that he would not give the vestry the key of the vestry-house, that they might perform '"this duty 'as the law directs.' The catalogue of 1748 was m.nde after the d ath of a rector of the parish, as part of a general inventory of the property of the parish, of which the rector had had charge during his life. "This parish suffered, though not to as great an extent as some other places, in the general confusion which befell the church in Maryland during the Revolution, and as a consequence the library was not carefully preserved. We find, however, in 1789 the vestry returning to the convention of the diocese an inventory of the parish property ; and in it mention is made of the parish library, though many of the books are said to have been distributed about the parish. Since that time every vestige has hopelessly disappeared." In a letter relating to the affairs of Christ Church, from Colonel Quarry and others, to Governor Nicholson, dated Philadelphia, January 18, 169^, (printed in vol. 1, His- torical Collections of the Church in Pennsylvania, edited by Rev. Wm. Stevens Perry,) occurs the following: "We hope your Excelleucj^ will also remind his Grace of Plate for the Communion Table and a Library." , The following extract of a recent letter from Rev. E. A. Foggs, D.D., rector of Christ Church, shows the present condition of the library : "The library belonging to this parish was probably established in 169.5, by the first rector. Some of the books were presented by Queen Anne. It contains now about 2,000 volumes, and consists mainly of old and valuable and rare theological works. It is for the use of the clergy of the parish." The first books for this library were in all probability furnished through the efforts of Dr. Bray, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. — Editors. »A History of King's Chapel in Bostou, the first Episcopal church in New England, comprising notices of the introduction of Episcopacy into the Northern Colonies. By F. W. P. Greenwood. Boston, 1833, p. 55. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 35 the Fathers and the theologians of the Church of England ; the addi- tions, which were not very numerous, comprise controversial works, and especially apologies for the Ohurch of England, as would naturally be expected in a library for the use of the rector. BEGINNING OF FREE LIBRARIES. It will be seen, from this survey, that the idea of a free public library, as now practically exemplified in several of our States, was not recog- nized in itg fullness before the Revolution.^ The nearest approach to it was in the liberty given to persons not stockholders to consult the books in the Philadelphia Library. The growth of the system has been in the conjunction of private beneficence with public aid, especially where a system of free schools has developed a sense of the need of a public library. It is interesting, as one notes the development of the best known public library in the countr^^, that in Boston, to see how a city, with old traditions of education and intelligence, gave no significant indications of considering this matter until within one or two generations. Before the Revolution there were but two libraries of public character, both of those of theological literature largely ; Harvard College Library, it is true, was close at hand. mein's circulating library. And mention should certainly be made of a circulating library, es- tablished in 17(35 by John Mein, afterwards a royalist refugee, and kept ^ Public Library and Library of King fFiUiani's School, at Annapolis, Md. — In the library of St. John's College, at Annapolis, Md., are deposited 398 tattered and venerable volumes that tell of the existence of one, and probably two, public libraries in Annapolis as early as 1696-97, four years anterior to the foundation of the public library at New York, by Rev. John Sharp. The circumstances under which one of these, the " pub- lic library," was formed, are made the more interesting by the fact that they were marked by the first official recommendation in this country for the application of public funds to aid in the maintenance of a free public library. In 1697 Governor Nicholson proposed to the house of burgesses " that His Majesty, William III, be addressed that some part of the revenue given toward furnishing arms and ammunition for the use of the province, be laid out for the purchase of books to be added to the books which had been presented by the King, to form a library in the porta of Annapolis; and that a portion of the public revenue be applied to the enlargement thereof; and that the library should be placed in the office, and under the care of the commissary of the province, permitting all persons desirous to study or read the books, to have access thereto under proper restrictions."* The library was kept in the State-house uutil that building was burned in 1704, when it appears to have been removed to, and united with, the library of " King William's School," (established in 1698-'97, and still remembered with pride by Marylanders as the school where the learned and eloquent William Pinckuey received his early train- ing,) which, -with other property of the school, was, in the year 1785, given to St. John's College. Rev. William S. Sonthgate, of Annapolis, recently inspected the remains of this * Anuals of Annapolis, by David Eidgely, librarian of the State Library, Baltimore. Gushing and Brother, 1841, p. 92. 36 PuM'ic Libraries in the United States. at the London bookstore. It numbered some 1,200 volumes and boasted a printed catalogue. The yearly subscription was twenty-eight, shillings ; the quarterly, ten shillings and eight pence. In his adver- tisement he states that he was influenced to undertake it "by the re- peated request of a number of gentlemen, the friends of literature."' Mein was a bookseller, and it gives some indication of the condition of the book business in Boston at the time, that he advertised, shortly after, a stock of above ten thousand volumes. We suspect that books were more freely bought by private persons in Boston than •elsewher6, and we have seen how Franklin had recourse to bookstores and to pri- vate collections of books. ALLUSION TO AN EARLY PUBLIC LIBRARY. There is one curious bit of literary history which points somewhat in- decisively to notions of a public library at a very early date. In the Mather Papers in the Prince Library there is a will of John Oxenbridge, in which occurs the bequest : Item. — To the Public Library in Boston or elsewhere as my executors and overseers shall juf'gebest Augustine's works in 6 volumes,. the Century's in 3 vols. The cat- alogue of Oxford library. The will is dated Boston, in New England, the 12th day of the first historic collection, and liindly furnished the following interesting description for this sketch : " There is an alcove in the library of St. John's College, Annapolis, filled with a miscellaneous collection of very old books, presenting a striking contrast to the new and fresh appearance of the contents of the other alcoves. They are all in their original leather binding, and in a very dilapidated condition. Some are stamped on the out- side of the covers, ' De Bibliotheca Annapolitana ;' others, ' Sub auspiciis Wilheluri III.' The greater portion have no stamp, book-plate, or writing of any sort to show froiu wliat collection they came. They are in all probability the remains of the library established in Annapolis by Governor Nicholson about 1697, and of the King William's School Library, mentioned by Eidgely in his Annal& of Annapolis. " This collection consists of about 188 folios and 210 quartos, octavos, and duodecimos. They are principally theological works of the editions of the seventeenth century. Prominent among them are the works of the Church Fathers, such as Ambrose, Athana- sius, Aquinas, Augustine, Basil, Clement Alexandrinus, Chrysostom, Eusebius, Epipha- nius,Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory the Great, Origen, Theodoret, Theophylact, Grotius, and Jerome. Among the critical and historical works are the ^Critici Sacri, 9 vols., fol., 1660; Corpus Juris Canouici, 3 vols., fol., 1671; Concilia Generalia, 9 vols., fol., 1636; Baronius, Annales Ecclesiastici, 5 vols., fol., 1601. Of English writers we find such as Cave, Selden, Bishop Bull.Thos. Hobbes, Bishop Pearson, Goodwin, Charnock, Ham- mond, Bray, Chillingworth, Jewell, Andrews, Patrick, More, Bishop Hall, and Boyle. In the classics there are editions of Virgil, (2 vols., 1598 ;) Plutarch, 1574; Euripides, 1694; Aristophanes, 1607 ; and Delphine editions (1674 to 1691) of Claudian, Q. Cur- tius, Eutropius, Horace, Livy, Martial, Ovid, Plautus, »fec. " One of the most interesting books of the collection is a catalogue of the American Library, presented by White Kennet to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in 1713, for use by the colonial missionaries in the West Indies. " These books ard of littltj use where they are, and would be a valuable acquisition for the library of a theological school."— Editors. Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago. 37 month, 167f. Oite other reference appears in the town records for March 11, 1695 : Voted, that the bookes of the Register of birthes and deathes Ln the to^'a of Boston shall be demanded by the Sslect-men, in whose hands soever they be, and that all bookes or other things belonging to the library, and all the goods or estate belonging to the Town, be demanded, aud taken possession of by the Selectmen. i What called out this vote, and whether the library mentioned in it had any connection with the shadowy one to which John Oxenbridge bequeatlied his books, are questions not answered by any farther knowledge that we have.^ ' Mather Papers, vol. ii, 15. /Prince Library, Boston Public Library.) 2 There is some other evidence that a public library existed in Boston prior to 16S6. In that year Rev. Robert Ratcliffe, sent to establish the first Episcopal Church in New England, arrived from England and "■ waited on the council, and Mr. Mason and Ran- dolph proposed that he should have one of the congregational meeting bouses to preach in. This was denied, but he was granted the use of the library room in the east end of the town house." June 15, 1636, it was voted to pay " Mr. Smith the Joyuer,'' for making " 12 formes for the servise of the church," and it was also voted to employ and pay " Mr. Smith the Joyuer, 20s. quarterlie, for his cleaneing, placeing, and removeing the Pulpit, formes, table &c.'.' The historian of King's Chapel, from whose work* the above extracts are quoted, adds, "The accommodations provided for and referred to in the two last votes were intended to furnish the library room in the town house in a decent manner for the performance of divine service." Holmes, in his Annals of America, vol. 1, p. 421, note, quotes from the manuscript diary of Judge Sewall, referring to the efforts of Governor Andros to secure a place of worship for the Episcopal Society, (16S6,) " It seems [he] speaks to the ministers in the library about accommodations as to a meeting house." Drake, the historian! of Boston, says that a committee of the Episcopal Society applied to the council for the use of one of the three meeting houses for the minister to preach in. " 'That is denyed; and he is granted the east end of y« Town-house, where y« Deputies used to meet, until those who desire his ministry shall provide a fitter place.' This ro)m contained a library." The town house was burned in 1711 ; rebuilt the following year, and again destroyed by fire in 1747, at which time " 'A vast number of aucieut books and early records, together with a collection of valuable papers, were destroyed ; and to the ravages of this calamity we may attribute the imperfect accounts that are to be obtained of the first and second building.' "t Probably the library was consumed in the great fire of 1747. The foregoing accounts seem to prove indubitably that such a library existed at a very early date. — Editors. * A History of Kings Chapel, in Boston, The First Episcopal Churcli in New England, by F. "W. P. Greenwood, Junior Minister of King's Chapel. Boston, Carter, Hendee & Co., and Allen & Ticknor, 1833. tThe History and Antiquities of Boston, by Samuel G. Drake, A.M. Boston, Lutber Stevens, lri36. ; History and Antiquities of Boston, p. 350, note. CHAPTER II. SCHOOL AND ASYLUM LIBRARIES. BY THE EDITORS. I.— COMMOi^ SCHOOL LIBRARIES. intitonuctory remarks — historical sketch of common school libraries in' New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Iowa, Indi- ana, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, Cali^'ornia, Oregon, Illinois, Pennsyl- vania, Kansas, Virginia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Minnesota, Colorado, in the order OF establishment —School libraries in the province of Ontario. Although the history of school libraries in the United States is marked by many changes and mishaps, it would be untrue to say that these libraries have entirely failed to accomplish the good expected of them. From first to last, their shelves have held millions of good books, affording amusement and instruction, and cultivating a taste for read- ing in millions of readers, young and old. In a single State, New York, fifteen years after the first library was formed, over 1,000,000 volumes were reported in the school libraries, without account of the large number probably not reported, and the still larger number worn out and lost during that period. It should also be said that in a number of States the school libraries furnished, for many years, the only supply of reading; the imperfect facilities for procuring, and the comparative scarcity of books, preventing their purchase. Thousands of youth, then as now, left the district school to engage at once in the active duties of life, and their only hope of retaining what they had acquired and adding to it, lay in the » means of self-instruction afforded by the district school library. A careful study of the history of the school library system in the sev- eral States where it has been tried develops the causes of the dangers and failures that have attended it. These may be grouped in two classes : first, defects and frequent changes in legislation ; second, incompetence and indifference in the administration of the law. Premising that the system of no one State or district exhibits all, but that, with a few exceptions, each will be found to contain one or more of the evils, they may be summed up as follows : First. Defects of legislation: In permitting school districts to raise by tax and expend money for libraries, without providing for State aid, or supervision of the selections of books; in granting State aid without supervision of selections ; in suspending at intervals the grants of State b8 School and Asylum Libraries. 39 aid ; ia limiting the size and usefulness of the libraries, by permitting the diversion of the funds to other purposes, after each had acquired a cer- tain number of volumes, or for any other reason ; in not requiring that a sum equal to the State grant to any district should be raised by local taxation as a condition of such grant ; in failing to provide by stringent regulations, in cases where the library funds were to be partly or wholly derived from fines or other variable sources, for the full payment and legitimate use of such funds; in not cultivating interest in the libraries by holding trustees and other school officers to a more strict accounta- bility for their management and preservation. Second. Defects of administration : As shown by the selecting and pur- chasing unsuitable and often improper and Immoral books by trustees unacquainted with, or indifferent to, their merits or demerits ; by placing the libraries in the charge of teachers whose interest in the school and library alike terminated with the close of the school term ; by failing to hold librarians responsible for the care and preservation of the books; by perverting the library funds to other uses without authority of law; by allowing the libraries to sink into neglect and contempt through failure to provide regular supplies of fresh reading; by trustees fail- ing to realize their duty and personal responsibility in respect to the proper management and -preservation of the libraries, and their indif- ference respecting the fate of the books; by a like indifference, in too many cases, on the part of town and county superintendents ; by inju- dicious selections of books by State superintendents and boards of edu cation, when charged with the performance of that duty. It is believed that an examination of the subjoined sketches of the school library system in the different States where it has been adopted will disclose all these causes as operating. The endeavor has been to present each with as little comment as practicable, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. The brief sketch of the libraries connected with the public schools of the province of Ontario has been introduced on account of certain feat- ures, which seem to commend the system to those charged with the administration of school libraries already in operation or which may be hereafter established in the United States. NEW YORK. Kew York was the pioneer in founding school libraries. In 1827, Governor De Witt Clinton, in his message to the legislature, recom- mended their formation ; but it was not till 1835 that the friends of free schools saw their hopes realized in the passage of a law which per- mitted the voters in any school district to levy a tax of $20 to begin a library, and a tax of $10 each succeeding year to provide for its increase. Much apathy was shown, and few districts voted the necessary tax. In 1831, James Wadsworth, with others, had succeeded in getting the State to republish and place in every school district in the State, Hall's 40 Public Libraries in the United States. Lectures on School Keeping. The favor vvitli which this book had been received and read by both teachers and parents, wjIs one of the practi- cal arguments used to secure the passage of the law of 1835. Mr. Wadsworth again came forward and agreed to pay one-fourth of the first year's tax to each district in the towns of Geneseo and Avon. Even this failed to get a response, and the friends of the libraries saw that other means must be found or their plans would fail. Their efforts were at last successful, and in 1838 the law was passed which was to place within fifteen years over 1,600,000 books on the shelves of the school libraries of New York. General John A. Dix, then secretary of state, and ex ofiBcio superintendent of schools, from the first a zealous and powerful friend of the movement, was charged with the execution of the law giving to the school districts $55,000 a year to buy books for their libraries and requiring them to raise by taxation an equal amount for the same purpose. The law met favor everywhere savfe among those who opposed the common schools themselves; so that General Dix's successor was able in 1841 to report 422,459 volumes in the school libraries; in 1842 this number had increased to 630,125, a growth in one year of more than 200,000 volumes. In 1843 authority •was granted school districts to use the library fund for the purchase of school apparatus, and after that had been sufficiently obtained, for the payment of teachers' wages, provided that each district containing more than fifty children between five and sixteen years of age, should have a library of not less than 125 volumes, and each district containing less than fifty children, a library of not less than 100 volumes. Year by year the libraries grew and multiplied until, in 1853, they contained an aggregate of 1,604,210 volumes. Then began the period of decadence. In his annual report for the year 1861, the State superintendent said : Concurrent testimony from nearly every quarter of the State represents the libraries in the rural districts as almost totally unused and rapidly deterioratinj^ iu value. The whole number of volumes reported during the past year is 1,286,536, which is 317,674 less than was reported in 1853, although $55,000 has been appropriated each year since that period for library purposes. His successor, in his report for the following year, finds the libraries — mainly represented by a motley collection of books, ranging iu character from Headley's Sacred Mountains to the Pirate's Own Book, numbering iu the aggre- gate a million and a half of volumes, scattered among the various families of dis- tricts, constituting a part of the family library, or serving as toys for children in the nursery ; . . . crowded into cupboards, thrown into cellars stowed away in lofts, exposed to the action of water, the sun, and of fire, or more frequently locked away into darkness unrelieved and silence unbroken. . . . The dark- ness of this picture is partially relieved by the fact that the cities and larger villages of thfe State . . . have been less negligent, . . . and that uud6r the law of 1858, as also by the sanction of the department under a previous statute, much of the appropriation has been applied to the payment of teachers' wages. Still, iu the last live years, $139,798.10 have been eSpeuded iu the rural districts for library pucposes, while the number of volumes reported has diminished iu the same period from 1,288,070 to 1,206,075, a loss of 81,995 volumes as a return for the expenditure named. I think this may safely be set down as among our permanent investments of the school fund form which no revenue is derived. School and Asylum Libraries. 41 In 1864 the legislature authorized all districts (11,000 in number, according to Hon. S. S. Randall, formerly general deputy superintendent of schools for the State) which received less than $3 a year for library purposes to expend it for teachers' wages, and in all other districts for the purchase of school apparatus, and this being supplied, to teachers' wages. Mr. Randall observes:^ So far as the rural districts were concerned, and most of the city schools, this enact- ment was virtually equivalent to an entire abandonment of the library system, mani- festly and unquestionably a retrograde movement. It is earnestly to be hoped that before the million of volumes still remainiug in the 12,000 districts of the State shall have disappeared, this great and beneficent featureof our common school system will be restored and placed upon a permanent and improved footing. The diversion of the library fund to other purposes continues, and all the official reports indicate that, in a majority of the districts, the people have come to accept the diversion as a matter of course, and that in some the very existence of a library at any time is rather a matter of tradi- tion than of knowledge. The prediction of Superintendent Morgan, in 1840, that any diversion of the library fund to any other purpose, in any case and under any circumstances, would lead to the destruction of the libraries, seems to be fully verified. The present State superintendent, writing in 1875, says: The total amount of State appropriation since 1838 is $2,035,100. ... I doubt whether more than one-half of the' State appropriation has, for many years, been used for library purposes. ... It is safe to say that, at the present time, the amount raised by local taxation for the mainteuance of district libraries is very small. . . . The district library system has not worked well in this State and has utterly failed to accomplish what was expected of it by those who inaugurated it. The libraries have fallen into disuse, and in a large majority of the districts of the State have become practically valueless. The number of volumes is annually decreasing. ... At the date of the last report it was but 831,554.^ . . . Mr. Weaver's* plan for im- proving and increasing the usefulness of libraries, was to prohibit, absolutely, the use of library moneys for any other purpose, to compel districts to raise, by local taxation, a sum equal to that apportioned from the State funds, and to permit them to raise by taxation a sum four times greater than the State apportionmeut. He also believed there should be a change in the method of selecting books — and in that belief I most heartily concur. In very few instances are the school trustees competent to make selections. I have no doubt that under Mr. Weaver's plan, the system would be vastly improved. I have, however, been of the opinion that it might be better to consolidate the district libraries in the several towns, and form joint town libraries, with a town fund for their support. MASSACHUSETTS. School libraries in Massachusetts owed their origin to the earnestness and eloquence of their advocate Horace Mann, through whose influence a law was enacted, in 1837, allowing school districts to raise and expend $30 for one/year and $10 each succeeding year to begin and support a 1 History of the Common School System of the State of New York, by S. S. Randall. New York and Chicago, Ivisoa, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., 1871, pp. 363, 364. * Valued, according to the superintendent's report, at $500,959. Hon. Abram S. Weaver, late State superintendent of public instruction. 42 Public Libraries in the United States. library; the school committee to select the books. Few districts availed themselves of the authority thus granted, and four years after, iu 1841", there were only 10,000 volumes in all the school libraries, while it was estimated that one hundred towns iu the State were without libraries of any kind save private. The friends of school libraries did not despair, and in 1842, owing to their unwearied efforts, a resolution was passed appropriating to each district that should raise an equal amount the sum of $15 for library purposes. Neither this resolution, nor that of 1843 extending its provisions to cities and towns not hitherto divided into school districts, gave more than $15 to any one library. In 1842 one-fourth of the districts formed libraries, at an expense to the State of $11,355; they contained by estimate 35,000 to 40,000 volumes. The applications for aid gradually diminished from 1843 until 1850, when the law was repealed. The total amount paid from the school fund in aid of 2,084 libraries was $31,260; the value of the first libraries was therefore $62,520. According to the report of the board of education for 1849 the value of all the libraries was $42,707 ; the number of vol- umes, 91,539. The school libraries have been superseded by free town libraries. MICHIGAN. The school law of 1837 empowered the voters of each district to raise by tax a sum not exceeding $10 annually for the purchase and increase of district libraries. Each district that levied the library tax became entitled to — its proportion of the clear proceeds of all fiaes collected witbiu the several couaties for any breach of the peace laws, and also its proportion of the equivalent for exemp- tion from military duty, which fines and equivalent shall be paid over by the several officers collecting the same to the county treasurers, to be apportioned according to the number of children in the townships between the ages of five and seventeen years. An amendment, in 1840, directed that the fund arising from fines and exemptions should be used for library purposes only. The act of 1843 provided for the establishment of township libraries and for an annual income of $25 for each, to be raised by taxation ; it permitted the elect- ors, after a library had acquired 200 volumes, to reduce the amount to be raised by taxation to a sum not less than $10 annually; and it was made the duty of the State superintendent to publish a list of books suitable for school libraries. The law also empowered the electors of any town to raise by special tax $50 additional for the purchase of books for the library. The act of 1859 authorized the voters of any town to determine what portion of the amount raised by taxation for school purposes should be used to purchase books for the town library; it also authorized the electors to divide the township library into dis- trict libraries. The law of 1869 permits the electors of any town to unite the several district libraries and form a township library. The electors of a school district may vote a tax for library purposes. School and Asylum Libraries. 43 The folio wiug, from the aaaual report of the State superiuteudeut for 1869, will iadicate some of the difficulties that beset the system : The old law demanded $25 of the luill tax in every towu, ofteu absorbing the entire tax. This, with the flues, or so much of them as could be coaxed through the hands of magistrates aud county treasurers, was paid for town libraries. T'le books were dis- tributed to the districts by the town clerk, to be returned by the directors every third month for exchange. This would now require more than 60,000 miles' travel per annum, at a positive expense to the directors, certainly, of $100,000, to say nothing of more than 10,000 days' time. This was like putting "two locomotives ahead of each other," as an old editorial friend once expressed it, "to draw a hand-car." The result was, the books were generally hidden away in the clerks' offices, like monks in their cloister, and valueless to the world. And what kind of books were they ? Some good ones, doubtless ; but generally it were better to sow oats iu the dust that covered them than to give them to the young to read. Every year, soon after the taxes Trere col- lected, the State swarmed with peddlers, with all the unsalable books of eastern houses — the sensational novels of all ages, tales of piracies, murders, and love intrigues — the yellow covered literature of the world. It was one of the first acts of Superintendent Gregory to secure a change in the law, authorizing district instead of town libraries, so as to bring the books within reach of the people ; and by the supervision of the board of education absolutely pro- hibiting the purchase of bad books. The change was approved by the people, as shown by three-fourths of the towns adopting it at the first election. But, alas! it was like a new railway, fully equipped, and no provision for wood except as town meetings might vote part of the highway taxes to buy it. The law failed solely because no reliable means v/ere provided for the purchase of books. . If we could have an honest administration of the fine moneys and 10 per cent, of the two-mill tax, I am sanguine we should soon be proud of our school libraries. The State superiuteiident's report for the year 1873 discusses the question of school libraries, aud from it the following statements are taken : While it must be admitted that there are not a few who are decidedly opposed to school libraries as a useless appliance in our school work, and many more are quite indifferent to the subject, there are yet a host of earnest citizens, and among them our most active educators, who believe the value of school libraries, properly managed, can hardly be overestimated. The opponents say, that though there was a time when school libraries may have been desirable, at the present, when the country is full of books, aud they can be so easily and cheaply procured by all, it is a waste of public money to maintain such libraries. To this it may be replied, that although books are plenty, it is very far from true that all or even a majority of the people can individually procure them to any desirable extent. Multitudes are unable to buy them, and those who are able generally will not, unless they have first acquired a " taste for reading." If one were to go through the country and take an inventory of the books to be found in all the houses, he would hardly be willing to assert that the people are supplied with books; aud if he ask the people how much they find to the credit account of their finances at the end of the year, and how strong (or how weak) is their desire for books, the answer might sweep to the winds the belief he may have entertained that the people will sup- ply themselves. Very few districts are now voting sums of money sufficient to build up creditable libraries. The whole system seems to have come into general disfavor, aud is, more than any other feature of our school system, the one of which we are least proud. Many persons attribute the ill success to the division of the township libraries to the 44 Public Libraries in the United States. districts, and advocate as a remedy a retnrn to the township system. The townships can return to that system at any time if they wish, but we have uo information that any have done so. The township libraries have fared no better since the change in the law than the district libraries. If any advantage has been gained it has probably been by the latter. The radical defect and failure was in destroying all certain means for the support of the libraries. The moneys from fines, &c., were never designed as a support to the libraries, but were so appropriated by the constitution as merely inci- dental, and to make the penalty for crime aid in preventing crime by an increased in- telligence. According to the same report there were 1,265 district libraries, cou- taining 120,577 volumes, and 207 township libraries, containing 49,872 volumes, making 170,449 volumes. The amount paid during the year for township libraries was $5,576,64; for district libraries $13,374.77, making $18,951.41. There were added to all the libraries during the year 14,836 volumes. The funds are derived from three sources : 1. From fines for breaches of the peace. 2. Townships can vote a portion of the two-mill tax. 3. The districts can vote a tax for their support. From the fitst source about $40,000 were realized in 187.3. From the second $2,122 were reported ; of the third we have no report, but the amount voted was small, doubt- less. Less than $19,000 were reported as expended for books, showing one-half of the fund, small as it was, illegally used for other purposes. Our law, as it now stands, gives us an admirable library system, but there is a want of disposition on the part of our people (save in exceptional instances) to vote the means for the support of the libraries. Nothing is certain but the fine money, and that is wholly inadequate, (ex- cept in the county of Wayne, including the city of Detroit.) Only seventeen town- ships of the 955 voted anything the past year, and these in the aggregate less than $1,500. CONNECTICUT. In 1838 there were but six school libraries, containing altogether less than 1,000 volumes, in the State. In 1839 districts were authorized to tax themselves for a school library. In 1840 the secretary of the board of commissioners of common schools reported : I do not find that anything has been done by districts to secure for them- selves a library of useful books as they are now authorized to do by a tax not exceed- ing thirty dollars The school law of 1841 gave school districts the power " to establish and maintain a school library." In .1842, the secretary reported : Some assistance has also been rendered to districts, in purchasing and procuring libraries and apparatus. In this way, to my personal knowledge, more than 3,000. volumes have been added to district libraries. A long period of inactivity followed, and the school libraries lan- guished. In 1856 a new law was enacted, giving to each district that would raise by taxation or subscription for library purposes an equal amount, the sum of $10 the first and $5 each succeeding year by the State. The first year after the passage of the law, $1,330 were appro- priated by the State, and $2,000 raised by the districts for the " purchase of libraries and apparatus." In the year ending March 31, 1875, the School and Asylum Libraries. 45 State appropriated $2,865, and the districts raised $4,803.82 for the same purposes. As the two items are not charged separately, it is im- possible to know what part was expended for libraries. By a subsequent modification of the law, large districts are allowed to draw the sums named for each one hundred pupils in actual attend- ance at school. High schools supported by towns also participate in the benefits of the law. There are 1,500 school districts in the State, and about 960 of them have availed themselves of State aid. ^ The secretary of the State board of education writes : The workings of the system are entirely satisfa ctory. No changes are required. Local wants are provided for as local authorities prefer.' RHODE ISLAND. An act of February, 1840, gave the school committee of each town power to appropriate out of the public school money to be distributed to each district the sum of $10 annually, to be applied to the purchase and maintenance of a school library for said district. The law of 1845 made it the duty of the State commissioner of com- mon schools to select the books for school libraries. The earnest exertions of Hon. Henry Barnard, then superintendent, resulted in the formation of school libraries in nearly every town in the State, mainly by the subscriptions of generous individuals; and in 1852 there were some 20,000 volumes in all the libraries. A period of inactivity followed, and in 1874 a new law was enacted, which provides that the board of education " may cause to be paid annually, to and for the use of each free public library," $50, for the purchase of books, provided the library contains 500 volumes, and $25 for each addition of 500 volumes, though no library can receive more 'Many towns iu Connecticut, as in other parts of New England, enjoyed from an early period the educational advantages of libraries. Salisbury was particularly fa- vored. Before the Revolution it received from an Englishman engaged in business there the gift of a library of 200 well selected volumes, imported from London. This library flourished until the town was nearly a century old. In 1803 Caleb Bingham, a native of Salisbury , editor and publisher of the American Preceptor, Columbian Orator, and other school books, then a publisher aud bookseller in Boston, wrote to his brother, saying : " I well remember, when I was a boy, how ar- dently I longed for the opportunity of reading, but had no access to a library. It is more than probable that there are at the present time, in my native town, many chil- dren who possess the same desire, and who are iu a like unhappy predicament. . . . I have selected from my shelves 150 volumes for the commeucement of a library for the sole use of the children of the town of Salisbury, from nine to sixteen years of age. . . . To the small beginning it is presumed the liberality of your fellow townsmen will induce them to make such additions from time to time, as that it will at length become respectable." The expectations of the generous donor were not disappointed. The "Bingham Library" lived and prospered for many years, supported by occasional grants of money from the town, the first example, it is believed, of municipal aid to a library in the United States. 46 Public Libraries in the United States. than $500. The board of education is directed to oversee the choice of books and secure their free use to the inhabitants of the town in which the library is situated. The law and a code of regulations were published in August, 1875. These regulations seem so wise that they are here inserted. 1. The trustees or board of management of every library claiming aid nnder the provisions of chapter 464 of the general statutes, shall show to the satisfaction of the board of education that the free use of all the advantages of the library is granted to all citizens of suitable age aud character of the town or city . . . including those of the neighboring territory within a radius of three miles. 2. Every application for said aid shall be accompauied by a catalogue of the books in the possession of the library, and also a written statement by the librarian of their number and condition. 3. In the number of books reported as belonging to the library, only those shall be counted which are in good condition for use. Furthermore, in such enumeration no duplicate of congressional reports, State documents, or books of a similar character, shall be reckoned ; but unbound magazines may be counted in their complete volumes. 4. With each application for aid following the first, there shall be tiled a schedule of the books purchased with the preceding grant from the State. 5. Every library receiving aid from the State shall have a printed catalogue of all its books. 6. Each application for aid shall be made to the commissioner of public schools, and be submitted by him to the committee on libraries, who shall report thereon at the next meeting of the board. 7. Every library receiving aid in accordance with these provisions, shall be open at all times to the inspection of the board of education, or of any member thereof, or of their agent. Applications for State aid have been received from seven libraries, the grants to which amount to $550 ; they contain, in the aggregate, 9,356 volumes. The commissioner of public schools writes, September 25, 1875: I think the indications are very favorable, and I am strongly in hopes that within a few years we shall have a library in every village and town in our State. IOWA. By an act of the territorial legislature, passed in 1840, school districts were authorized to impose a tax of $10 a year for the purchase and in- crease of school libraries. In 1849, after the admission of Iowa into the Union, a new law was passed, empowering school distri5, amount to 850 sepa- rate titles, and include many rare aud valuable works. The present number of volumes in the library is not far from 3,500. No catalogue has been published, but lists of the accessious are printed- from time to time in the proceedings of the society. The cabi-net of the society contains, among other objects of interest, a long Greek inscription of the second century before Christ, three San- skrit inscriptions of the eleventh or twelfth century of our era, and a Cufic inscription. Until 1850, the library was kept in the house of the librarian, Mr. Francis Gardner, of Boston; from 1850 to 1855 in the Boston Athe- nteum, Mr. Charles Polsom being librarian. In 1855 Prof. W. D. Whit- ney succeeded to the office, and the library was removed to New Haven and placed in one of the rooms of the college library, where it still re- mains. Professor Whitney was succeeded, in 1873, by Mr. Addison Van Name, the present librarian of the society. GEORGETOWN COLLEGE, GEORGETOWN, D. C. The library occupies rooms in one of the college buildings. There is great need of increased space in order to bring all the collections together. The college proposes at an early day to erect a lire-proof building. The books are grouped according to subjects, so far as the dispropor- tionate space required for the theological folios will permit. The library possesses a number of valuable manuscripts, among which are.: one attributed to the thirteenth century; one to the four- teenth century ; one in the Irish character, attributed to the historian Geoffrey Keating; one in the Siamese character; another, ta ceu from the body of a Tripolitan sailor, written in Arabic, and consisting of extracts from the Koran ; also, many others of rarity. Of early printed books there are 37 volumes printed in the fifteenth century and 268 volumes of the sixteenth century. The department of Bibles and commentaries contains copies of the Scriptures, or portions of them, \n many languages; Walton's great work, and otherpolyglots ; Latin vulgates of all styles; commentaries, concord- ances, and lexicons. Among the curious books of this department is Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra, 6 volumes, in Dutch, Amsterdam, 1735, pro- fusely illustrated. The department of ecclesiastical history contains the works of many authors, from Eusebius down. In theology there is an extensive collec- tion of the works of both Catholic and non-Catholic writers. The hitter have a compartment to themselves. In civil history theicollection is large and valuable. The collection of Catholic sermons is very extensive, em- 72 Public Libraries in the United States. bracing- works in English, French, Latin, Italian, and German. The other- departments of religious works are : (1) religious biographj', including the vast work of the Bollandists, begun in 1643, and still in course of completion; (2) controversial works by Catholic authors; (3) works by Catholic authors against deism and infidelity; (4) catechetical works; (5) ascetical works, or books of piety, embracing collections of medita- tions by many authors, special devotions, and prayer books ; (6) Catholic periodicals; (7) a collection of works for the use of pastors; (8) works on canon law and councils; (9) liturgical works, explanatory works on ritual, Picart^s seven curious volumes on the religious ceremonies of all nations, graduals, rituals, and antiphonals. The collection of works on antiquities and the fine arts embraces many rare and costly volumes. The series of publications of learned societies is very complete. The collection of scientific works is also interesting and valuable, and care is taken to keep up with the demands of the day. In Euglish literature the main library is indifferently furnished, but a valuable and extensive collection, constantly added to, fills the shelves of the director of studies. The classical library contains the best editions, many of them uniform. French, Italian, and Spanish literature have each a separate department- One of the most curious and intieresting collections in the library is that of books or tracts in the Cherokee language, in the Penobscot, Micmac, and Pottawatomie Indian dialects, and in Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Hindostanee, modern Sanskrit, Tamil, Dyak, Syriac, Armen- ian, Turkish, Polish, Russian, Sclavonian, Basque, Breton, Irish, and Welsh. The library, which now numbers 28,000 volumes, is always accessible to visitors. Books are never loaned outside of the college. Students may visit the library to consult authorities, but they rarely have occa- sion, to do so, as their own society libraries are well supplied with stand- ard works, to which access can be had by them at any moment. The society libraries of the college number 4,268 volumes. WORTHWESTEKN UNIVERSITY, EVANSTON, ILL. The University Library was begun by a purchase, in 1856, of 3,000 carefully selected volumes. Since that time small yearly purchases have been made. In 1869, Luther L. Greenleaf, of Evanston, purchased the private library of Dr. Schulze, member of the Prussian ministry of public instruction, from his heirs, and presented it to the university. This collection of 20,000 volumes (including 7,000 valuable pamphlets) con- tains almost all the extant Greek and Latin authors up to the period of the decline of letters, many of them in rare and valuable editions, numerous translations of them into German, and many critical and College Libraries. 73 elucidatory works thereupon; also, valuable works of art and art liter- ature of the German, French, and Italian schools. On the decease of Prof. Henry S. Noyes, in 1872, his valuable collec- tion of 1,500 miscellaneous books became the property of the university. The university is also indebted to the Hon. Orrington Lunt for a special fund for the library, amounting to about $100,000. The income from this fund is being allowed to accumulate lor a library building. The number of volumes now in the library is 30,000. The College of Theology of the university has a special library of about 3,000 volumes. KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON, KY. Upon the consolidation of the Transylvania with the Kentucky Uni- versity, about ten years ago, the library of the former became the property of the latter. The library now contains 10,845 volumes, of which 5,383 belong to the medical library, 2,201 to the law library, and 3,201 are miscellaneous. Four societies connected with the college have libraries, as follows: Cecropean, 605 volumes; Periclean, 719 vol. uraes; Philothean, (theological,) 525 volumes; Union, 240 volumes; making the whole number of books belonging to the university 12,934. BOWDOIN COLLEGE, BRUNSWICK, ME. The history of Bowdoin College Library begins with the opening of the college in 1802. Never having had a fund set apart for its use, it has depended mainly for its means of purchase on a small assessment on the students in their term bills. In 1811 it received its most im- portant enlargement in a bequest by Hon. James Bowdoin, of Bos- ton, Mass., of 4,000 volumes from his private library, collected princi- pally during his mission to Spain, under appointment from President Jefferson, in 1805. The collection was rich (for that time) in French and Spanish science and literature, embracing the best editions of the classical authors and scientific works of both languages. Among the works which illustrate the period of the French Revolution maybe mentioned the Collection compile des Tableaux Historiques, &c., 3 vol- umes, folio, and Le Moniteur, or Gazette Nationale, 1759-1807. It is also extremely valuable for its literature of the period preceding and during the American Revolution. Madam Bowdoin manifested her interest in the college that bore the family nam^e by gifts of valuable works. In 1820, a valuable accession of four or five hundred volumes was received from Thomas Wallcut, of Boston, through Rev. William Allen, who had just succeeded to the presidency of the college. This collection contains some rare and valuable works, as Eliot's Indian Bible, 1685; Tyndale's Bible, quarto, 1551 ; the Nicholas de Lyra Testa, mentum Novum, folio, 1487; the Breeches Bible, 1611 ; and Almon's Re- membrancer. A few years later the library was enriched by a gift from Rev. Dr. John A. Vaughan, an alumnus of the college, of 1,200 volumes, among 74: Public Libraries in the United States. which are the Encj^clopedie Methodique ; Histoire de I'Academie Roy- ale; Trausactions of the Swedish Academy; of the Royal Irish Acad- emy; Nicholson's Journal of Natural Philosophy, 1amphlets in addition to the bequest of money already mentioned. There has also been a class of gifts peculiarly valuable to the college, and very suggestive, like the Sumner gift, of the personal relations sus- tained by the givers to the college. In ISiJG Hon. Charles Francis Adams presented a collection in 48 volumes, made by himself, of works large and small, printed in Great Britain in relation to the rebellion. Dr. J. E. Worcester, the lexicographer, gave all the dictionaries and glossaries of the English language used by himself in preparing his own work, not already possessed by the library. President Sparks left, in 168 volumes, the manuscripts, original and copies, used by him in preparing his pub- lished works, and earlier, W. H. Prescott had given the entire collection of manuscripts and printed books which had served him in the writing of Eerdinand and Isabella. The manuscripts were coutainetl in five thick volumes, and the books, 282 in number, were many of them costly folios. Dr. J. Gt. Palfrey also gave a collection of 323 volumes and 5,147 pam- phlets, made by himself during half a century, while employed upon his historical studies. Many of the manuscripts contained in the library, like those of Pro- fessor Ebeling and Arthur Lee, contain valuable materials for history, 84 Public Libraries in the United States. while of early manuscripts the library possesses a few datin*,' back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and one, a fragment of an Evangelist- a;ry, containing twelve pages, written in uncial letters, and referred there- fore to the ninth century. There have been sixty librarians since the founding of the college, of whom ten are named in the present century. Of these the present libra- rian has been longest connected with the library, having become assist- ant in 1841 ; but his immediate predecessor, Dr. Thaddeus William Har- ris, known best by his pioneer work in economic entomology, held the office of principal librarian for the longest tern) of years, having served from 1831 till his death in 1856. Before him notable names were those of Professor Andrews Norton, Joseph Green Cogswell, and Charles Fol. som. Mention should also be made of the recent assistant librarian. Dr. Ezra Abbot, since it was under his superintendence that the present system of cataloguing, elsewhere described,^ was planned and carried out. As has before been stated the library, upon its new establishment in 1764, was deposited in Harvard Hall ; removed thence during the war, for safe keeping, in country towns, and restored when the war was over and college life could be resumed uninterruptedly. Here it remained until, in 1837, the collection of books had outgrown the quarters as- signed, and it became absolutely necessary to provide a new place, both for the books already owned and for the future growth of the library. The college had come into possession of a noble bequest from Christo- pher Gore, formerly governor of Massachusetts, and resolved to use the money for the erection of a library building, which was com- pleted in 1841. Elere the library of the college is now kept. The build- ing, modeled upon the plan of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, England, })resents a dignified interior, and makes to the eye a pleasing aud appropriate home for the valuable collections. But the growth of the library has already rendered it too small, and the experience of nearly forty years has disclosed the disadvantages it presents as a library building. It is overcrowded, and books coming in are con- stantly dera nging the existing dispositions. It has become necessary to deposit books in other buildings, and to pile them on the floor in double tiers, and in general to lessen the value of the collection by mak- ing it less accessible. Moreover, the plan of the building is ill adapted tothepurposesof a library. Tliere are no private rooiusforthe librarian, assistants, or special students. It is a great whispering gallery in which every footfall and spokeu word can be heard. There is a dampness arising from the condensation of moisture on the inside of the single granite wall, and great complaint has been made of the draughts of air, and general insalubrity of the interior. The steady pressure of new books, added to all the patent inconveniences of the building, has made it a necessity to devise some relief, and it is announced that the * See Part II of this report, Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue. College Lihraries. 85 carporation has now decided to begia soon an extension to Gore Hall. The plan intends the carrying out of the east transept of the present building about 80 feet, and making that the main portion of the library proper, with an adjunct, containing rooms for the bibli- ographical collection, for the librarian and his assistants, as well as a large room for the catalogue department and the delivery of books. This being done, the present delivery room will be divided into study rooms for special investigation, while the cases will be removed from the floor of the present main hall, and the space gained be used for a reading and consulting room ; the lower alcoves, relieved of the temporary sub- division by cases, being devoted to books of reference. When these changes and additions are made, the library will be more completely adapted to the needs of the university, and by its greater accommoda- tion, offer new inducements to private collectors to place there for per- petuity the books which they have gathered. The college library proper is in Gore Hall, but other departments of the university have their own special collections, not deposited in Gore Hall, and there are akso libraries connected with college societies. Of these separate libraries, brief mention may now be made. Library of the Dane Laic School. The Law Library, as a separate collection of books, dates from the foundation of the school, though, previous to that time, special attention had been given to this departmeut of learning in the general library of the university. Mr. Sumner, who was at one time librarian of the Dane Library, calls Mr. Hollis, the distinguished benefactor of the college who has already been named, the father of the law library, because of the interest which that public spirited man took in forwarding books of special value to the law student and. which afterwards found their way into this special library. " The library," he says, " is indebted to him for many choice works of civil law, such as the Corpus Juris Civilis, the Codex Theodosianus, Brissonius, Voet, Zoesius, Domat, and Meerman's The- saurus. When we consider the jealousy with which the civil law has ever been regarded in England, and the indifferent acquaintance with its merits possessed by the highest lawyers there, we cannot but recog- nize, in the presentation of the above books, an additional proof of the enlarged liberality and intelligence of the donor." ^ Shortly after the formal establishment of the school in 1817, Hon. Christopher Gore gave the greater part of his valuable law library for the use of the law students. "Many of these present (we quote again from Mr. Sumner's preface to the Catalogue of 1834) the most interest- ing associations, not only from having belonged to Mr. Gore, and from containing his autograph signature, but also from havingpassed through the hands of Robert Auchmuty, Jeremy Gridley, James Otis, and Samuel 'A Catalogue of the Law Library of Harvard University iu Cambridge, Mass. Cam- bridge, 1834, p. V. S6 Public Libraries in the United States. Sewall. In some of these books may be found all these distingaislied names. The Law Library is also indebted to Governor Gore- for two manuscript volumes containing opinions involving some interesting dis- cussions of prize law, filed by the commissioners, of whom he was one, acting under the seventh article of the treaty of 1794 between the United States and Great Britain, commonly called Jay's treaty, for the settlement of the claims of American citizens on account of captures by British cruisers."^ When Judge Story was made Dane Professor of Law in 1829, and the school was re organized, the corporation bought his extensive library and added it to the growing collection, and not long after, in 1833, came a bequest from Hon. Samuel Livermore, of New Orleans, of his entire library of works on the Roman, Spanish, and French law, a collection of more than 300 rare and costly volumes, appraised at the time at a valuation of $6,000. The money for the purchase of books came partly from matriculation fees, partly from grants ; and for a while the custom prevailed of keeping, besides the regular library, a collection of text books for the use of students, called the circulating library. In 1863 the whole number of volumes in the library was 13,038, of which 3,123 belonged to the circulating library, and 400 were superseded text books. The increase of the library at that time was 125 volumes in the previous year, and the number added each year did not vary far from this; but in 1870 the circulating library was aban- doned, and special attention given to the increase of the regular Law Library, so that there ha^e been some 4,000 volumes added during the i)ast five years, and the sum last year at the disposal of the library was $3,5U0, the number of books added being not far from 1,000. The increase of the library has thus kept pace with the increased vigor of the school, which is now more than self supporting. The number of volumes in the library is now reckoned to be about 15,000, and the ap- parent discrepancy in the above figures is due to the fact of the aboli- tion of the circulating library, which swelled the total of books on the shelves without adding to the actual number of books in the Law Library proper. The library is kept in the building devoted to the school, and is free for consultation to all persons. The students of the school do much of their reading in the library. Divinity School Library. The library at the Divinity School dates from the foundation of the school in 1825, when the directors granted the sum of $2,000 for the purchase of suitable books ; but the number of books in the library in 1840 was only about 700, principally in modern theology, with some of the Fathers in the original. In 1856 the number had increased to between 4,500 and 4,000, when the most important acftession was made of the library of Professor Liicke, of Gottingen, presented by Gol. Ubid., p. vii. College Libraries. 87 Benjamin Loring, of Boston, at the suggestion of Prof. Edward Young, at that time a student in Germany. This added some 4,000 volumes to the library. In 18G2 the number of volumes in the library was 13,542, of which 9,394 were bound and 4,147 unbound. Daring the next year 151 volumes were added, making the whole number 13,093; and these, additions represent the usliook8 having agreeably and interesting literary associations, many from the libraries of Mitford and Choate, Perceval and Lord Miicaulay, a presentation copy of Southey's translation of F. de Moraes' Palmerin of England to H. N. Coleridge, with Coleridge's autograph; a copy of the more cele/brated Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Remorse, presented by him to a Mr. Dibden, aaid having extreme interest from the great number of corrections made by the author ; a copy of Milman's Fazio, with corrections by the author; a copy of Longfellow's Dante, with a corrected proof-sheet bound in ; a copy of the sumptuous edition from the Auchinlech manuscript of the Romances of Sir Guy of Warwick; Peter Pindar's Letters, with an autograph note. The library is, besides, supplied with the leading reviews and periodical literature of America, England, France, and Germany. There is also a separate small collection of books devoted to helps in the study of the Bible, a memorial of the daughter of the giver, and named by him in her memory The Gertrude Library. It comprises about 500 volumes at present, and the giver inteniis doubling the jiuin- ber. College Libraries. 95 WILLIAMS COLLEGE, WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. This library had its origin at the oi)ening of the college in 1793. It consisted, at first, of a few volumes, mostly religious, the gifts of friends of the college. The first printed catalogue of 1794 contains 353 vol- umes. Having no special fund, the library increased bat slowly, and was largely dependent upon the gifts of friends. It has now two funds, one of $5,000, given, in 1854, by Mrs. Araoa Lawrence, and the other ($5,000) in ISGl, by Jonathan Phillips, of Boston. The n u niber of volumes in the library is about 17,500. There are also two libraries belonging to the Philologian and Philotechnian Literary Societies, which are of great educational importance. They date back to the earlier days of the college, and were then united in one. Th%v' are in the main well selected, and, by a happy arrangement, supplement the college library by being especially full in those departments in which it is more or less deficient. The number of volumes in each of these libraries is somewhat 0%'er 5,000. Besides the college library, and those of the literary societies already mentioned, there are, or rather were, the Franklin Library, the Library of the Lyceum of liatural History, and the Mills Theological Library. The first of these contained only such books as were studied in the col- lege course. It was begun in 1820, for the purpose of aiding needy students. It worked very successfully for many years, supi)lying the young men, for four or five dollars, with the use of all the text books of t4ie college course. But through the enlarging range of studies, and the constant improvement in, and frequent change of, the textbooks used in the college in later years, this library has been superseded and given up. The library of The Lyceum of Katural History was a collection of works made by the members of that association, a society for the study of natural history formed early in the history of the college. It was first called the Linnsean Society, but assumed its present name in 1835. Its library, though not embracing over 250 volumes, was yet very valuable. In 1-869 it was united with the natural history department of tiie col- lege library. The. Mills Theological Library, which, though burned in 1841, had been revived and contained some 1,600 volumes, was also, in 1874, united with the college library. The whole number of books belonging to the college is about 27,500. The average annual increase of the college library is 400 volumes. The average yearly expenditure is $900, derived mostly from the funds above mentioned. Since 1808, the library has been open four hours each day for consul- tation and reading, with free access to the shelves, and the presence of the librarian to render any needed assistance. Owing to the fact of limited means, library purchases have been made with great care, and, while the departments are very far from being as 96 Public Libraries in the United States. full as is desired, the snpplj^, so far as it goes, is made np of the best works in each department, embracing also the leading English and American reviews and periodicals. Few libraries of its size present as good facilities for the practical uses of a college. In 1845, through the liberality of the late Col. Amos Lawrence, of Boston, the library building, known as Lawrence Hall, was built. It is octagonal in form, 48 feet iu diameter, each side 20 feet, and is 36 feet iu height. It has two stories — the lower one finished in rustic style — and is surmounted by a dome supported by eight Ionic columns. The capacity of the library is 35,000 volumes. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN AEBOR, MICH. The university library has been accumulating for about thirty years, and for its size is very valuable. The only considerable donation it has received is the library of the late Dr. Kau, professor in the University of Heidelberg, consisting of about 4,000 volumes and 6,000 pamphlets, purchased and presented to the university by Hon. Philo Parsons, of Detroit, Mich. The library contains about 23,000 volumes, and 8,000 pamphlets. The library'of the law department numbers 3,000 volumes; that of the medical department, 1,500 ; that of the Young Men's Christian Association of the university, 900. There is no printed catalogue, but a manuscript journal catalogue iu folio; and a system of card catalogues, one set arranged alphabetically by authors, the other by subjects. ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS, MO. The university library was begun in 1829. No special fund is set aside for library purposes, but grants for the purchase of books are made annually by the faculty. Nearly all the books have been purchased with funds thus obtained. Donations have occasionally been made to the library. Eev. P. J. De Smet received donations in Belgium of works on theology, canon law, ecclesiastical history, and a copy of the Acta Sanctorum, by the Bollandists, from persons who did not permit their names to be recorded as benefactors. In 1832, the university received from the Commission of Public Records of Great Britain, 100 folio and seve ral octavo volumes of the public records, including the Domes-Day Book, with its index. The library contains 17,000 volumes. The average annual addition is 300 volumes. The society libraries, established by voluntary contribu- tions from the students in 1855, and supported by fees from the mem- bers, contain 8,00 J volumes; making, altogether, 25,01)0 books belong- ing to the university. A manuscript catalogue, arranged by subjects, was made in 1856-'57. Another was begun in 1871,, but is not yet finished. e Libraries. 97 DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, HANOVER, N. H. The library of Dartmouth College, like the college itself, which latter was founded in 1769, is of humble origin. It had its beginniug in small donations from men of moderate means Who had the cause of education at heart. As it increased, larger contributions were received from friends in this country and in England, and the ministers of the neigh- boring country did for it what the Connecticut ministers did for the library of Yale, and brought in books, some giving their entire libraries. In 1773 the Rev. Diodate Johnson, of Millington, Conn., left to the college, besides other bequests, his whole library. There is no record extant of the amount or value of these gifts. But smaller gifts were more common. Dr. Wheelock, in one of his letters, expresses his thanks to a patron in England who had sent him " six psalm books;" and in the early records of the trustees there is a vote of thanks to a gentleman who had given to the college a copy of Athanasius, bound in leather, in two volumes; and this is but a sample of many. It would be impossible to mention the many donors to the library, and their names would now be unfamiliar to all. But there is one who not only raised for himself a perpetual memorial in the academies which he founded at Exeter and Andover, but to whose wise counsels and large generosity the early success of Dartmouth College was largely due, the Hon. John Phillips, of Exeter, a trustee of the college from 1773 to 1793. Besides large gifts in money and lands for the gen- eral purposes of the college, he gave, in 1772, £175, lawful money, for the purchase of philosophical apparatus, but which was, with his per- mission, devoted to the enlargement of the library. In 1800 the library numbered about 3,000 volumes. In 1818 it was voted to sell the old books, impaired by use, and purchase new ones with the proceeds. In 1820 the sum of $400 was voted from the general fund for books. From time to time purchases have been made to supply the wants of the various departments of instruction. Private liberality has also established several funds for procuring books; some of them devoted to a special purpose. In July, 1852, George 0. Shattuck, of Boston, Mass., gave 81,000, to which he added, in August of the same year, another $1,000. Of this sum $800 were used for the Latin department, while the remainder was devoted to the purchase of books treating of mathematics as applied to mechanics and astronomy. In 1852, Rev. Roswell Shurt- lefif gave $1,000, which was devoted to the department of moral and intellectual philosophy. In 1846, Edmund, Isaac, and Joel Parker gave $1,000 as a library fund, which was increased by the last mentioned, Hon. Joel Parker, till in 1875 it amounted to $'r,ODO. At his death, in that year, Judge Parker also bequeathed, in addition to other gifts to the college, the sum of $12,500 for the use of the library; so that the Parker fund now amounts to $19,500. In 1867 Miss Mary C. Bryant, of Boston, Mass., gave $5,000 to establish a fund 7e 98 Fublic Libraries in the United States. as a memorial of her grandfather, the Rev. John Smith, one of the early professors in the college, to be called the John Smith fund. This and the Parker fund are of general application and may be used for the purchase of any books of permment value. lu 18 15 the late Eon. Samuel Appleton established the Appleton fund, and increased it by a bequest in 1854. Tliis fund is devoted to the maintenance of the de- partment of physics, and varying sums are expended yearly from its income in purchasing books for that department. A fund of $1,000 was also established by the late Hon. James W. Grimes, of Iowa. With these funds, amounting at present to $.36,501), a portion of which, however, is not available, and with grants from the college treasury, the library is yearly increased in numbers and value. The average yearly Increase for the past five years has been 700 volumes and 100 pamphlets. Society libraries. Side by side with the college library grew up another, which in the extent of its use has been of even greater value — the Societies' Library. In 1783 a society was formed called the Social Friends, secret in its character at first, but literary in its purpose. Weekly meetings were held for debate and rhetorical exercise, and to aid in the work of the society a library was collected. The society flourished for three years, during which time the library steadily grew, by the contributions of its members. In 178C a secession took place, some of the members with- drawing and forming a new society, the United Fraternity. Hence- forth they continued as rival societies, until the formation of the dis- tinctly so called secret societies. Each had its library, which was increased by the donations of successive classes; in later years at the rate of from 200 to 500 volumes annually. The management of the libraries was almost exclusively in the hands of the students, and after the obtaining of the society charters in 182G and 1827 entirely so till 1874. During the time of the famous struggle between the college and the university, from 1815 to 1819, an attempt was made on the part of the students of the university, with the assistance of some of their fac- ulty, to seize the books of the societies. The students of the college, emulating the example of their trustees, held fast to their rightful pos- sessions, and locked their assailants into a room until the books had been conveyed to a place of safety. During the progress of the litiga- tion the books were kept in private houses in the village, and at the triumph of the college were carried back to their old quarters. After the establishment of secret societies, the Social Friends and the United Fraternity declined as literary organizations, but the libra- ries continued to be centres of interest and profit. The use of the col- lege library was hampered by *so many restrictions that it was of very little value to the students, while their own libraries were always open for use ; and these, by a judicious union of the current literature of the day with works of more permanent value, afforded a better opportu- College Libraries. ^9 nity for selection than the college library. The two were never in col- lision, but the one was an indispensable supplement to the other. They continued entirely distinct until 1874, when, owing to the expense of maintenance, the students thought best to place their library under the direction of the faculty. Articles of agreement were entered into be- tween the faculty and the students, by which the latter retained cer- tain powers and privileges. The consolidated libraries were placed in one room, and a librarian appointed, at a Used salary, to take charge of the united library, which, with the reading room, was now open continuously to the students. Complete harmony of interest and unity of administration have worked greatly to the advantage of all parties. With the Societies' Library there was brought into the union the library (about 1,200 volumes) of the Philotechnic Society, an organiza- tion formed in the Chandler scientific department, in 1854, with a design similar to that of the Social Friends. There was also united with the general library, the library of the Northern Academy of Arts and Sciences, an association formed June 24, 1841, and composed of gentlemen of culture in various parts of the State. This collection consisted principally of pamphlets, bound and unbound, and numbered 2,500 volumes. The united libraries now number about 47,000 volumes, exclusive of pamphlets, the college library proper consisting of about 20,000, and the remainder being the books of the societies. There is also, in connection with the astronomical department of the college, begun in 1S53, a library of about 750 volumes, besides pam- phlets. The medical department, established in 1796, has 1,500 vol- umes ; the Thayer department of civil engineering has a library of 2,000 volumes, begun in 1862, and chieliy the gift of the late General Sylva- nus Thayer ; and the agricultural department a collection of 1,300 vol- umes. At present the astronomical, the engineering, and the agricultural libraries are kept in separate buildings; but it is hoped that before many years the means will be obtained for a buildiug that will offer, under one roof, safe and commodious quarters for all the separate libra- ries of the college, which together now amount to about 53,000 volumes. COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, PRINCETON, N. J. The library of the College of New Jersey is probably of nearly equal age with the college itself, and that dates from 1746. In a notice of it, written probably by President Davies in 1760, it is said to have been "formed almost entirely of the donations of several public spirited gen- tlemen on both sides of the Atlantic." Among these might have been mentioned Jonathan Belcher, whose name the college would have borne had he permitted it ; and who, dying as governor of New Jersey in 1757, left to the library 474 volumes. Classics and folios abounded in the mansions of those days, and the intellectual character of the collection, 100 Public Libraries in the United States. relatively to its whole mass, may have stood higher then thau since. The first printed catalogue, printed at Woodbridge, N.J., in 1760, con- sists of 36 pages, small quarto, and gives the titles of nearly 1,300 vol- umes, 231 being folios. March 6, 1802, the interior of :N"assau Hall, where the books were then lodged, was burned, and it was for some years supposed that the entire library was destroyed. A few books are now known to have escaped, viz, certain folios of Oalasio, and an edition of Oalvin in eleven folios, Amsterdam, 1671, still in the library, with their titles in the catalogue of 1760. Public generosity was appealed to for the means to replace the build- ing; and records still in existence show that $32,000 in money were sub- scribed in the colonies. To restore the library, also, many noble vol- umes, still be.aring the names of their donors, came from literary celeb- rities in this country and in Great Britain. Among these were John Lowell, Dugald Stewart, and Aiidrew Dalzel. To insure the safety of these new treasures, the library was placed in the -building in which are the geological museum and Philadelphian Hall, and, remaining there for half a century, escaped the flames which, in March, 1855, again destroyed Nassau Hall. Its increasing bulk finally crowded it out of the museum building, and it was removed to its original lojlging, where it stood from 1865 to 1873. For nearly seventy years of this century the sole revenue of the library was derived from a tax of $1 a term on the students. Its in- crease was therefore extremely slow. In 1812 the librarian reported 4,000 volumes in the collection. In the same year the library of Presi- dent Smith, containing also the books of President Witherspoon, was bought for the college. In 1823 the number of volumes was estimated at 7,0jJ0, and that number is given in the catalogue of 1831. In 1836, James Madison, an alumnus of 1771, left the library a legacy of $1,000. This was the only considerable gift of money mido to the library pre- vious to 1868. Several noteworthy donations of books were, however, received. James Lenox, of New York, has presented many valuable bookf5, among them the first three polyglots of the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Ubadiah Rich, while resident in London in 1834, procured the bestowment by the Record Commission of the British government of its publications, 86 volumes, folio, and 24 volumes, octavo. The legislative documents of the United States, continued in an almost unbroken series from the beginning of the Twentieth Congress to the end of the Forty- second, make about 1,000 volumes. Matthew Newkirk, of Philadelphia, gave the great Description de I'^^gypte. The family of W. D. Beattie presented 200 volumes of classical and other valuable works; and the libraries of Professors Hope and Glger, uurabering several huudred volumes each, were given to the college in 1850 and 1865. In 1868, the late John C. Green, of New York, presented to the col- lege 1100,000 under the name of the Elizabeth fund, in honor of his College Libraries. 103 mother. Prora the income of this fund the library was to receive $3,000 a year. Among other large additions thus made is the library of Tren- delenburg, of Berlin, consisting of nearly 10,000 volumes and pamphlets, purchased by the facuHy for $5,000. It contains a collection of 185 vol- umes of old editions of Aristotle and his commentators, with a large num- ber of modern essays on his philosophy 5 and also several hundred vol- umes of comparatively rare classics. By recent gifts from John S. Pierson, of New York, the library pos- sesses 1,000 volumes on the late civil war. The entire library now num- bers 29,500 volumes. The two society libraries contain together 12,000 volumes. Tiie library is open five days in the week for the exchange of books, and at almost all hours of the day for purposes of study. The necessity of a separate and safer building for the library having been for some time apparent, Mr. John C, Green, of New York, in 1872-73, erected an elegant stone building, at a cost of $120,000, and presented it to the college for library purposes. It is an octagonal building, with wings to the east and west, 140 feet in its entire length, with a central elevation of about 50 feet. The centre of the hall is occupied by a plat- form 12 feet in diameter, upon which is a circular desk for the librarian. Between this and the alcoves, which are ranged against the walls, is a passage way, 9 feet in width. The caT[)acity of the two floors of alcoves is 108,000 volumes. At the time of the erection of the building, a fund was provided for the support of the librarian. Library of the Cleiosophic Society , This society dates from the year 1765, the nineteenth from the foun- dation of the college. It began with seven members, of whom the most distinguished in after life were Oliver Ellsworth, second Chief-Justice of the United States, and Luther Martin, attorney-general of Maryland. The library now contains about 4,000 volumes. Perhaps the depart- ment which is best supplied is that of essays, including literary, mis- cellaneous, and periodical criticism ; but the historical collection leaves little to be desired. The reading room of the society is well supplied with magazines, reviews, and newspapers. Library of the American Whig Society. This society was organized in 1769, and three years afterwards included among its members, James Madison, fourth President of the United States. In connection with Clio, its rival, it has furnished many public men to the country. These two societies own buildings precisely alike, situated on the eastern verge of the college campus. Each building is two stories high ; the library and reading room being on the ground floor, and the halls for literary exercises above. The gift of $4,000 by Commodore Stockton has enabled the Whig Society to 104 Public Libraries in the United States. collect a larger and better library than its elder sister, and it numbers at present 8,000 volumes. The catalogue shows that at every period of its history the society has bought good books. The collections in the departments of poetry and art are especially good. There is also a val- uable collection of law books, and the best histories of every country. Fourteen reviews and literary periodicals are regularly taken. COLUMBIA COLLEGE, NEW YOE:^, N. Y. The Library of Columbia College, New York, contains a small but unusually choice and valuable collection of books. It is nearly coeval with the college, which was founded in 1754, Among the earliest benefactors were Joseph Murray, of Loudon, and the Rev. Duncorabe Bristowe, whose libraries were given to the college. These collec- tions, however, were scattered during the war, when the college buildings were occupied by the British army, and but few of the valuable books of which they consisted could be recovered. After the return of peace, when King's College was re opened under the name of Columbia College, the library was replenished, partly by donations, but chiefly by careful andjudicions purchases; and it has been kept up for nearly a hundred years upon the same principles, viz, of buying few books, and those only of the highest character, and of admitting only such books as are strictly adapted to a college library, leaving large and miscellaneous collections to the public libraries of New York. The lists of benefactors include the names of the principal citizens of New York during this whole period. Those of Samuel Johnson, Myles Cooper, (the tirst two presidents,) Archibald Kennedy, John Watts, occur in several of the older volumes. In later times, equally well known and respectable names are found. The largest gifts have been the law libra- ries of William Samuel Johnson, the third president of the college, given by his son, Mr. Johnson, of Stamford, Conn., and of John Jay, the first Chief-Justice of the United States, the gift of his grandson, John Jay. The collections of the New York Literary and Philosophical Society have also been added to the college library. Among the most im- portant additions by purchase, may be mentioned the library of the late Nathaniel F. Moore, professor of languages and afterwards presi- dent, consisting for the most part of elegant and valuable editions of the Greek and Koman classics, and the library of the late Lorenzo Da Ponte, containing a choice and extensive collection of the older Italian literature. A small but very good selection of standard German wri- ters was added a few years ago, under the direction of Dr. Tellkampf, some time professor ot German. The library has no resources except the grants made from time to time by the trustees for its enlargement and expenses. For many years these were liberal bat irregalar. Tliey are now settled at $4,000 a year, divided equally between the college and the School of Mines. College Libraries. 105 A small sum, varying from year to year, is also allowed to the la\r school. The books are not kept in one hall, but have been, for convenience, distributed among the departments of the university. The principal library, which alone is under the charge of the librarian, is in a hall 28 feet wide and 71 feet long. It contains 18,745 volumes, including 200 volumes of bound pamphlets. Its estimated value is $43,700. The additions for tlie last seven years have averaged 500 volumes a year, and the average outlay, including purchases and binding, has been $2,000. The library of the School of Mines has grown in ten years from 800 to 7,000 volumes. It is now valued at $17,000. The law library contains about 4,500 volumes, estimated at $8,000. The botanical library contains 1,145 volumes, valued at $3,650. The whole number of books may be stated at 31,390, and the value at $72,350. As, however, the statements of the law and botanical libraries were sent in in Decem- ber, 1874, it is probable that these collections have slightly increased since that time. The only literary society now in operation is the Philolexian. Its library probably does not exceed 1,200 volumes. The Peithologiau Library numbers 1,000 volumes. In August, 1875, an alphabetical catalogue of the books in the princi- pal library of the college was printed. To this is appended a second alphabet, containing a catalogue of the bound pamphlets. The whole forms an octavo volume of 412 pages. A catalogue of the library of the School of Mines, both alphabetical and analytical, has been published the past year. An elaborate and careful account of the library was prepared by William A. Jones, the late librarian, and was printed in 1861 under the direction of the trustees. The edition of this important pamphlet is now exhausted, but copies are to be found in several public libraries. CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, N. Y. The University Library at Cornell was established simultaneously with the opening of the university, in the month of October, 1868. It then consisted of 14,000 volumes, partly composed of the private library of Charles Anthon, formerly professor in Columbia College; partly of the private library of Franz Bopp, formerly professor in the University of Berlin, both of which had been purchased by the trustees of the uni- versity in the summer of 1868 ; partly of modern scientific books, selected and bought for the university in Europe, during the same period, by President White ; partly of a collection of German literature presented to the library by President White ; and partly of a small col- lection of works on agriculture, bought in New York in 1868, by Ezra Cornell. The Anthon collection consisted of between 5,000 and 6,000 volumes, two-thirds of which related to the classical languages and their literatures; the Bopp collection numbered nearly 2,000 volumes, and 106 Public Libraries in the United States. was chiefly made up of works treating of linguistic subjects, iucluding especially a noticeable series of Sanskrit texts. In the following year (1869) Professor Ooldwin Smith presented to the library his valuable private collection of books, which comprised more than 3,000 volumes, chiefly historical works and editions of the ancient and English classics. In 1870, President White gave to the library about 1,000 volumes of works on architecture, collected by himself, many of which are of the most expensive character. They include sets of all the principal periodicals relating to architecture printed in Europe, and the various works published by JBritton, VioUet le-Dac, Gailhabaud, Gruner, Weale, Seroux d'Agincourt, Galley Knight, Fergusson, Wiebe- king, Cicognara, Pugin, Parker, and others. In 1871, the late William Kelley, of Rhinebeck, J^.Y., then a trustee of the university, placed at the disposal of the librariau the sum of $2,250 for the purchase of mathematical works. With this sum, daring that year, 1,500 volumes and 700 tracts and dissertations were bought, chiefly through European agents, including complete sets of the leading mathematical periodicals in English, French, German, Italian, and Danish, and the most important modern works in the domain of pure mathematics. In January, 1872, the private library of Jared Sparks, formerly president of Harvard College, and editor of the works of Washington and Franklin, was added, by purchase, to the university library. It numbered more than 5,000 volumes, about two-thirds of which were in the department of American history — the collection of books and pamphlets illustrating the revolutionary period being extraor- dinarily full and valuable. To these colleotious mast be added many thousands of volumes purchased at varioas times since 18l)S, the balk of which have been bought in Europe. The collections have not been kept separate, but all have been consolidated and classified as one gen- eral library — a bookmark in each volume indicating the collection with which it was purchased or given. The library also possesses a few unique collections. Among these the most notable is the May collection of works relating to the subjects of slavery and anti-slavery. This was founded in the year 1870, by the late Eev. Samuel J. May, of Syracuse, who gave the books he had himself gathered during the progress of the abolition movement. To these have been united the anti-slavery portion 6f the libraries of the late Gerrit Smith, of Peterboro', N.Y., of the late Mr. Richard D. Webb, of Dublin, Ireland, of Mrs, Elizabeth Pease Nichols, of Edin- burgh, Scotland, of Mr. Henry B, Stanton, of Tenafly, N.J., as well as a host of minor donations from many persons, bjth in the North and the South, who took part in the political struggle which originated in the slavery question. The collection at present comprises nearly 800 bound volumes and 5,000 pamphlets, and includes perfect files of- many of the leading anti-slavery journals, such as the Liberator and the Anti- Slavery Standard. Ezvd Cornell, after the death of the late Samuel F. College Libraries. 107 B. Morse, bought and presented to the library the works owned by that distinguished gentleman relating to telegraphy and electro-magnetism, consisting of about 250 volumes and pamphlets. The library has also acquired, largely thfough the liberality of President White, a collection of books illustrative of the history of the typographical art, embracing volumes from the presses of Fust, Schoiffer, Caxton, Wynkyu de Worde, Zell, Mentelius, Aldus Mauutius, Richard Pynson, and other early printers, as well as specimens of the books printed by the Etiennes, the Elzevirs, Plantin, Baskerville, and Bodoui in later times. Principally to the same source it is indebted for a small collection of illuminated manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tamil, Persian, Ethiopic, Latin, French, and German, some of which are of considerable interest. In modern manu- scripts it possesses a valuable collection of letters, documents, and draw- ings by Washington, of documents in the handwriting of Franklin and Lafayette, together with many letters addressed to Washington, as well as a considerable number of manuscript maps illustrating revolutionary battles. In serials the library, considering its age and size, is particularly rich. It owns sets of most of the noted periodicals devoted to natural and physical science published during the last forty years, and a very perfect collection of English and American reviews and literary maga- zines and of foreign philological journals. It continues to add to these sets J its annual subscription to foreign periodicals alone amounting to an average sum of $1,000. The works on bibliography and literary history are also numerous and carefully selected. Among the extensive or costly works on the shelves of the library may be mentioned a government copy of Description de I'figypte, Paris, 1809-28 ; the .engravings of Koman antiquities, edifices, and works of art, by Piranesi, Rome, 1750-'85 — the copy, in 21 volumes, presented by Pope Clement the Fourteenth to the English Duke of Cumberland ; the Thesaurus Antiquitatum of Gronovius and Grtevius, Venice, 1732- '37, in 33 folio volumes; the Transactions and Proceedings of the French Institute, the Royal Society, and the Berlin Academy of Sci- ences, together with those of the Geological Society, the Zoological So- ciety, and the Linnseau Society of London ; a colored copy of Besler's Hortus Eystettensis, Nuremberg, 1613, which cost $800; Bateman's Orchidacese of Mexico and Guatemala ; Curtis's Botanical Magazine, a complete set, procured at an expense of $650 ; the Flora Brasiliensis of Martius as far as published; Humboldt's scientific works in folio; the Mouiteur Uuiversel, from 1789 to 1808, in 102 folio volumes ; the London Times, a set beginning with 1848 ; Canina's Edifizj di Roma Antica, Architettura Antica, and Architettura dei tempj Cristiani, in 13 volumes ; Gruner's Decorative Art ; the publications of the Dilet- tanti Society of London ; Hakluyt's Voyages, London, 1599 ; Cruveil- hier's Anatomic, Paris, 1851; the Bibliotheca Classica Latina of Le Maire, in 143 volumes, and the Scriptores Latiai of Valpy, in 169 vol- 108 Public Libraries in the United States. umes; the Biblioteca de. Aatores Espaiioles, edited by Riradeneyra ; the Olassici Italian!, in 250 volumes', and the publications of the Ray Society, the Sydenham Society, the PalaBoutographical Society, the Percy Society, the Camden Society, the Hakluyt Society, the Eidy Eng- lish Text Society, the English Historical Society, and the Chaucer Soci- ety. The set of the patent specifications presented to the library by the British government, numbering over 2,89J vokimss, is still deposited in London awaiting the funds to bind it. The library hais a complete set of American Patent-Office publications. The library has no fixed fund for its maintenance, but depends upon annual grants by the trustees of the university for the purchase of books, which have ranged from $1,000 to $3,000, besides special grants at various times for particular purposes. The average an- nual increase of the library since its establishment has been nearly 3,000 volumes. The total number of volumes at present is 39,000, be- sides 15,000 pamphlets. The collection is arranged very nearly in accord- ance with the system of classification adopted by Brunet in his Man- nel du Libraire, and possesses a simple alphabetical slip catalogue, to- gether with special catalogues of a few of thedepartments. Of the Sparks and Bopp collections there are printed catalogues, prepared before the purchase of those libraries ; of the Anthon collection, there is a similar catalogue in manuscript. There are employed a principal librarian and two assistants; the principal librarian, who is also a professor, and one of the assistants devoting but a part of their time to the library. The library is a circulating one, so far as the members of thp. faculty are concerned, and a library of reference so far as the students of the insti- tution are concerned. The average number of volumes constantly with- drawn from the library is 650; the average number consulted daily in the reading room of the library is 200. The library is open throughout the year (except Sundays) from 8 o'clock in the morning till 5 o'clock in the afternoon, or till sunset, when that is before 5. It occupies the lower main floor of the McGraw or central university building, a room 100 feet by 45, and is arranged in alcoves, which inclose a space used as a reading room. The room is adorned with several busts, in marble and plaster, and with a number of portraits in oil, the latter including orig- inal half-length portraits of Professors Louis Agassiz, Goldwin Smith, James Russell Lowell, and George William Curtis. HAMILTON COLLEGE, CLINTON, N. Y. Hamilton College received its charter in May, 18 12, and at the same time a small library belonging- to Hamilton Oneida Academy was, with other property, passed over to the college. In November, 1812, the trustees of the college granted $100 for the increase of the library, and appointed a committee authorized to make purchases, appoint a librarian, and provide regulations for the use of the library. In 1826 the number of volumes was about 1,000, and this, was gradually increased College Libraries. 109 by purchases and donations by individuals and the general and State governments; but the addition of valuable and useful books was very slow, the college, for want of fu nds, not being able to make many pur* chases. In November, 18fl0, the libraries of the Union and Phoenix Societies, each containing about 3,000 volumes, were placed in charge of the col- lege for safe keeping; and since that time they have been kept and used as a part of the college library, though the rights of the societies are fully recognized and maintained. In 1865 the valuable library of Dr. Edward Robinson, containing about 1,400 volumes and about 100 valu- able maps, was purchased and given to the college by a few friends in New York. In the same year, the library received its most important addition in the valuable law library of William Curtis Noyes, of New York, bequeathed by him to H imilton College, in order "that it may always be kept together for the use of law stndents in that institution.'^ This collection numbers nearly 7,000 volumes, of which about 5,000 are law books, and the residue miscellaneous. They were collected during a practice of twenty-five years, at an expense of from $50,000 to $75,000. It contains all the American reports, with scarcely an excep- tion, down to 1865, including those of Mr. Jefferson from 1730 to 1740, and from 1768 to 1772, complete reports of every State in the Union, British, English, Scotch, and Irish reports, and of the colonies from New- foundland to India. Among its rare volumes are all the Domes-Day Books; a complete copy of the English Statutes at Large in 78 vol- umes; and everything in the Engbsh common law, both civil and crimi- nal, and iu equity, with the earlier treatises. It contains a considerable collection of codes, among which are the Chinese aiul Gentoo; the Frede. rician code and Hindoo law; the Ordinances of Menu, translated from the Sanskrit by Sir William Jones; and Macnaghteu's Principles of Hindoo and Mohammedan Law. Tuere is also a copy of Beugnot's As- sises de Jerusalem, 2 volumes, folio, Paris, 1841. This work, which is very learnedly annotated, contains an account of the works on juris- prudence written in the thirteenth century, and the laws of the king- dom of Jerusalem and Cyprus in the time of the Crusades. Among the^ legal curiosities is a perfect copy of Statham's Abridgment, the first, book of English law ever printed, in black letter. 1470; and a copy of Le Grand Coutumier du Pays, Duchd de Normandie, 1530. Both of these are in a fine state of preservation. There is also a copy of Dug- dale's Origines Judiciales, edition of 1671, the most accurate now extant, as most of the first edition, 1666, was destroyed in the great tire in Lon- don the same year; Spelman's Glossary, 1687; and Jardine's Use of Torture in the Criminal Law of Etjgland, 1637. There is also a copy of Calvin's Lexiccm, Geneva edition of 1584. The collection of French law is considerable; and there is a complete set, over 70 voluu)es, of the printed statutes of the Colony and State of New York, including the session laws from the earliest period, commencing with a copy of Bradr 110 Public Libraries in the United States. ford's, printed in Loudon in 1719, which formerly belonged to Lord Delaware, and seems to have come from the plantation ofQce in the col- ony. There is hardly any law book which a lawyer in large practice may have occasion to consult that may not be found in this collection. Feeling the obligation to provide for the safe keeping of so impor- tant a gift, the trustees took immediate measures to realize a sum suffi- cient for building a library hall. The Hon. Perry H. Smith, of Chi- cago, in honor of whom the hall is named, offered to contribute one- half che sum supposed to be necessary for the building, $25,000, on condition that the other half should be made up by the alumni and other friends of the college in the West. The corner stone \^as laid in July, 1866, but owing to various hindrances the hall was not completed and ready for occupancy until the summer of 1872. The whole cost of building and furniture was about $50,000. The building is 75 by 50 feet; the alcoves in the library are arranged in three tiers, one above another, and furnish space for 60,000 volumes. A room on the second floor is used as a memorial hall and art gallery. The number of volumes now in the library is about 22,000. LIBRARY OF MADISON UNIVERSITY, HAMILTON, N. Y. The beginnings of this library, like those of "the university itself, were small, and, for want of resources, the growth was slow. A nucleus was formed in 1820, by the gift of 238 volumes, and 145 pamphlets, from thirty-one donors. In 3824, the list of books had increased to 675 volumes, with many valuable pamphlets and official documents. In 1828, Dr. Spencer H. Cone, of IS^ew York, made a valuable contri- bution, and Dr. Howard Malcom, of Boston, another in 1832. In 1834-'35, one of the professors. Rev. Barnas Sears, visited Ger- many. Advantage was taken of this visit to make a number of large orders for books, though there were no funds, and these orders were met by contributions from private pockets. The purchases took a wide range, filling the then small library room with the best books extant in history, philosophy, geography, travels, biography, science, literature, and art ; in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German philology ; in Scripture illustration and interpretation ; and in systematic and prac- tical theology. In 184l-'42, another professor, Rev. Thomas J. Conant, visited England and German}^ through whom further orders were made for Euglish, German, and French books, and for a rich collection of classic- al, patristic, and mediaeval works. In the meantime, the library had become rich in encyclop.nediology, lexicography, and philology, although as yet no fund existed for replenisliing it. During all these years, the library was lodged in West College, the first college edifice on " the hill;" but in 1830, it was removed into Al- umni Hall for more commodious quarters, into a room fitted up by College Libraries. Ill James B. Colgate, of !N"ew York. At this time, as at several times prev- ious, a silting of tlie books took place, and all such books of early date as were obsolete or of small value were thrown out, and a new classifica- tion of the residue was made. It may be observed that during thirty-six years there have been four librarians, who, in the absence of funds, have served gratuitously, and made their personal efforts in the collection of money and books a good substitute for an income fund, and miinly through their labors the library has been enlarged. These have been Prof. A. C. Kendrick, Prof. P. B. Spear, Prof. B. Dodge, and ttie present librarian, Prof N. L. An- drews. During the last ten years, there has been a fund of $5,000, and an income, from all sources, of about $350 a year. Just now additional funds are being raised by subscription, and already, with 'the former fund, the library has $20,000, on which it will hereafter draw interest. The library has 10,000 volumes, and is emphatically a working library, having been mainly made up for the benefit of the faculty and students. It props every coarse of study in the university, and is so arranged as to be nsed or consulted with great convenience. The classification of books, according to the departments of knowledge to which they belong, is conspicuously noted by headings at the top of the cases, and is as follows: Greek language and literature; Latin language and literature ; Philology and Oriental literature; Biblical literature and exegesis; Systematic, polemic, and practical theology; Ecclesiastical histor^^ ; Civil history ; Biography; Periodical literature - Natural sciences; Voyages and travels; Foreign literature; English lit- erature ; Philosophy. A valuable aid in the use of the library has recently been introduced, by the preparation, at considerable expense, of a voluminous manu- script index to periodical literature. This comprises 17,000 references, alphabetically arranged, to important articles in the leading reviews. The library receives regularly the principal American and foreign re- views, and the index is carefully kept up by noting, alphabetically, all the articles contained in the current numbers. It is believed that the careful selection of books for working purposes, the absence of useless duplicates and miscellaneous donations, and the attention paid to periodical literature, render the library of the uni- versity unsurpassed, for its size, in real utility and value. Three students' society libraries contain, in the aggregate, about 3,000 volumes. UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, ROCHESTER, N. Y. The University of Rochester was founded in 1850. The library bad its origin about the same time. Only one library has ever been directly connected with the university, though its relation to the Rochester Theological Seminary is such that the officers and students of each in- stitution have access to the libraries of both. 112 Public Libraries in the United States. About ten years ago Gen. John V. Rathbone, of Albany, gave to the university the sum of $25,(100 for the endowment of the library. This is known as the Rathbone library fund, and the income from it, abous $1,750 a year, is devoted to the purchase of books and certain current library expenses. The library has hitherto been kept in a room con- structed for the purpose in the university building. A new fire-proof building is now nearly completed on the university grounds, the ground floor of which is to be devoted to the library, the second story being fitted up for the university cabinet. It is a gift to the university by the Hon. Hiram Sibley, of Rochester. Its cost, when completed, will not be less than $100,000. The library has never received any very large additions of books by gift. The annual additions to the library are between five hundred and six hundred volumes. The leading American and English periodicals are taken, and also some of the German and French, which are kept bound up to date. The present number of volumes is 12,000. VASSAR COLLEGE, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. This college, founded by Matthew Vassar, was opened in 1865, and the library has been gradually collected since that date. Mr. Vassar bequeathed to the college a fund of $50,000, the income of which may be used only for the purchase of additions to the library and the cabinets. The library is composed, in large part, of books of reference. As each professor is responsible for the selection of books relating to his depart- ment of instruction, the library, as a whole, is made up of choice, special collections. For the size of the library it contains a large number of rare and costly works. The whole number of volumes in the collection is 9,881. About 700 volumes are added yearly. The rooms assigned to the library are spacious and elegant, and are planned to furnish shelf room for about 40,000 volumes. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, N. 0. The charter of the university speaks of the library as if it were to be an essential part of the institution ; and with the gathering of the first classes the library was begun. Gen. W. R. Davie, afterwards governor, gave to it 14 volumes in 1795, the year in which it was opened, and sub- sequently added 25 more. Among the early donors Richard Bennehan, of Orange County, gave 28 volumes, and Joseph Blount Hill an encyclop£edia in 18 volumes. In 1816 Rev. James Hall, of Iredell, gave 49 volumes, a third of them printed before 1700, and about 100 volumes were received from the library of Joseph Gautier, of Elizabeth- town. College Libraries. 113 Measures were early taken to provide an income for the library ; and up to 1824 tbis was derived from a sessional fee paid by the students. Since tbat year it lias been dependent upon grants made by the trustees. In 1824 Dr. Caldwell purchased for the library, in Europe, 979 books, and also brought over 60 volumes as donations from persons in England. A few years later the English Record Commission presented their pub- lications, 83 folios and 24 octavos. In 1859 the university purchased 1,897 volumes from the library of Professor Mitchell. This is believed to have been the only purchase of books by the trustees since 1824. Within the past forty-five years a few gifts have been made by "individ- uals, less than 60 volumes before March, 1869, and about 300 since. The Smithsonian Institution has given its publications, 25 volumes; the State has given 218 volumes of laws and legislative records; and the United States has given 1,500 volumes of congressional and executive documents. The number of v^olumes now in the library is not far from 7,000. There are two students' libraries in the university, the Dialectic and the Philanthropic, numbering 3,813 voliimes. In 1850 a handsome library building was built. It is in the form of a Greek temple. The hall is 84 by 32 feet and 20 feet high. MARIETTA COLLEGE, MARIETTA, OHIO. Soon after the college was established in 1835, the sum of $1,000 was received from the estate of Mr. Samuel Stone, of Townsend, Mass., " to be expended for books." Something was added to this by friends of the college at Marietta, and the whole amount expended in Europe for philological works. In 1850 an effort was made to increase the library, and $8,000 were subscribed, chiefly at Marietta, The largest subscribers were : Douglas Putnam, $2,500; Noah L. Wilson, $1,250; William Sturges, of Chicago, $1,250; Winthrop B. Smith, of Cincinnati, $500; Col. John Mills, $500. Most of this money was expended by President Smith in Europe. Some years ago S. P. Hildreth, M.D., of Marietta, gave five or six hundred volumes, mostly scientific or historical works, to the li- brary ; and Dr. George O. Hildreth has, since his father's death, added a number of volumes to this collection. Hon. William A. Whittlesey and Hon. William P. Cutter, both of Marietta, have presented to the library many valuable works relating to the civil and political his- tory of the country. John Kendrick, LL.D., for thirty-three years pro- fessor of Greek in the college, and fiow professor emeritus, has given $1,000, the income of whicli is to be expended in the purchase of books connected with the classical department. The whole amount of funds held for libciiry purposes is about $5,500. The number of volumes in the college library is 15,130 ; in the society libraries, 11,570. 8e 114 PuUic Libraries in the United States. Most of tlie books purchased for the college library have been se- lected with reference to the work of instruction, so that the library is very largely i)rofessional in its character. A catalogue was printed in 1857, and a card catalogue has been pre- pared of all the books added to the library since that time. OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVEESITY. The library, which contains something ov^er 10,400 volumes and is valued at about $15,000, has been entirely donated. The largest gifts are as follows: In 1853 William Stnrges, of Zanesville, Ohio, gave $7,500 as a foundation. In 1858 Rev. Joseph M. Trimble, D. D., of Columbus, Ohio, selected an alcove to be filled at his expense, and has since placed upon its shelves books valued at $2,500. In 1866 William Ingham, of Cleveland, Ohio, selected an alcove, and has since placed in it books estimated at $2,500. Eev. Charles Elliott, D.D., left as a be- quest a portion of his library, estimated at $1,000. The remainder of the library has come from sjnaller gifts which cannot be enumerated. The number of volumes in the students' libraries is 3,500. ST. XAVIER COLLEGE, CINCINNATI, OHIO. The library of St. Xavier College comprises three divisions — the library proper, devoted to the use of the faculty of the college, and the Students' Library and Sodality Library for the use of the students. The whole number of volumes in the main library is about 14,000. This library may be consulted, with certain restrictions, by any person properly introduced. A large proportion of the library is theological in character, but there is also a good collection of works in general literature, both English and foreign. Among the theological works are the writings of St. Thomas, 28 volumes, folio ; the Migne collection, 28 volumes, folio ; the works of Suarez. Ferraris, Billuart, Franzelini, Concina, Muratorius, Gotti, Durandus, printed in 1533, and many others equally valuable. Among the old and rare books are many published within half a century after the invention of the art of printing. The oldest book in the col- lection is a Moral Theology, printed by Hilbruii, in Venice, 1477. Next in antiquity is the Instruction on the Institute of the Solitaries and on the Remedies against Vice, written by John the Hermit, called Cassian, and printed at Basle in 1485. There are also a Scholastic History, Basle, 1486; Sermons on the different Sundays of the Year and Feasts of the Saints, Strasbourg, 1488; Lazarolus de Litio, Basle, 1490; the City of God, St. Augustine, 1494; Mirror of Patience, CJdalric Finder, Nurem- berg, 1509 ; Examples from Writings of the Holy Fathers, 1512 ; a Latin Bible printed at Lyons in 1523; Commentaries of St. Cyrillusof Alex- andria, 1520; works of Josephus in German, Strasburg, 1531 ; Durandus on the Writings of Peter Lombardus, Lyons, 1533 ; Latin Psalter, Paris College Libraries. 115 1542; The Philosophy of Plato aud Aristotle Compared, by James Car- pentarius, Paris, 1573. Among interesting books of later date is a copy of the first edition of the Bible printed in America, published by Carey, Stewart & Co., Philadelphia, 1790. There is no printed catalogue of the library, but one in manuscript arranged according to subjects. DICKINSON COLLEGE, CARLISLE, PA. The library was begun shortly after the organization of the college, in 1783. It has been the slow growth of small purchases, as very lim- ited funds would from time to time allow, and of individual donations of books 5 no single one being large. The college library now numbers 7,765 volumes. There are two societies connected with the college, the members of which tax them- selves yearly for the increase of their respective libraries. The library of the BellesLettres Society contains 9,771 volumes; that of the Union Philosophical Society, 9,967 volumes, making the whole number of books belonging to the college, 27,503. In the college library are some rare and valuable works; among them a complete collection of the Christian Fathers. There is no printed catalogue. In the ones used the books are classi- fied under departments, as historical, law, fiction, and are then described alphabetically. LAFAYETTE COLLEGE, EASTON, PA. The library was founded in 1832, by contributions of books from friends of the college, and it grew slowly by gifts aud small purchases. In 1865, on the accession of the present president, Dr. W. C. Cattell, the whole number of volumes was 2,645. A fee of $1 a term, for the increase of the library, or in later years of $2 a term, for the library and reading room, has since been paid by each student, aud the matriculation aud graduating fees have also been given in part to the library. The income from these sources has been expended almost wholly on books immediately connected with the college studies, so as to buy everything needed for original investigation in the special direction in which the professor wishes to push his work. It does not, therefore, add rapidly to the number of volumes on the catalogue. It now amounts to some- what more than $2,000 a year. Grants for the purchase of books are also made from a fund estab- lished in 1872, by Mr. Benjamin Douglass, to promote the study of the Latin and Greek of Christian authors. O^er important gifts have been made. The largest benefactors are Eev. David Bishop, who gave his library to the college at its fouuda. tion; Hon. T. G. Clemson, who in 1850-57 gave many valuable scieu. tific works in French, among them series of the Annales des Mines, of the Bulletins of the Geological Society of France, the works of Berzelius, 116 Public Libraries in the United States. Thenard, and others; Mr. Edward Miller, who in 1870 presented 115 volumes on civil engineering; Dr. John Curwen, who from 1870-'74-has presented many valuable works ; M. Ferdinand Lesseps, 1871, a com- plete set of the documents connected with his work on the Suez canal; the class of 1871, a fund for the purchase of the issues of the Early English Text Society, the Chaucer Society, and the like ; Mr. B. Douglass, 1872, a fund for Christian Latin and Greek, from which about one thousand dollars have been expended for books ; Messrs. E. L. & A. Stuart, 1874, the Antenicene Library; the heirs of Hon. C. F. Ward, his well known general library and law library, with collections of autographs, engrav- ings, and rarities, numbering about 11,000 volumes. The departments in which the library is strongest are Anglo-Saxon, eaily and dialectic English, and early French ; (besides a pretty com- plete collection of Anglo-Saxon works, it has rare serial publications, such as those of the English Historical Society, the JElfric Society, the Philological Society, English, the Percy Society, Early English Text, Chaucer, and the like ; Haupt's Zeitschrift fiir deutsches Alter- thum;) Christian Greek and Latin; American history; chemistry and mining, and botany. It has complete sets of German and French serials, such as Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal, 1820 onward; Wagner's Jahresbericht der Chemischen Technologic, 1856 onward; Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 1789 onward ; Leonhard's Jahrbuch, and iNeues Jahrbuch der Mineralogie, 1833 onward. The librarian reported last year the addition of 989 volumes, of which 797 were bought for $2,007. The whole number of volumes is now about 16,000. Of these about 6,000, the dictionaries, cyclopedias, historical and scientific serials, and other works of reference or of fre- quent demand, are displayed in cases in the reading room of the college which is a large hall with a gallery occupying a double story of the east wing of the South College. These books, with the best papers and periodicals of this country, England, France, and Germany, are open to all the members of college daily (Sundays excepted) for consultation during study hours, and for general reading out of study hours. Ade- quate provision has not yet been made for the proper display and use of the ret-'t of the books, which temporarily occupy a room in Pardee Hall, waiting for a library to be built. There are two literary societies, the Washington and the Franklin, the former with 2,100 volumes, the latter with 1,632. There are also the Brainerd Society, which has a small collection of religious works, and the Natural History Society, which has a small but valuable working library. The whole number of volumes in all the libraries of the college is about 20,000. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHILADELPHIA, PA. The library of the university dates back to the Origin of the institu- tion as an academy in 1749, and its incorporation as a college in 1755. College Libraries. 117 Its earlier collections were the gifts of its frieuds, especially Rev. Richard Peters, who presented mauy works in old English literature and divinity. Some others bear the autograph of the founder of the university, Benjamin Franklin. The next additions seem to have been made during the visit of the first provost of the university. Dr. Smith, to Great Britain, to secure funds for an endowment, in 1751, and comprised a large number of works of English scholars then living, and a copy of the Baskerville edition of Barclay's Apology, presented by the author's son. The next gift of books came after the Revolution, and from France. Lafayette, While in America, was greatly interested in the univeisity, and on his return solicited a gift of books from the King, who sent over a very considerable number of works on French history, on natural history and travels, and the P aris edition of the Byzantine historians. During a long period the library grew very slowly, and chiefly by the gifts of authors and friends. Since its removal to the new building in West Philadelphia, it has received five munificent gifts: 1. The complete and unique collection of works in social science and political economy, made by the late Stephen Caldwell, author of The Ways and Means of Payment, and editor of List's National Econ- omy. This collection contains about 8,000 books and pamphlets, and covers every important work on or related to the subject in the Eng- lish, French, and Italian languages, besides many in Spanish and Ger- man, which had appeared dow u to the time of his death. 2. The classical, bibliographical, and Sb akspere library of Professor Allen, especially full, select, and valuable in the department of Greek literature. This was purchased b^^ the alumni and the trustees. 3. The law library of the late Judge Bouvier, presented by his fam- ily, especially rich in works on Roman and French law. 4. The Rogers library of engineering, presented by Prof. Fairman Rogers, as a memorial of his father, the late Evan Rogers. Of this collection, about 1,000 volumes, many of them very costly and mag- nificent works, have already been procured, and the donor is now com- pleting' it by careful selections. 5. The Tobias Wagner fund, presented by a member of his family for the creation of a fund to be devoted to the purchase of works on history and literature. The income from this fund is $500 a year, and one of the purchases made is the magnificent series of photographs of antiquities in the British Museum. The trustees have granted $5,000 to purchase a fitting literary apparatus for the department of history and English literature, most of which has been expended under the direction of Dr. Stille, the present provost of the university. These gifts and purchases have increased the number of volumes in the library to nearly 20,000. There are two students' libraries, that of the Philomathean Society, 1 1 8 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. and that of the Zelosophic Society; the former uiiinbering 1,323 vol- umes, and the latter about one thousand volumes. The library of the medical department numbers 3,000 volumes; that of the law depart- ment 250 volumes. BROWN UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, R. I. liliode Island College, now Brown University, was incorporated in 1764, and was originally established in the town of Warren. In 1770 it was removed to Providence, and, with the exception of a few books l^rocured in England through the agency of the Kev. Morgan Edwards, was at this time destitute of a library. To supply, as far as possible, this deficiency, the Providence Library Company (believed to have been established in 1753, and now merged in the Providence Athenaeum) tendered to the officers and students the free use of their books, a privilege which was continued several years. Two years later, (1772,) President Manning wrote concerning the library : "At present we have but about 250 volumes, and these not well chosen, being such as our friends could best spare." In the latter part of this year the college received from the executors of the Eev. Dr. John Gill, of London, all his published works, together with 52 folio volumes of the Fathers ; and in the following year the Rev. Benjamin Wallin, of London, presented to the library his published works in 10 volumes; Bunyan's works, 6 volumes, and others. Donations were also received from Rev. Dr. Stennett, and others. On the 6th of December, 1776, immediately after the occupation of Newport by the British troops, the college was disbanded, and the col- lege building (now University Hall) was, from that time untij June, 1782, occupied as a barrack and hospital. During this period the books were removed for safe keeping to West Wreutham, Mass. At the re-organization of the college, in the autumn of 1782, the library, according to President Manning, consisted of " about 500 volumes, most of which are both very ancient and very useless, as well as very ragged and unsightly." In 1783 the liberality of Mr. John Brown, treasurer of the corpora- tion, added 1,400 volumes to the library. The books were selected by President Manning and the chancellor, Gov. Stephen Hopkins, and were purchased in London. A list of these 1,400 volumes, with the prices, is on file among the college archives. To the bibliographer and the antiquarian it is a document of special interest. The sum of £200 was at the same time subscribed by other members of the cor- poration, for apparatus. Mr. Moses Brown, a brother of John Brown, also at this time imported and presented to the library a number of books illustrative of the prin- ciples of the Friends, to which denomination he was attached. Some of these are now rare and of great value. During the same year (1784) John Tanner, of Newport, presented College Libraries. 119 to the library 135 volumes of tuUcellaiieoiis books, many of which are now iuiportaufc, illastratiug the early ecclesiastical history of New Eiig- laud ; and iu the succeeding y^ar Granville Sharp, presented sev- eral of his own iiublicatious, together with a set of the works of his grandfather, Dr. John Sharp, archbishop of York. He subsequently made other donations to the library. These gifts so augmented its treasures that it contained, as appears from the correspondence of President Manning, " upward of 2,000 volumes." During the latter part of this year, also, a donation of 149 vol- umes, mostly folios and quartos, comprising the works of several of the Fathers of the Church, and standard works in science, history, literature, and the classics, was received from the Bristol Education Society in England, through the agency of the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans. In the year 1792 Hon. Nicholas Brown, from whom the university derives its name, began his princely benefactions to the college by the gift of $500 for the purchase of a law library. The Rev. Isaac Backus, of Middleborough, Mass., who died in 1806, bequeathed to the college a part of his library-. The extent or value of this bequest it is now impossible to determine, as no record was made of it at the time. Among the books thus presented, however, is one which deserves particular mention, a copy of Roger Williams's Bloody Tenent yet more Bloody, being the copy originally presented by Wdl- iams to his friend and fellow laborer. Dr. John Clarke. On a blank leaf are the following words in Roger Williams's handwriting : " For his honored and beloved Mr. John Clarke, an eminent Witnes of Christ Jesus ag'st y*' bloodie doctrine of persecution, etc." In 1815 Mr. Nicholas Brown gave $500 for the purchase of books, and Mrs. Hope Ives presented a copy of Dobson's edition of the Encyclo- p aedia Britannica. The ne:^t and most important of all the donations to the library was the legacy in 1818 of the Rev. William Richards, of Lynn, England, who, because of the liberal character of Brown University, bequeathed to it his library, consisting of about 1,300 volumes. This collection is iu many respects valuable. It contains a considerable number of Welsh books; a large collection of works, illustrating the history and an- tiquities of England and Wales; besides two or three hundred bound volumes of pami)hlets, some of them very ancient, rare, and curious. In 1819 the Rev. Thomas Carlile, of Salem, Mass., an alumnus, pre- sented to the library 103 volumes, mostly quartos, comprising the best editions of the works of the celebrated mathematicians Euler, Lacroix, Lagrange, Lai)lace, besides many theological works. For the next important accession to the library, designated "the sub- scription of 1825," the college is indebted to the efforts of Mr. Horatio Gates Bowen, librarian from 1824 to 1841. At his request several friends subscribed $840, which sum was expended in the purchase of books. 120 Public Libraries in the United States. Between the years 1827 and 1843 several donations of ituportauce were received from frieotls of the university in this country and in Europe. Within the same period the libraries of the Philophysian and Franklin Societies, containing together three or four hundred volumes, were incorporated with the college library. Hon. Theron Metcalf, of Boston, has, since 1842, presented to the library 68 volumes of ordination sermons, (without doubt the largest collection of the kind that has ever been made;) 117 volumes of funeral sermons arranged in classes; 23 volames of centennial discourses, (fur- nishing rich material for hisfcoriaus and- antiquarians ;) 12 volumes of Fourth of July orations, including all delivered before the municipal authorities of Boston from 1800 to 1860; 5 volumes of discourses on Washington; and many others. The entire Metcalf collection num- bers 375 volumes, containing about 10,000 separate pamphlets, many of them exceedinglj^ rare and valuable. Judge Metcalf has also made other donations, including his own publications. In 1843 the sum of $5,00D was raised for the purchase of English books. In the same year the foundations of a French, German, and Italian library were laid through the liberality of Mr. John Carter Brown, and 2,921 bound volumes were purchased, including a complete set of the Mouiteur Universe!, II Vaticano, II Campidoglio, Museo Bor- bonico, Mus6e Fran9ais, Musee Royal. In 1844 Mr. Brown presented to the library a set of the Year Books, from Edward I to Henry VIII, in 10 volumes, folio. The class of 1821, a quarter of a century after their graduation, raised a sum of money for the library, with which about 500 volumes were purchased, mostly from the library of Hon. John Pickering. Among these is a folio of Plutarch's Lives, in Latin, published at Rome, 1471. In 1847, through the agency of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Osgood and others, $2,000 were raised among several churches, and expended in the pur- chase of works relating to patristic literature and the history of the Reformation. The Hon. James Tallmadge, of the class of 1798, bequeathed, at his death in 1853, $1,000 for the improvement of the library. In 1831, efforts were made to raise, by subscription, a fund for the library. The whole number of subscribers was 99, the smallest sub- scription being $10. Nicholas Brown headed the list with $10,000, and the entire amount raised was $19,437.50. This sum was placed at inter- est until it amounted to $25,000, and was then invested in a permanent fund. The first dividend became due in July, 1839, and since that time the proceeds have been regularly used, according to the design of the donors, " to purchase books for the library, and apparatus for the philo- sophical and chemical departments." The number of volumes now in the library is about 45,000. It has also a large collection of pamphlets, bound and unbound. College Libraries. 121 The members of the corporation and the faculty, all resident gradu- ates, all donors to the library fund, all donors to the fund for building Rhode Island Hall, and all donors to the library to the amount of $40, residing in Providence, are entitled to the use of the library without charge. Undergraduates are entitled to the use of the library without distinction of class, and are charged therefor the sum of $3 a year. la 1843 a library catalogue was prepared by Professor Charles C. Jewett, and printed. It is alphabetical, by authors, and has a copious analytical index of subjects. The library at present occupies Man ning. Hall, built by the Hon, Nicholas Brown at his own cost, and said to be one of the finest speci- mens of Doric architecture in the country. This, however, does not aflbrd sufficient accommodation for the increased number of books, and a new building is in progress. The late John Carter Brown bequeathed to the university $50,000 for a fire-proof building for the library, and an eligible lot for the purpose. H^e had, during his life, subscribed $15,000 for the same purpose, the interest on which now amounts to $7,000. Plans for the building have been adopted, and the foundation walls have been laid. The building is to be in the form of a cross, the nave or intersection of the arms of the cross being about 35 feet square, the arms of the cross or transepts projecting 28 feet from the nave, and ter- minating in octagonal ends, except at the southern end, where is placed the entrance porch, facing the college green. This arrangement provides for a fine reading room in the centre, while the bookcases are to be in the transepts, extending in height three stories. The exterior walls are to be of brick, wit h olive stone decorations. The style of architecture adopted is the Italian Gothic. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COLUMBIA, S. C. The South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina, was chartered in 1801, and a library was at once begun. The first grant for it was made by the general assembly in 1802, and when the college opened in 1805, about $3,000, it is estimated, had been paid for books. In 1813 the board of trustees voted to apply the surplus of the tuition fund to the increase of the library. During the period from 1813 to 1815 this amounted to $23,757. In 1823 the general assembly made a grant of $5,000 for the benefit of the library, and in 1825 voted an additional $5,000 for the sa:ne purpose. In 1836 $15,000 were ap- propriated for a library building and $5,0D0 for the purchase of books ; and in 1838 an annual grant of $2,000 was voted for the library. Dur- ing the period from 1830 to 1853 the grants ibr the library by the general assembly amounted to $13,000, and there was realized from the surplus tuition fund the sum of $19,374, making an aggregate of $62,374 in seventeen years. The library has received altogether from State and private sources over $90,000. Gov. John Drayton, whose message to the general assembly in 1801 122 Public Libraries in tJie United States. is considered tlie germ of the college, was among the first, if not the first, to give books to the library. In 1807, he presented his own pab- lications and a number of other works. In 1841, the general assembly presented a copy of the American Archives. In 1812, copies of the acts and resolutions of the assembly from 1790 were presented by order of- the general assembly, and have since been received annually. In 1844, Gen. James H. Adams and Col. John Lawrence Manning made valua- ble gifts of books, and the general assembly presented Audubon's Birds. The number of volumes now in the library is about 27,000, besides 1,000 pamphlets. A literary society, the Clariosophic, connected with the college, has a library of 1,250 volumes. The college library contains a large number of rare and valuable books, and is especially rich in works on Egypt. The first copy of Ros- sellini's Monumeiiti dell' Egitto e della i!^"ubia, 10 volumes, octavo, brought- to the United States was imported for this library. There are also many very old volumes, a number of them printed during the sixteenth century, and some dating as far back as 1480. The library was built in 1841, and cost more than 823,000. UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT, BURLINGTON, VT. The library has two funds, the Strong fund, $500, the income of "Which is devoted to the purchase of periodicals : and the Wheeler fund, which amounts to $1,250, and was given for the purchase of works in English literature. For many rare and valuable books the library is indebted to the lib- erality of Prof. Martyn Paine, M.D., of New York. Some of these were procured by Professor Torrey in Europe. A number have also been given by alumni and other friends of the college. Through the agency of Hon. George P. Marsh, United States minis- tar to Italy, the library has lately received a valuable collection of man- uscripts of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. These consist of one quarto volume of 28 folios, transcribed in 145S, contain- ing the original Latin text of the statutes of the commune of Carpeneto in Piedmont, and portions of seventeen other documents on parchment, two of which are in uncial cbaracter ; some of the specimens of cursive character are admirable for neatness and regularity. Several of the manuscripts are handsomely rubricated; such red ink as appears on some of them would gladden the eyes of the most fastidious lover of books ; even after the lapse of centuries it is more brilliant than any ink that can be purchased of a modern stationer. The oldest manuscript whose date is definitely ascertained belongs to the year 121G. Another is dated 12G7. These documents were presented to the university by Prof. Guiseppe Ferraro, of Ferrara, who also gave a printed volume, edited and annotated by him, of the Latin text of the statutes contained in the first named volume. Mr, Marsh, in his note to the librarian, College Libraries. 123 says : " Some of these writings possess historical interest, and in a coun- try where all manuscripts are so rare as iu the United States they are valuable as illustrative of the official language and the chirography of the centuries in question/' The number of volumes in the library, including a society library of about 2,500 volumes, is 16,021. The library building cost $6,000, raised by subscription, mainly in Burlington. UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. This library contains 40,000 volumes, of which there is no printed catalogue. Tiie original catalogue of the library was prepared by the founder of the university, Thomas Jefferson. His classification of books was based on Lord Bacon's division of knowledge, and the plan was con- tinued as long as he lived. This catalogue is preserved in the library, and from it is copied the following explanation of Mr. Jefferson's views in preparing it : 1. Great staudarcl works of established reputation, too voluuiinous aud too expen- sive for private libraries, should have a place iu every public library for the free resort of individuals. 2. Not merely the best books in their respective branches of science should be se- lected, but such as weie deemed good in their day, and which consequently furnish a history of the advance of science. 3. The opera omnia of writers on various subjects are sometimes placed in that chap- ter of the catalogue to wliich their principal work belongs, aud sometimes referred to the polygraphical chapter. 4. In some cases, besides the opera omnia, a detached tract has also been placed in its proper chapter, on account of editorial or other merit. 5. Books in very rare languages are considered here as specimens of language only, and are placed in the chapter of philology, without regard to their subject. 6. Of the classical authors several editions are often set down, on account of some peculiar merit in each. 7. Translations are occasio nally noted, on account of peculiar merit, or of difficulties of their originals. 8. ludiflferent books are sometimes inserted because none good are known on the same subject. 9. Nothing of mere amusement should lumber a public library. 10. The octavo form is generally preferred for the convenience with which it is han- dled, and the compactness and symmetry of arrangement on the shelves of the library. 11. Some chapters are defective for want of a more familiar knowledgeof theirsubject in the compiler, others from schisms in the science they relate to. In medicine, e. g., the changes which have necessarily prevailed from the age of Hipjiocrates to the pres- ent day, have produced distinct schools actiug on different hypotheses, aud headed by respected names, such as Stahl, Boerhave, Sydenham, Hoffman, Cullen, and our own Dr. Rush, whose depletive and mercurial systems huve formed a school, or perhaps revived that which arose on Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood. Iu religion, divided as it is into multifarious creeds, differing in their basis, and more or less in their superstructure, such moral works have been chiefly selected as may be approved by all, omitting what is controversial and merely sectarian. Metaphysics have been incorporated with ethics, and little extension given to them, for while some 124 Public Libraries in the United States. attention may be usefully bestowed on the operations of thought, prolongorl investiga- tions of a faculty unamenable to the test of our senses, is an expense of time too un- profitable to be worthy of indulgence. Geology, too, has been merged in mineralogy, -which may properly embrace what is useful in this science; that is to say, a knowledge of the general stratification, collocation and sequence of different species of roclis and other mineral substances, while it takes no cognizance of theories for the self generation of the universe, or the particular revolutions of our own globe, by the agency of water, fire, or other agents, subordinate to the fiats of the Creator. From the opening of the university in 1825, to June, 1875, over 10,000 volumes were received b^' gift. The largest donors were President Mad- ison, who left a legacy of 2,500 volumes and $l,50l) in money, and Chris- tian Bohn, of Richmond, Va., who in 1838 left a legacy of 4,00 J volumes and 1,500 engravings. A. A. Low, of New York, gave, 1868-70, $ 1,000, and Thomas Gordon, of New York, 1870,*$500. WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON, VA. The library of the university was gradually increased, chiefly by pur- chases, from the time of its first organization as Washington College, until the beginning of the late war, and the number of volumes was then about 5,000. During 1864, the books were, to a great extent, destroyed or carried, off. Much has since been done to restore the library, chiefly in the form of donations, though occasional purchases have been made. Each student, on entering the university, pays a matriculation fee of $5, which entitles him to the constant use of the library. The fund thus derived is devoted to the purchase of books. The principal donations received are as follows: 1872, W. W. Cor- coran, of Washington, D.C., 4,000 volumes, comprising the entire library of the late N. P. Howard, of Richujond, Va., and considered one of the best collections of classical works south of the Potomac; 1874, Dr. W. N. Mercer, of New Orleans, La., 1,000 volumes miscellaneous works; several publishing houses, of Loudon, England, 300 volumes; Moncure Robeson, of Philadelphia, Pa., 250 volumes, chiefly suientitic works; Hon. J. Randolph Tucker, of Virginia, 130 volumes of law books ; Hon. Vincent L. Bradford, of Pennsylvania, 25 volumes of law baoks. Smaller gifts have from time to time been made by various friends of the uni- versity. The Graham-Lee Society, established 1809, has a library of 2,500 vol- umes, and the Washington Literary Society, established 1812, has a library of 2,500 volumes. A manuscript catalogue is now in use, but this will shortly be printed. The growth of the library already demands enlarged accommodations, which will be provided in due time. The number of volumes now in the library is about 11,000. College Libraries. 125 III.— STATISTICS OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL COLLEGE LIBRARIES. For statistics of all college libraries reported, reference is made to the general table at the end of the volume. [The totals in the fourth column embrace the libraries of all departments ; the blanks in the fifth col- umn indicate that the question was not answered ; the word "none," in the same column, that no society libraries exist.] a o 3 •S i li 1 1869 13, 600 1851 10, 000 1824 15, 000 1833 26, 000 1700 95, 200 1791 28, 000 1831 21, 600 1857 18, 000 1870 9,000 1856 33, OJO 1833 10, 482 1837 10, 000 1843 10, 000 1860 8, 823 1858 10. 845 1860 15, 000 1802 22,760 1859 6, 800 1813 11, 100 1«08 7,000 1821 30, 406 1638 212,050 1854 16,000 1875 10, 000 1793 17, 500 1843 11,000 1841 27, 500 1869 10,000 1848 6, ].i9 1840 11,000 1860 22, 000 1829 17,000 1770 25, 550 1770 6,814 1755 29, 500 1812 22, 000 1824 13, 000 1820 10, 000 1868 39, 000 1847 21, 000 California Oakland Santa Clara.. i... Connecticut Hartford Middletown New Haven Dist. of Columbia.. Georgetown Georgia Athens HliBOis Chicago Chicago Evanston Indiana Crawfordsville. ., Greencastle Notre Dame Iowa Iowa City Kentucky Lexington Louisiana Baton Kouge Maine Brunswick , Lewiston Waterville Maryland Emmittsburgh. .. Massachusetts Amherst Cambridge , Medford Wellesley , Williamstown . . , Worcester , Michigan Ann Arbor Minnesota Minneapolis Mississippi Oxford Missouri Columbia St. Louis , St. Louis , Kew Hampshire . . . Hanover New Jersey New Brunswick Princeton New Tork Clinton Geneva Hamilton , Ithaca , New York University of California Santa Clara College Trinity College "Wesleyan University Tale Col I ege Georgetown College University of the State of Georgia Chicago University St. Ignatius College Northwestern University Wabash College Indiana Asbury University University of Notre Dame du Lac Iowa State University Kentucky University Louisiana State University Bowdoiu College Bates College Colby University Mt. St. Mary's College Amherst College Harvard College Tufts College "Wellesley College Williams College College of the Holy Cross University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Mississippi University of Missouri College of the Christian Brothers St. Louis University Dartmouth College Rutgers College College of New Jersey Hamilton College Hobart College Madison University Cornell University College of St. Francis Xavier 126 .Public Libraries in the United States. New York— Cont'd. New York... New York... New York... Ponghkeepsie Rochester — Schenectady . North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania. Rhode Island . . South Carolina. Vermont. Virginia . Syracuse .Chapel Hill Trinity .Cincinnati Delaware Gambler Marietta .Carlisle , Easton Gettysburgh Haverford College. Near Latrobe Philadelphia .Providence .Charleston Columbia .Burlington Middlebury .Ashland Charlottesville . . . . Lexington Salem "Williamsburgh . . .Beloit Madison College of the City of New York Columbia College Manhattan College Vassar College University of Rochester Union College Syracuse University University of North Carolina Trinity College St. Xavier College Ohio Wesleyan University Kenyon College Marietta College Dickinson College Lafayette College Pennsylvania College Haverford College St. Vincent's College University of Pennsylvania Brown University College of Charleston University of South Carolina University of Vermont Middlebary College Randolph-Macon College University of Virginia Washington and Lee University. Roanoke College College of William and Mary. .. Beloit College University of Wisconsin 1850 1757 1863 1865 1850 1795 1871 1795 1849 18-10 1856 1865 1835 1783 1832 1832 1833 1846 1755 1768 1825 1805 1800 1800 1834 1825 1796 1853 1700 1848 1849 20, 000 31, 390- al3, 000 9,881 12, 000 19, 800 10, 000 8,394 2,400 14, 000 10, 400 10, 659 15, 130 7,765 16, 400 7,200 7,000 13,000 23, 250 45, 000 8,000 27, 000 13, 521 12, 000 610, 000 40, 000 11, 000 14, 000 5,000 a E 2,200 None. None. None. 6,000 None. 13, 813 8,500 3,000 3, 500 10, 046 11,570 19, 738 4,700 12, 350 4,450 2,323 None. 1,250 2,500 3,500 5,000 3,000 (0 1,000 1,893 a Includes Manhattan .\cademy Library. b Includes society libraries. c Society libraries destroyed during the war; at present small, but increasing. CHAPTER IV. THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES. I.- BY A LIBRARIAN. II.— BY PROF. JOHN S. SUMNER, S.J. I.— PUBLIC THEOLOGICA.L LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES. Theological librauiks usually connected with divinity schools — Of recent ORIGIN — Sources of collections — Advantages — Growth within the cen- tury — Similar collections in Europe — Need of encouraging and main- taining theological libraries — Signs of an awakened interest. In treating of public theological libraries in the United States, it is to be remarked that these are generally the libraries of theological seminaries. There are a few exceptions to this statement. Thus, the General Theological Library in Boston is an independent institution. It was established in the year I860, with the design of forming a col- lection of all works pertaining to theology and religious knowledge. It now contains more than 12,000 volumes, and is sustained with an encouraging degree of liberality by parties belonging to various churches and denominations. A library of a similar character which was begun in Cincinnati has been merged in the Public Library of that city. The Library of the American Congregational Association, in Boston, might be named as another exception; although, its scope being chiefly denom- inational and historical, there may be a question whether its place is properly found in the class of theological libraries. It is, however, a library of great importance in relation to the religious history of New England, and embraces a very valuable collection of works written by the founders of the New England churches, or recording and illustrating the Puritan history. It now contains about 22,000 volumes and more than 80,000 pamphlets. Probably there are a few other denominational libraries of a similar type. But with these exceptions we know of no theological libraries in this country which are not connected with some institution for the education of the ministry.' ' It may be said that we should include amoug theological libraries certain small libraries belonging to some of our churches, intended especially for the use of the pastor of the church. But these have hardly as yet obtained a place among public libraries such as we are now considering. One of the older and most important of these is the Prince Library, so called from the Rev. Thomas Prince, by whom it was bequeathed in 1758 to the Old South Church in Boston, of which he was the pastor. It is now deposited in the Public Library of that city. It comprises nearly 2,000 vol- umes, partly theological, and largely relating to the civil and religious history of New 127 128 Public Libraries in the United States. It is to be remembered that a portion, perhaps one-third or more, of our schools for theological training are not separate institutions, but simply the theological departments of colleges or universities. This is true of the Yale Theological Seminary and of the Cambridge Divinity School. There will naturally be a difference of character be- tween the library of such a seminary and that of one which has an in- dependent foandation, especially if the latter is isolated, either by its location or by other causes, from public libraries of a general char- acter. Thus, in the institutions ju«t mentioned, the libraries of Yale College and of Harvard College afford for the use of the theological students a sufficient supply of works in general literature, and even a large number of theological books. Hence the libraries of these schools will be likely to continue, for many years at least, much smaller than others of equal age. And while the theological department of the col- lege will be likely to confine its collections chiefly to strictly theological literature, it will be necessary for the isolated theological seminary to provide a large supply of books in almost all departments of litera- ture — books which may aid in the education not merely of the minister but of the man. The majority therefore of theological libraries are by no means exclusively theological. They are general libraries with a great theological preponderance. This will account in a measure for the fact that they are usually so much larger than law and medical libraries. These latter are confined more exclu sively to the specific literature of law and medicine. The broader relation s of theology, reaching out into every department of thought and life, make it requisite that a library of theology embrace a wider range of books than is needed in the study of the other professions. Our theological libraries are of comparatively recent origin. Kot one of them is a hundred years old. Only two are known to have been begun before the end of the eighteenth century. One of these is the Library of St. Mary's Theological Semi.nary of St. Sulpice, in^ Balti- more, Md., which was founded in 1791 by the Catholic congregation of the Sul{)itians. This, which now contains 15,000 volumes, appears to have been our first theological library. The second was the library of the seminary under the charge of the learned and pious John Ander- son, D.D. He was appointed professor of theology by the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania in 1794, and the seminary under his care was established at Service Creek, Beaver County, Pa. Here a small building of logs was erected for the accommodation of the students, and a library was collected, comprising about 800 volumes of rare and valuable works. Tliis seminary, after passing through various changes and one or more periods of temporary suspension, has, since 1855, been at Xenia, Ohio, and since 1859 has been under the management of the England. Among chnrcli libraries of recent date, there is one of special value, con- taining 3,500 volumes, connected with the First Congregational Chnroh in North Brook- tieUl, Mass. It was founded in 1859 by the Hon. William Appleton, of Boston, whose father was the second pastor of the church. Theological Libraries. 129 United Presbyterian Church. Its library, (which has been known as "The Library of the Associate Synod,") although now one of the smaller ones on our list, includes the collection, for that period a large and valuable one, which was first brought together at Service Creek. ^ Two other seminaries for the education of ministers are known to have been estab- lished at a still earlier period, that of the Rev. John Smith, D.D., under the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, in 1778, which was continued for a few years only ; and the one at first under the charge of the Rev. John H. Livingston, D.D., which is now the Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church at New Brunswick, N. J. This school went into operation iu New York in 1784, by the appointment of Dr. Liv- ingston as professor of theology, and was removed to New Brunswick in 1810. But we find no evidence of any library connected with the former of these two seminaries, and that of the latter was not begun until a much later period.^ To the end of the eighteenth century there is no account of any other theological libraries in this country besides the two which have been named, — that of the seminary of St. Sulpice, in Baltimore, founded in 1791, and that of Dr. Anderson's seminary, at Service Qreek, Pa., in 1794. Within the first quarter of the present century, however, the work of collecting such libraries was fairly under way. Of those which at the present time number, each, about 10,000 volumes or more, the fol- lowing nine libraries were established during this period: The library at Andover, Mass., in 1808 ; at Bangor, Me., in 18J0; at Auburn, N. Y., in 1821; in New York City, (General Theological Seminary,) in 1821; near Alexandria, Ya., iu 1823; and at Caoibridge, Mass., Hampden- Sidney, Va., Lancaster, Pa., and Newtou, Mass., in 1825. The oldest of these nine libraries is, however, about four years younger than the one collected through the efforts of the Rev. John M. Mason, D. D., of New York, for the theological school founded by him in 1804, and of which the seminary in Newburgh, N.Y., now under the direction of the United Presbyterian Church, is the continuation. This library contains now somewhat over 3,500 volumes. It deserves to be mentioned, both as a monument of the zeal and wisdom of its distinguished founder, and because it is the first of the public theological libraries established in this country in the present century. iThe right to the possession of this library is, however, at the preseut time under dispute, owiug to claims instituted by a remnant of the Associate Church, after the union in 1858 which resulted in the formation of the United Presbyterian Church out of the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches. Pending this legal process, the library has been withdrawn i^om Xenia and now remains at Pittsburgh, lud. 2The New Brunswick Seminary, although founded in 1784, and united tempo- rarily with Queen's (now Rutgers) College iu 1810, does not appear to have had any library of its own distinct from the college library until after the year 1855, when the Peter Hertzog Theological Hall was built. The theological portion of the college library was then removed into this new building, and the foundation was laid for the present seminary library, which now numbers more than 20,000 volumes, and is pro- vided with funds for very large increase. 130 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. Besides the theological seminaries which have now been alluded to, eight other seminaries and theological departments of colleges were organized during the first quarter of this century, making in all twenty- one institutions for theological training in existence as early as the year 1825. In 1838 there were from forty to forty-five of these setninaries in the country. At the present time there are from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty. The largest number of volumes in any one of the theological libraries existing in 1838 was 13,000. Now there are two, (one of them not founded until 1837,) each of which num- bers more than 30,000 volumes ; three others which exceed 20,000, and eight more of 15,000 or upwards. In 1838 the aggregate number of volumes in all our theological libraries was not more than about 100,000. Now it is between five and six hundred thousand. These figures will serve to show that our theological libraries, in respect both to their number and size, have shared in the general growth of the nation, es- l)ecially during the latter half of the century just closed. At the same time it will be seen how very recent is the greater part of this progress, two-thirds of these libraries having been founded during the past thirty- seven years, and four-fifths of the books they contain having been col- lected within the same period. The recent origin of our theological libraries does not of course imply thai before their establishment we were destitute of any collec- tions of theological literature. We were not without an educated min- istry, even before the founding of our theological seminaries. The truth is that formerly a great part of theological as well as classical education was obtained in the college. A prominent design in the founding of our colleges was to provide the means for furnishing the land with an educated clergy. In some of our oldest colleges this was declared to be the leading end in view. Both Harvard and Yale were essentially, although not exclusively, theological seminaries. The same was true of Queen's College, in New Brunswick, N. J., which was char- tered in 1770 for the express purpose of preparing young men for the ministry. Hence it is not strange that the shelves of our college libraries were largely occupied by theological works. In fact it may be questioned whether, even from the first settlement of our country, we have been better supplied with books in any department than in the theological. And at the present day, notwithstanding the large number of distinctively theological libraries, the department of sacred litera ture is by no means excluded from the college library. Some of our other public libraries, also, which embrace all departments of literature, pay special attention to the acquisition of theological works. Among these should be mentioned pre eminently the Astor Library in New York and the Public Library of Boston. The superintendent of the latter was able a few years since to affirm that "one of its strongest departments is that of theology and the cognate subjects." Still, there can be no question of the immense gain to the cause of theology which has come Theological Libraries. 131 from the formation of libraries specially devoted to that science. And there is a peculiar advantage in their connection with seminaries. By this means our first theological scholars are engaged for the work. They are the persons best qualified to make wise selections. The daily neces- sities of their employment, that of scientific instructors in theology, give them a living, x>ersonal interest in the acquisition of books, and insure the utmost care and combined endeavor for the systematic and proportionate building up of these libraries. The good result has been seen in the growth which we are able to record. The treasures of theological lore from Europe and the East have been flowing into our country more and more copiously during the past fifty years; and we hear of the agents of American theological schools as among the most vigilant and eager frequenters of the book marts of the Old World. But it was still possible for a distinguished professor to say, even less than ten years ago : The investigations of our theological students are checked by the want of books. Among the difHcult themes pertaining to the history of the church, or to the history of doctrines, or to the various methods of explaining difficult scriptures, there is prob- ably not one which can be investigated as it needs to be in this land. There has, however, been real progress, and although our deficiencies are still exceedingly great, yet the enterprising spirit in this direc- tion which prevails in our schools is rapidly removing the reproach which has so long rested upon them, and is making their libraries more and more the fountains of original information in the various depart- ments of theology, and so rendering it less essential for the earnest student to expend time and money in visits to the more thoroughly furnished libraries of Europe. INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIONS. The sources from which our theological collections have been derived, as well as the means by which they have grown up, are detailed with more or less minuteness in the subjoined accounts; and the record will be found an interesting one. One source of large accessions has been through the donation or purchase of the libraries of deceased clergymen. This is a means of growth which is of especial advantage to a young institu- tion ; and it is not to be undervalued also by older and larger libraries, provided the privilege be allowed the librarian of disposing of such por- tions of the collection as would bring upon the shelves useless duplicates or obsolete editions. Very many choice and rare books have been received from this source. The Codman Library, bequeathed by its collector to Andover Seminary, was a valuable accession of this kind; so atPrinceton, the libraries of Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander and of Dr. John M. Krebs ; at Gettysburgh, the library of Dr. Krauth; at Lane Seminary, of Rev. Thornton A. Mills, D. D ; at Charleston, S. 0., of Rev. Thoiuas Smyth, D. D. ; at Drew Seminary, of Rev. John McClintock, D. D.; at Chicago, of Rev. George B. Ide, D. D. But accessions of a similar kind from 132 Public Libraries in the United States. beyond the sea have been of yet greater importance in imparting strength and richness to our collections. Several of our seminaries have been so fortunate as to obtain possession of the large and valuable collections of some of the most distinguished theologians of Germany who have passed away within the last thirty years. The library of the Catholic theologian, Dr. Leander Van Ess, professor at the Uni- versity of Marburg, was purchased for the Union Seminary, in New York City. It "comprised about 20,000 volumes, and is especially rich in early editions of the Bible, of the Fathers, and of early the- ological writers." Among its treasures is a very rare collection of the pamphlets and writings of the Reformation, which was formerly among the closely guarded possessions of the Monastery of St. Mary, in Westphalia. The library of Dr. Neander, of Berlin, consisting of about 4,000 volumes, was obtained by the Baptist Seminary at Rochester, N.Y. That of Neander's successor. Dr. Niedner, also emi- jient in the departiirent of ecclesiastical history, has added about the same number of volumes to the shelves of Andover. Dr. Friedrich Liicke, of Gottingeu, also left a library of more than 4,000 volumes, which, through the beneficence of friends of the institution, was se- cured for the Cambridge Divinity School. And, more recently*, the libraries of Dr. Gieseler, of Gofetingen, and of Dr. Hengstenberg, of Berlin, have found their way to Chicago, the former being now at the Congregational Seminary of that city, and the latter, of about 10,000 volumes, constituting the larger portion of the library of the Baptist Theological Seminary. The lame of the original possessor of such collections gives them a value even apart from the intrinsic worth of the books themselves. And*often they contain single works, or groups of publications, so rare that it would be impossible to procure them from any other source, and whose money value it would be difficult to estimate. In general, such an acquisition, provided it is made after due examination, and not solely on the strength of the owner's great name, is a prize worth having. Yet it is a gratification to know that our libraries are not exclusively, or mainly, built up by the accession of whole private libraries, even of the great German scholars. For it is evidently desirable that the selection of the books which are to make up the substance of a library should rest mainly upon the judgment of the learned men especially intrusted with the work of theological instruction. In a very good degree this appears to have been the method in American libraries. So that what was said of one of them twenty-five years ago, may be truly said of others also: It is a selected library, and not a chance accumulatiou of volumes rejected from the shelves of a multitude of donors. Profound theological learning, thorough bibliographi- cal knowledge and skill, have for the most part presided over the formation and arrangement. It would of course be wrong to conclude from the small size of certain libraries, as given in the tables, that these are of less value for the uses of theological study than some others which have a much larger Theological Libraries. 133 number of volumes. Thus the Backnell Library, at Crozer Theological Seminary, is one of rare value, selected with extraordinary judgment, although numbering as yet not more than 8,000 volumes; and the Divinity School of Yale College reports only about 2,000 volumes on its own separate shelves, but the collection is one admirably chosen, and comprises the best and most recent books to meet the demands of theological students. One advantage of distinctively theological libraries, especially as connected with schools for ministerial education, is s^en in their rel^r tion to the denominational divisions of the Christian world. A general library, or even a general theological libi^ary, might be in danger of omitting to supply in sufficient fulness the works relating to any one branch of the Cbristian church. But now each of the leading denomina- tions supports its own schools for the education of its clergy, and each of these schools has its library. These libraries, therefore, are under special obligation to collect and preserve all those documents which make up the literature and detail the history of their respective churches. By this means it may be expected that the history of the diverse and opposing phases of religious thought, and of all sections of the church, will be preserved and' transmitted to future times with the greatest possible fidelity and completeness. There are reported twenty- four libraries which contain from 10,000 to 34,000 volumes; and these twenty-four libraries belong to ten dif- ferent denominations. Three are Baptist, two Catholic, two Congrega- gational, three Episcopal, one Lutheran, two Methodist, seven Presbyte- rian, one Reformed (Dutch), one Reformed (German), and two Unitarian. And if we include those libraries which contain less than 10,000 volumes, thelist of different denominations to which they belong is extended to fif- teen or sixteen. The building up of libraries is certainly a work in which the various sects may most profitably vie with each other. The vigor with which they have entered upon it promises great results, and the liberal s[)irit whi(;h appears to prevail in the composition of their libra- ries is worthy of all praise. EUROPEAN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES. The public theological libraries in Europe have not, as a general thing, attained a size sufficient to give them prominence in published accounts. In London, there are two instances of important libraries which, although not exclusively theological, may be considered as in some sense belong- ing to the same class with our General Theological Library in Boston. One of these is the Sion College Library, founded in 1631 for the use of the clergy of the Established Church, and containing perhaps 55,000 volumes. The other is the Dr. Williams Library, intended more par- ticularly for the use of the dissenting clergy, which was opened in 1729 and contains now more than 20,000 volumes. On the Continent also there are libraries holding a somewhat similar position, which are known 134 Public Libraries in the United States. under the name of preachers' libraries, or ministerial libraries, or as libraries of particular religious coram anions. These are generally of moderate size. In Neuchatel, Switzerland, there is one of these, a "library for pastors and ministers," founded by the reformer Farel, in 1538, which contains about 8,000 volumes. And in Preetz, in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, is a preachers' library of about 10,000 volumes. These are among the largest mentioned. The archiepiscopal libraries may be named in this connection. Among the principal of those in England is that at Lambeth Palace, in London, founded in 1610 by George Bancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, and con- taining some 27,000 volumes of printed books besides a rich collection of manuscripts. On the Continent we find an archiepiscopal library at Erlau, in Hungary, founded in the second halt of the eighteenth cen- tury, which has about 35,000 volumes, including 250 manuscripts and nearly 300 incunabula. In the same rank may be classed the various cathedral libraries, ranging in the number of volumes from 2,000 or less to 15,000. There are also "Parochial " or "Church Libraries," existing in Great Britain and on the Continent. In England we find them numbering 3,000 and 4,000 volumes. Their origin in that country dates from the year 1537, at which time the royal injunction was issued that •" a book of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English " should be pro- vided and set up in some convenient [)lace within the church, " where the parishioners may the most coramodiously resort to the same and read it." On the Continent a much larger church library is found at Halle, called the Marian Library, because connected with the Church of St. Mary. It was founded in 1502, and contains now nearly 20,000 volumes, among which theology holds the principal place. Specially worthy of mention, also, are the monastic libraries of the Old World, a large number of which still exist, although a great many have been scattered, in consequence of the suppression and destruction of convents, and their treasures absorbed in other libraries. A notable example of monastic libraries is that of the Benedictines at Monte Cas- sino, in Italy, which contains about 20,000 volumes, including some 800 volumes of manuscripts. There are similar Benedictine libraries at St. Gall, in Switzerland, of about 40,000 volumes ; 9-t Fulda, in Prussia, of 50,000 volumes, founded by Charlemagne; and at Kremsmiinster, in Austria, of 50,000, besides 589 volumes of incunabula and 528 volumes of manuscripts. In all these various classes of the more distinctively religious libraries, and not less in the larger general libraries of cities and universities, have been stored immense and most precious treasures of theological literature, — among them rarestprinted books of the fifteenth century, and piles of venerable manuscripts. In view of these accumulations, which have been growing for centuries, we need not be ashamed to acknowl- Theological Libraries. 135 edge that the theological wealth of our libraries is still comparatively small, especially in the rarer curiosities of literature ; although Amer- ican shelves are not wholly without specimens even of these. But our comparison must be chiefly with the libraries of theological schools, in England we are not to look for separate libraries of this kind in connection with the Established Church, as the clergy of that church do not generally have their professional training in separate schools, but as a part of their university course, or else in private. The same may be said of the Established Church of Scotland. Theology is of course one of the leading departments in the university libraries ; and at the Uni- versity of Edinburgh there is an instance of a special theological library, in addition to the public library of the university. It was founded by Dr. George Campbell about the end of the seventeenth century, and comprises now upwards of 5,000 volumes. It is chiefly or eutirely among the dissenting and the Catholic churches in Great Britain that we find separate schools for the training of the clergy. These theologi- cal colleges ail aim at the creation of good libraries. The course of study in some of them includes, it is true, academical as well as theo- logical instruction, yet the libraries even of these probably do not differ essentially in character from our own, and have a preponderance of theological books. And as in their origin these seminaries, at least the Protestant ones, are generally' not older than ours, so in the size of their libraries they do not go beyond, even if they equal our own. On the Continent there are similar theological schools, both under Catholic and Protestant management, and some of them of ancient date. In Tubingen, the Seminary of Evangelical Theology, founded in 1557, has a library containing from 20,000 to 25,000 volumes. There is also in the same place the Wilhelins Stitt Library, of perhaps 20,000 vol- umes, 10,000 of which are theological. In Strasbourg, the library of the Catholic seminary has about 30,000 volumes. In Cologne, in connec- tion with the Archiepiscopal Priests' Seminary, there is a library of about 20,000 volumes, founded in the seventeenth century. In Amster- dam we find libraries belonging to the various religious bodies, said to be chiefly composed of their respective denominational literature Among these is one, nearly two hundred years old, consisting of per- haps 10,000 volumes, which is connected with the Seminary of the Ana- baptist or Menuonite Congregation. Of more recently established theo- logical seminaries, there is one at Wittenberg, founded in 1817, which has a librarj^ of from 10,000 to 20,000 volumes and 100 manuscripts. As a result of our comparison, which is necessarily an imperfect one, it would appear that in respect to numerical contents, — whatever may be true as to the comparative value of those contents, — the libraries of theological schools abroad do not surpass our own. This, in the case of some pf them, is doubtless to be accounted for by their proximity to the great university libraries which are equally accessible to the theo- logical students; as, for example, in Tiibingen, where the university has a library of 280,000 volumes. 136 Public Libraries iw the United States. NEED OF LIBRARIES IN SEMINARIES. ft is hardly necessary to saj^ anything: to prov^e the importance of a library to the theological serniQary. It has been rightly termed the " heart" of such an institution. And these libraries deserve to be sus- tained and enlarged with reference to other and broader demands than* simply the immediate requirements of the schools to which they belong. They should be made centres of theological science for the whole com- munity. It is right that the student in this highest of all sciences, who is carrying his researches far beyond ordinary limits of investigation, should resort to these libraries with the expectation of finding in them all the helps which the learning of the world can furnish, at least within the acknowledged bounds of theological thought. And indeed no theo- logical seminary is complete, for the uses even of its pupils and pro- fessors, if it does not include within its alcoves many works, especially the large and costly books of reference, which lie outside the circle of theology. To be prepared for the various exigencies which from time to time arise in the history of the church and of religion; for the great tasks which force themselves on our theological scholars once it may be in thiee centuries, (as, for example, in the work now going on for the revision of our English Bible;) for such demands, as well as for the more common requirements of the faithful student, there is need of a, liberal policy in our outlay for theological libraries. And this will prove in the end the true economy. If the library, which is the store- house of the Christian scholar, is left unreplenished, the evil result will sooner or later be felt in the parish and in the church. LIBRARY FUNDS NEEDED. It may be allowable for us in passing to allude to the necessity of larger provision for the care and management of our theological libraries. This includes ot course the preparation of catalogues ; and it has been truly said, "In the economy of libraries there is nothing more impor- tant than the character of their catalogues. A poor library with a good catalogue will often be of more utility to the student than a rich library with a bad or carelessly compiled one." The libraries of our theological seminaries are so peculiarly dependent on the voluntary benefactions of the patrons of Christian learning, that there is special need of calling attention to this point. For there is reason to fear that these libraries have suftered from the want of adequate endowments in no particular more seriously than in this. It would seem to have been taken for granted that the books need only to be bought and placed upon the shelves^ and that thenceforward they will not only take care of themselves, but vvill also,like the flowers by the roadside, yield their sweetness spontaneously to the passer by. Nothing is more noticeable in the reports from the various libraries than the statements of the very small annual ex- penditure for the librarian's salary or for the care of the books. Our theological libraries may be emphatically said iu this respect to be Theological Libraries. 137 cheaply conducted. There is not one of the larfjer ones which is provided with an adequate workin;? force. Probably not more than one has a librarian who is expected to give his whole time to its supervision* Too often the leisure hours or half-hours of the busy professor, aided it may be by the intermittent half paid assistance of some student, are all that is afforded for this puri)ose. It would not be far from the truth to say that any theological library of 20,000 volumes, which is growing as such a library may be fairly supposed to grow, is defrauded of its due care, and the institution to which it belongs is suffering from the injustice, unless it is allowed the undivided services of at least one edu- cated person. There have been of late years cheering signs of a new interest in our theological libraries on the part of men of wealth. The subjoined re- ports make mention of several munificent gifts. We trust that these examples will be imitated by the friends of libraries which have been less favored. The excitement of a generous impulse in this direction would be one of the best results of statistics such as are presented in this Report. And, while providing funds for the purchase of books and for fireproof buildings to contain them, it is to be hoped that these friends will extend their generosity to the equally urgent need to which we have now referred, the support of librarians and assistants, without whose labors the books which are supplied cannot accomplish one-half of their appointed work. II.— CATHOLIC LIBRARIES. Distinctive features of Catholic libraries — Valuable collections in the- ological SCHOOLS — Growing collections — Catholic publications. In treating of Catholic libraries for a publication which can necessa- rily give but limited space to each contributor, it will not be possible to do more than give a general idea of their scope. A Catholic library dif- fers from no other library except in the greater accumulation of matter illustrative of Catholic dogma and practice, or its larger collection of Catholic literature, especially in the departments of his^^^ory and biogra- phy. All learning is welcome to the shelves of Catholic libraries, and nothing is excluded from them that should not equally be excluded from any reputable collection of books. Nor will even anti-Catholic works be found wanting to them, at least such as possess any force or origi- nality. The history of the church being so interwoven with that of the world since the days of Augustus Ceesar, there is no period which is not redolent of her action, and consequently no history which does not have to treat of her, either approvingly or the reverse. In regard to general literature, she preserved, during the long period of social and political disorder which followed the breaking up of the Roman Empire, all that has come down to us from classic sources, and therefore works of this character can be no strangers to shelves of Catholic libraries. Still less 138 Public Libraries in the United States. can the Sacred Scriptures be, which Catholic hands collected, authenti- cated, and handed down for the use of the meu of our time. Nor will the sciences be overlooked by ecclesiastics in forming their libraries, for in past ages it was the care of their brethren, with such limited facilities as were at their command, and in days inauspicious lor scientific inves- tigation, to cultivate them. Still the character of Catholic libraries changes with the circum- stances under which the books are brouglit together. And here it is necessary to go a little into detail, outside of the libraries themselves, in order to illustrate these circumstances. We will first speak of theo- logical schools, and under this designation include not only the semina- ries under the control and patronage of one or more bishops, for the education of their subjects for the secular priesthood, but the houses of study, or scholasticates, under the direction of the several religious orders for the education of their own members. Of coarse in libraries of this class a larger proportion of works on theology will be found than in other Catholic libraries. Indeed, the statistics in this volume will prob- ably show that but few Catholic libraries of any extent exist in this country, except those attached to theological schools. Even that at Georgetown, where this paper is prepared, owes the great number of its works of this class to the fact that it was for many years a school of theology as well as of letters. In all theological collections, the Bible, both the Old and New Testa- ments, must, as the principal authority in theological teaching, whether of doctrine or morals, hold the prominent place. Commentaries and ex- positions in abundance will be found in Juxtaposition with the Bibles themselves. For the use of the professors, who are generally graduates of the best theological schools of Europe, if not for the use of some of the students themselves, versions of the Scriptures in the various Oriental languages will be needed. Next in authoritative rank come the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, from those who received instruction from the apostles themselves and committed their doctrine to writing, down to almost our own day ; for St. Alphousus Ijiguori, the latest on whom the Holy See has conferred the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, died only in the latter part of the last century, and his authority is that which is principally followed in the treatment of moral questions. Works also by later writers, principally on dogmatic subjects, are constantly appearing. The study of Dogma, embracing an investigation into all revealed truths, and therefore essential to those who are to instruct others authori- tatively, involves a reference to many learned books in which proofs and illustrations are elaborated to the last degree of exactness^ side by side with every possible difficulty or objection that can be brought to bear against each doctrine treated of. Some works are occupied with the discussion of but a siugle point; others take in a wide range, and some voluminous authors have published an entire Theological Libraries. 139 course of dogma. Candidates for the scholastic (not the merely hon- orary) degree of Doctor of Divinity must defend snccessfully, in the presence of learned theologians, and against all objections proposed by them, a number of the most diflBcult theses in theology. None but those who-have made long and thorough studies would dare undertake this ordeal; but at least the apparatus of learning is provided to this end in the libraries of theological schools. But for those who, either from advanced years, imperfect preliminary studies, feeble health, or from the immediate need in which their bishop stands for their serv- ices, are unable to make a long course, a shorter one is provided, ac- quired from approved compendi urns which will be found in every theological library, and as reference, in every ecclesiastical library of any kind. The study of Moral, the other great branch of Catholic theology, embraces a scrutiny into every question of morals that needs to be investigated by those who have the direction of consciences, or whose duty it is, in the tribunal of penance, to adjudicate upon matters affecting the rights of others. As solutions in these cases are some- time^ attended with considerable difficulty, and a grave responsibility is attached to the delivery of an opinion, authorities for reference must be ample and exliaustive. Such authorities, more or less voluminous, will be found in the theological libraries, and are relied upon in propor- tion to their world-wide repute, as representing the opinions of prudent, learned, and experienced men. So far, the domain of theology, strictly speaking, in Catholic libraries. But such libraries would be incomplete, both for the purposes of theo- logical study and for general reference, without the publivshed acts of the General Councils ot the Church, especially those of the Council of Trent and of councils held within the country, national or provincial, or the decrees of a synod of the diocese, in matters of discipline. To these are to be added the decisions and solutions of the various "con- gregations" in Kome, chiedy of that of " rites," and other documents emanating from the Holy See. The professor of ecclesiastical history, an indispensable member of the teaching faculty in every theological school, must also have his resources at hand in the library. Works on ritual supply the directions needed in all matters concern- ing both public worship and the private administration of the sacra- ments. Other works, technical or devotional, or combining both features, are prepared for the use of those who are studying for the priesthood, or who are already ordained ; they are frequently' only monitory in their nature, and some are intended especially for the guidance of mem- bers of religious orders. Of the latter class the Christian Perfection of Fr. Rodriguez, for the Jesuits, is an example. As in theological schools a course of rational philosophy of from one to three years pre- cedes the study of theology, this department must also be well pro- vided for iu the libraries attached to these institutions. Where the 140 Public Libraries in the United States. young men in these schools are educated as teachers, as is the case with the Jesuits, works on mathematics, physics, astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, and other sciences, must be added. The attention given in these schools to sacred eloquence — for practice in which students are required to prepare and deliver sermons ia pres- ence of the community — calls for the best models of sacred oratory, besides works on rhetoric and elocution. As models of composition, arrangement, and intrinsic solidity, the sermons of the ancient fathers share equal attention with those of the great Freach orators of the last century, and no library for the use of ecclesiastics will be without a copious supply of the works of those and others of the best pulpit orators in the church. In regard to the ceremonial of the Church and plain chant, particular instruction is given rather in the preparatory seminaries than in the seminaries themselves, to which young men are transferred on reaching the requisite age or proficiency ; and in these preparatory schools for those who enter the secular priesthood, ox in the colleges whence mem- bers of religious orders draw their candidates, the classics and modern languages are also taught thoroughly. An ignorance of Latin would debar or delay the entrance of a candidate into any theological school. Once in* these students are supposed to be sufficiently advanced to be able to understand lectures or ordinary class instructions given in Latin — sometimes necessary when the professor is of a foreign nationality — and in some institutions they are even obliged to converse in Latin, except during hours of recreation. These circumstances are mentioned in order that it may be understood why the classics and elementary books on Latin and Greek do not necessarily constitute a marked feature of Catholic theological, though they do of Catholic, college libraries. Catholic libraries in general — and not those alone which are at- tached to theological schools — will be found amply supplied with con- troversial works written by Catholic authors. These are needed, how- ever, not so much for the use of the owners as for that of non-Catholic inquirers who wish to be enlightened in regard to some controverted point, or who desire to learn the evidences upon which the Catholic Church bases her claims to the credence of mankind. Catechetical works, of which there are a great number, answer this purpose still better when the polemic spirit has been allayed, and it is impossible to conceive of a Catholic library, large or small, without an abundance of both these classes of books. The controversial works discuss every ob- jection which can be alleged against the church or the practice of mem- bers of it, and are necessarily very numerous. Every age has left behind it these testimonies to the controversies that agitated it, and the present age is no less prolific than its prede- cessors, though the grounds of dispute are shifting now rather from dogma to historical questions and matters of science, indicating the lessening hold which doctrine has on the non-Catholic mind. Theological Libraries^ 141 The catechetical works range from the little catechism in which every Catholic child and every non-Catholic adult who seeks to enter the church must be instructed, to the voluminous works which even the parish priest may consult for the piirpose of instructing his people. A Catholic library will not fail to provide for all the requisites of devotion, not only in the ordinatjy- prayer books, of which there is a great variety, but in books of piety adapted to different conditions of life, or different spiritual needs or illustrative of some special devotion. Every private library in Catholic families abounds in these books. Prayer books, however, are rarely found on library shelves, any more than the Koman Breviary. The former are in the hands of the laity generally ; and the latter, the vade mecum of the clergy, must be recited daily by every ecclesiastic. Among books of piety are to be included a large number of books of meditation, chiefly for the use of ecclesiastics and members of religious orders, upon whom is enjoined the daily practice of mental prayer, food for which is sought in these volumes. Libraries which have to be consult€(^ by the clergy, at least by those who preach missions to the people or retreats in religious houses — an annual observ- ance — must find in them material adapted to their purpose. The famous book of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, forms the basis of most of these compilations, but many others exist besidesi Keligious biographies also abound in Catholic libraries, and as they embrace accounts of the lives of holy persons in every age since the origin of Christianity, from the martyrs of the Roman arena or the hermits of the Egyptian deserts, to our own day, and not only of those who have been decreed the honor of canonization, but of great numbers who have never been proposed for it, it may be imagined how compre- hensive a collection these books form. These lives also illustrate more or less the history of the times wherein the persons lived. The great work in folio of the Bollandists, the Acta Sanctorum, be- gun in 1643 and still in process of publication, is in fact a repertory of most varied learning. Ecclesiastical history, of course, forms an important element in Cath- olic libraries; but this history not only includes the exhaustive tomes of writers who take in the whole history of the church, but of others who illustrate a particular age, country, event or transaction. Works concerning the history of the church in the United States, or in particular States, form a growing collection. The current of con- temporary Catholic history is well shown forth through the monthly and weekly publications which appear in many countries and languages. The Catholic quarterlies, however, and some of the monthly publica- tions, are devoted chiefly to literary or scientific criticism. The Catholic weeklies in this country are now so numerous that their preservation in libraries is seldom attended to. If this apology is needed for the absence from such libraries of publications that will form an important reference hereafter for others besides Catholics, it ought to be coupled 142 Public Libraries in the United States. with the suggestion proper to be made in a work which will be placed in the hands of persons of all religions, that a general Catholic library ought to be established at some central point where every Catholic pub- lication, at least among those issued in this country, may have a place. Materials for history would gather in such a collection thafr might not readily be found combined in any other. Having thus touched upon the more important characteristics of Cath- olic libraries, it would be well perhaps to observe that while the leading ones in this country are attached to seminaries, colleges, or religious houses, there are many private collections of considerable value, espe- cially those in episcopal residences, or belonging to gentlemen of the clergy or laity who, together with literary tastes, possess the means to gratify them. Catholic libraries are also beginning to be formed in cities and towns, chiefly under the auspices of associations that seek to provide a safe and pleasant resort for young men in the evenings. In these libraries will be found the lighter Catholic literature, to which no reference has so far been made in this paper — travels, sketches, i)oems, tales, &c., a few of which are by American and some by Irish authors, but the ma- jority by English writers, chiefly converts, or translated from the French, German, Flemish, and other continental languages. Finally, it would be well to observe that Catholic libraries are acces- sible for reference, if not for study, to all inquirers. In most cases non- Catholic visitors would doubtless be welcomed to them with great cor- diality. Those who have these libraries in keeping rather invite than repel scrutiny into whatever is distinctively Catholic in their collections. III.- SKETCHES OF THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES. SAN FRANCISCO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. This Seminary was founded by the Synod of the Pacific of the Pres- byterian Church under the care of the General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church of the United States, and went into operation in the year 1871. The library contains 5,000 volumes of valuable standard books. Its increase is by donations, and has averaged, since 1872, about 100 volumes a year. It possesses also some 500 pamphlets, but no manu- scripts worthy of mention. It is solely for the use and benefit of the students. The seminary, being yet in its intancy, has no building of its own, but several comfortable rooms for students have been fitted up and furnished by the St. John's Presbyterian Church, and the trustees of University College have kindly placed at the disposal of the semi- nary sufficient room in the college building. By the liberality of the officers of the Mercantile Library Association, of the Mechanics' Institute, and of the Odd Fellows' Library Associa- tion, the students have the use also of these three large and rich col- lections of books. In property, money, and subscriptions, the funds of the seminary amount to $80,500. Theological Libraries. 143 BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, CHICAGO, ILL. The seminary has had an active and orgauized existence only since October, 1867, and the library, now numbering 15,000 volumes, has been collected since that time. The first important step towards its forma- tion was the purchase, in 1809, of the library of Prof. E. W. Hengsten- berg, of Berlin, consisting of about 10,000 bound volumes, and 2,000 or 3,000 unbound books and pamphlets, chiefly in the departments of theol- ogy, church history, and biblical literature. The funds for this purchase were furnished by a few friends of theological education in Chicago. In October, 1871, there was purchased, through the liberality of 13. Henry Sheldon, Adam Smith, and other gentlemen of Chicago, a very choice collection of works, (209 volumes,) relating to the Anabap- tists of Germany in the time of the Reformation, comprising the works of BuUinger, Zwingli, Fabri, Osiander, Eck, and others o])posing the tenets of the Anabaptists, and tlie responses of Hubmaier and other adherents of their doctrines. In March, 1873, the library (over 3,000 volumes) of the late Kev. George B. Ide, of Springfield, Mass., was pur- chased by the trustees, and added to the collection. There have also been valuable donations from private individuals. Ko classified and complete catalogue of the library has, as yet, been prepared ; but each separate collection has a catalogue of its own. CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, CHICAGO, ILL. The first step toward the formation of a library was taken in 1855, the year in which the seminary received its charter, by the purchase of the library of the late Dr. J. C. L. Gieseler, professor in the University of Gottingen. During the following year, (1856,) 500 volumes were added by the liberality of Eev. Geo. W. Perkins, of Chicago, liev. Wm. Pat- ton presented several hundred volumes froni his own collection, and rendered valuable aid by securing donations of books In England. Through the efforts of Prof. S. C. Bartlett, nearly $1,000 were collected in Chicago, and expended in the purchase of books. In 1875, Eev. E. M. WilirAms, an alumnus of the seminary, gave books to the value of $1,500. Other valuable contributions of money and books have been received from friends in various parts of the country, but the names are too numerous for insertion. Annual contributions for the purchase of books are made by the Alumni Society. There is, at present, no permanent library fund, except that known as the Patton binding fund, amounting to $1,000, the gift of Rev. W. W. Patton, of Chicago. The amount received and expended during the year 1874-'75, was about $2,000. The library contains at present 5,500 volumes. The catalogue is in manuscript. 144 Public Libraries in the United States. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOaiOAL SEMINARY OF THE NORTHWEST, CHI- CAGO, ILL. This library was begun in 1859, and now numbers about 8,000 volnmes. Many donacions of books have been received, but no particulars are given. The sum of $2,500 towards a permanent fund was received from H. R. Corning, of New York. There is no printed catalogue of the library. WOODSTOCK COLLEGE, WOODSTOCK, MD. The existence of this library, which was opened in 1869, is due in great measure to the efforts of Rev. Angelo M. Paresce, who, for several years prior to the opening of Woodstock College, had agents in the principal literary centres of Europe engaged in the collection of books. In this manner more than half the works which constitute the present library were obtained. The library now contains about 18,000 bound volumes, chiefly the- ological, and nearly 2,000 pamphlets. Among the works of special value are Walton's Polyglot, London, 1657; Cardin«l Mai's critical works on the Old and New Testaments, 5 volumes; the Hexapla of Origen ; the Holy Fathers, Migne's edition, 153 volumes Latin, and 161 volumes Greek; Durandus, 1539; Duns Scotus, 1609; Baronius, 59 volumes; the works of the Bollandists, 00 volumes; and among the curiosities a manuscript of the tenth century, parchment, written in Hebrew, being a scroll of the book of Moses, 97 feet long and 2 feet 10 inches wide, formerly used in a synagogue at Yemen ; an illuminated breviary of the thirteenth century ; and Antonini Theologia, in black letter, 1506, There are also works in the Turkish, Persian, Chaldaic, Coptic, Egyp- tian, Arabic, Russian, Armenian, and Chinese languages. The annual additions to the library average about 200 volumes and 300 pamphlets. The library occupies a hall 75 by 41 feet, and 25 feet in height. The most noticeable feature of the room is the frescoed ceiling, on which is represented the solar system, forming not merely an artistic decoration but a reliable astronomical chart. ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIT, ANDOVER, MASS. This seminary was founded in 1807, and was opened for instruction Sep- tember 28, 1808. The library was recognized as a constituent part of the institution from the beginning. Donations and bequests of money for the purchase of books have been received from time to time, a statement of which will be found below. There have also been gifts of books, from time to time ; the chief of these being the bequest, iny 1847, of the valuable theological library of the Rev. John Codman, of Dorchester, numbering 1,250 volumes. Theological Libraries. 145 Mentiou should also be made of a very valuable gift of books, worth perhaps from $500 to $1,000, by the late Lieutenaat Governor Samuel T. Armstrong, of Boston; and of a gift of some 60 volumes received in 1843, from John Danlop, of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1867, Mrs. Susan Flint Shedd, of Boston, presented a copy of Tischendorf's splendid fac simile edition of the Codex Sinaiticus, at a cost of not far from $200. In 1809 and 1870 a most interesting collection of pamphlets, number- ing more than 8,000, was given to the library by the Rev. William B. Sprague, of Albany, N. Y. Among these is a large number of the "election sermons" of early dates preached in Massachusetts and other States, besides many other sermons of the eighteenth century, and other publications of much value in reference to the religious history of this country. The libraries of two societies of students in the seminary — the Society of Inquiry on Missions, and the Porter Rhetorical Society — have, within the last twenty years, been transferred to the trustees, and many of the books, to the number of perhaps 2,500 volumes, have been placed on the shelves of the Seminary Library. The number of volumes in the library is now more than 34,000, (in- cluding duplicates,) besides 10,000 or 12,000 pamphlets. More than 10,000 volumes have been added during the past ten years. The largest accession at any one time in that period was by the purchase of the library of the late Dr. 0. W. Niedner, professor of theology at the University" of Berlin. This collection consisted of some 4,000 vol- umes, chiefly in the German and Latin languages, among which are many rare and curious books, and works of great value to the theologi- cal student, especially in the department of history. The Andover Library, considering the very moderate funds which have bee^ at its disposal, is reasonably well furnished in the several departments of theology, and to some extent is able to meet the more common demands in other lines of study. A catalogue of 161 pages, octavo, prepared by Mr. J. W. Gibbs, after- wards professor in Yale College, was printed in 1819 ; and another of 531 pages, octavo, by the Rev. Oliver A. Taylor, in 1838. But one supple- mentary catalogue has been issued; it comprised 67 pages, and was printed in 1849. For nearly fifty years the library occupied a hall, constructed for the purpose in the chapel, built in 1818, by William Bartlet, of Newbury- port, one of the principal benefactors of the seminary. In 186^ it was removed to its present quarters in Brechin Hall,^ ah elegant stane edifice, built for its accommodation, at a cost of $41,000, by the gift of Messrs. John Smith, Peter Smith, and John Dove, of Andover. To the three last named gentlemen the library is also indebted for a 'So named by the donors in honor of their native place, Brechin, Scotland. 10 E 146 Public Libraries in the United States. perraaoent fund of $25,000, the income of which is to be devoted to the preservation of the building' and to the purchase of books. Besides the above, the income of other funds, amounting to about $18,500, is now available for the purchase of books. These funds were given for this object by donors already named. The persons entitled to borrow books from the library are the officers and students of the theological seminary, the instructors of Phillips Academy, settled ministers of the gospel in Andover, and such other persons as may obtain special permission from the faculty. The library is open every week day, except during the vacations of the seminary. The following is a list of the principal gifts of money for the library, with the date of reception of each, chiefly for the purchase of books. It does not include a number of generous donations which have been made within the past ten years for the current salary of the librarian, among which was one of $3,000 from the three donors of the new library building. Donations of money. Brown, Newbnryport, Mass., 1808. $i;000 Hon. John Norris, Salem, Mass., 1808 1,000 Capt. Stephen Holland, Newbury port, Mass., 1808... 500 Hon. WilliatQ Gray, Boston, Mass., 1811 3:?3 Hon. Isaac Tichenor, Bcsnnington, Vt., 1812 20 Henry Gray, Dorchester, Mass., 1816 3,000 Jonathan Marsh, Newburyport, Mass., 1819 500 Anonymous donors, 1865-'66 1, 100 Ehenezer Aldeu, M. D., Randolph, 1871 100 Rev. Theodore I). Woolsey, D. D., New Haven, Conn., 1873 50 Bequests of money. Samuel Abbot, Andover, Mass., 1812 1,000 Hon. William Phillips, Boston, Mass., 1827 ' 5,000 Hon. William Reed, Marblehead, Mass., 1837 5,000 GENERAL THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY, BOSTON, MASS. ^ This library was formed in 1860, and numbers about 12,000 volumes. Donations have been made to it as follows : In 1865 the Rev. Charles Burroughs, D. D., gave the Acta Sanctorum, in 61 folio volumes, at an expense of about $1,500. He also gave (l880-'65) $500 j and be- queathed nearly all his private library, some 3,01)0 volumes, and $5,000. These bequests have not yet been received. Miss Arabella Rice left a bequest of $3,000. Mr. Eben Dale gave $500, and also left a bequest of $500. The late Messrs. James Read and Seth ' Mr. Pliillips's f.md, having been increased in accDrdance with the terms of tUe be- quest, amounts now to about $13,650, two-thirds of the income of which is available annually for the purchase of books. The available fund may therefore be called about $9,000. * 1 urther details respecting this library, written by the librarian, will be found in the article entitled Public Libraries of Boston and Vicinity. Theological Libraries. 147 Adams left bequests of $500 each. Tlie trustees of the late Charles Sauders gave to the library $500. Edward Brooks, novv president of the iustitutioQ ; John G-. Casing, William E.aerson Baker, and the late John Taylor, have each given $500 or more. These gifts were received between 1864 and 1874. Messrs. Peter C. Brooks, James Parker, Gardner B. Perry, Robert M. Cashing, F. Gordon Dexter, E. L. Tobey, George C. Shattuck, M. D., the late Rev. Dr. Nathaniel L. Frothingham, and the late Dr. John C. Hayden, have each given the association $300 or more. Hon. Robert C. Win- throp, H. Hollis Hanaewell, Rev. Luther Farnham, and 62 others, have each given $L00 or more. All these donations were received between 186J and 1875, and were chiefly from residents of Boston and vicinity. The number of volumes in the library is 12,000. There is no printed catalogue, but two manuscript catalogues, both arranged alphabetically, one by authors, the other by subjects. DIVINITY SCHOOL OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRID&E, MASS. ^ In the academic year 18 -'5-'26 several boxes of books for the Divinity School of Harvard University were imported from England. Divinity Hall was then going up, and was ready for occupation* by students, and for tlie reception of books in the summer of 1826, and these books were then sent there. About the same time circulars represent- ing the wants of the school and library were sent to clergymen and others, soliciting donations. About 1829 the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, of Dorchester, gave several hundred volumes from his private library. Tliere have been other gifts, but the amounts an I names of donors are not specified. The last donation received was a bequest of 800 volumes from the Rev. James Walker, D.D. The number of volumes now in the library is about 17,000, besides 1,200 numbers of quarterly reviews, unbound. NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION, NEWTON CENTRE, MASS. The institution was opened in December, 1825, and the library was begun about the same time, by donations of books from a few friends. The amount of library funds may be given as $25,000, though the li- brary has not yet been able to draw the interest on more than $10,000. The remaining $15,000 is subscribed and paid, but the interest cannot be used until the general endowment subscription is collected. Mean- while Mr. Gardner Colby, president of the board of trustees, gives to the library $500 annually, and has engaged to do so for the next seven years. The library has, therefore, $1,200 a year to use for the purchase and binding of books. The salary of the librarian, $650 a year, is paid from the general funds of the institution. ^ A further account of this library will be fouud iu the sketches of university and college libraries, in Chapter IlL 148 Public Libraries in the United States. Tbe library has, during its whole history, received generous benefac- tions, but of the earlier ones no particulars are given. The largest re- cent benefactors are Hon. J. Warren Merrill, of Cambridge, Mass. ; Gardner Colby, of Newton, Mass. ; Hon. Isaac Davis, of Worces- ter, Mass. ; and Matthew Bolles, of Boston, who have contributed altogether about $20,000. The present number of volumes in the library is 13,000. The yearly additions average about 400 volumes. The yearly expenditure for new books is $1,000. For the last fifteen years the books have been selected, with few exceptions, by the professors, with a view to meeting their own wants and those of the students. There is no printed catalogue, but two card catalogues ; one arranged by authors, the other by subjects. The library building, which is of stone, lighted from the top, was built about ten years ago. DREW THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, MADISON, N. J. This seminary, founded by Daniel Drew, of New York City, was opened November G, 1867. Mr. Drew gave to the seminary ninety- nine acres of land with the buildings thereon, fitted up two of these for dormitories, and subsequently built four professors' houses at an expense of $20,000 each. In addition to this, he gave $25,000 for a library. DoctorMcCliutock,afterwardspresidentof the seminary, was intrusted with the selection of books for a library, and the seminary opened with a collection ot some 5,000 volumes. In a year the number had increased to 10,000 volumes. Among the books purchased at this time was the collection on hymnology of David Creamer, of Baltimore. Nearly all the 665 volumes of this collection were hymn books, representing nearly all modern publications and many old and rare ones. After January, 1869, the purchases of books appear to have nearly ceased. After the death of Doctor McCliutock in 1870, his private library, about 3,000 volumes, was purchased for the seminary for the sum of $2,500, of which $2,000 were subscribed by friends in New York City. From 1870 to 1874 there were a few donations but no purchases ; even the periodicals were not kept up, and, owing to changes in the office of librarian, little, if any, progress was made. Several students acted as assistant librarians gratuitously. The library was moved from one part of the building to another, and, unless the number of books pur- chased was over-estimated, not a few were scattered and lost. During the year 1874-'75 the books have been well protected and classified. An assistant librarian with a salary has been appointed, and the library is in very good condition. A gift of $350 has lately been re- ceived from J. B. CoDuell,.for bindiiig periodicals and making purchases. Theological Libraries. 149 "Numerous donations of books have been received, most of them small, though in many cases valuable, and tlie list of donors is too long for insertion. The library contained, June, 1875, 10,875 bound volumes, 4,950 pam- phlets, and about 40 volumes of newspapers. Of the books, 8,300 are in English, 1,300 in German, 500 in French, GOO in Greek and Latin, and 150 Italian and miscellaneous. A manuscript catalogue, alphabetically arranged by authors and sub jects, is approaching completion. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. The seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church of America was estab- lished in 1784 and was for many years connected with Queens, now Rut- gers College. The library, which was small, having perhaps 5,000 vol- umes, belonged to both institutions in common. In 1855 Mrs. Anna-Hertzog, of Philadelphia, gave $30,000 for a build- ing to be called the Peter Hertzog Theological Hall. Into this build- ing when completed the theo'ogical books of the library were removed, and the foundation was laid for the present seminary library, which now contains about 26,000 volumes. Most of the original collection con- sists of works of Swiss and Holland theologians, which appear to have been given at different times by the ministers of the church. In 1874 a large fire proof structure was built for the library on the seminary grounds by Col. Gardner A. Sage, of New York. Into -this building tlie books have been removed. Additions of standard books are constantly being made, and the seminary has funds on hand to in- crease the number to 80,000 volumes. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, PRINCETON, N. J. Prior to 1821 the seminary possessed no regular library. In that year a union took place between the Associate Reformed Church and the Presbyterian Church in the [luited States, one of tiie terms of which specified that the theological library then belonging to the former, mainly consisting of books left by Rev. John M. Mason, D. D., " shall be trans- ferred and belong to the seminary at Princeton." In accordance with this more than 2,400 volumes, forming that collection, were received at Princeton in 1822. Subsequently, however, a small party of dissent- ers from that action of the Associate Reformed Church advanced a claim to the ownership of these books. Amicable litigation- followed ; and at last, in 1838 — the chancellor of the State of New Jersey having allowed the claim — they were removed to New burgh, N. Y. The friends of the seminary at once came to its relief, and by liberal donations laid the foundation of the present library. Prominent among these bene- factors was James Lenox, of New York City, who has not onlj' en- riched the library by a long succession of gifts in books, but, observing 150 PtiNic Libraries in the United States. the Deed of more secure protection for tbem, built the beautiful Gothic building known as Lenox Hal), completed in 1844, and since occupied by the theological library. Dr. Archibald Alexander acted as librarian till his death in 1851 ; Dr. William Henry Green assumed the trust when he became professor of Oriental literature in that year; and Dr. Charles Aiken, when he was elected professor of Christian ethics and apologetics in 1872. From the report of the trustees in 1851, it appears that the library then contained only 9,000 volumes. In 1852 the trustees represented to the general assembly of the church the need of regular grants for the increase of the library ; but the yearly reports still exhibited a slow rate of growth. In 1853, the Rev. W. B. Sprague, of Albany, N. Y., gave to the library a remarkable collection of pamphlets, mainly theo- logical. The 1,200 volumes of this collection probably include 20,000 titles, and consist of long series of sermons preached at the elections in several States, on fast, thanksgiving, ordination, funeral, and other occasions ; orations and addresses before literary societies and at col- lege commencements; reports of benevolent associations in this country and in England; discussions of social questions; arguments elicited by theological controversies in both countries ; and literature of the civil war. In 1855 Mr. Samuel Agnew presented 730 volumes, mainly theologi- cal. In 1861 E. L. and A. Stuart, of New York City, purchased and pre- sented to the library the rare collection, consisting of 3,400 volumes? left by Professor Joseph Addison Alexander; and in 1862, gave$10,000 in United States bonds, yielding $600 a year. They have also made valuable gifts of books in every subsequent year; in 1868, the family of the late Rev. John M. Krebs gave his library, consisting of 1,147 volumes ; in 1871, 824 volumes of miscellaneous books came to the li- brary from the collection of the late Stephen Collins, M. D., of Baltimore. Many other benefactors have at various times enriched the library with their gifts. The number of volumes reported in the library in 1875 was 26,779, Among them are the four great polyglots of the Holy Scriptures, the Complutensiau, 5 volumes, folio, printed at Alcalain 1509-'17; the Ant- werp, 8 volumes, folio, 1569-'72; the Paris, 10 volumes, folio, 1628-'45 ; and the London, 6 volumes, folio, 1657 ; the Annales Ecclesiastici of Baronius and others, 42 volumes, folio; the works of Luther, Calvin, and Melancthon in many editions ; the Benedictine and other editions of many of the Fathers, and the ancient impressions or modern reprints of worthies, confessors, and martyrs; the Codex Yaticanus Novi Testa- menti, folio, Rome, 1857-71 ; the Codex Yaticanus Yeteris Testamenti, ])ublished at Rome by Yercellone and Cozza, in 4 volu mes, quarto, 1872 ; the Codex Alexandrinus Yeteris Testamenti, by Woide and Baber, 4 vol- umes, folio, Loudon, 1786 and 18i6-'28; the Codex Bezoe Cantabrigieu- Theological Libraries. 151 sis, by Kipling, 2 volumes, folio, Loudon, 1793; and the Codex Sinaiti- cus, by Tiscbeudoif, 4 volumes, quarto, St. Petersburgli, 18G2. lu addi- tion to these is the splendid succession of twelve fac similes of palimp- sests and other ancient manuscripts of the Scriptures, published also by Tischendorf, in quarto, between 1845 and 1870. These are the gifts of the Messrs. Stuart, and to these they have lately added the splendid fac simile of the Utrecht Psalter. AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, AUBURN, N. Y. The library of the seminary is nearly, if not quite, coeval with the seminary itself, which was incor porated April, 1820. Tbe founders of the seminary, the clergy of the Presbyterian Church in central and west- ern New York, became also the founders of the library, by giving their own books as a nucleus. During a period of thirty-five years from the foundation of thelibrary it depended for its increase almost exclusively upon contributions of books. The list of donors during this period is too long for insertion, but, as the result of their liberality, the library in 1855 numbered 6,000 volumes. The increase of the library during the last twenty years is due also in great measure to the gifts of its friends. One of the most valuable gifts to the library was received from S. R. Brown, D. D., missionary of the Reformed Church, formerly in China, and now in Japan, and consisted of 204 volumes of Chinese works; among them, besides the Chinese classics, the Imperial Chinese Diction- ary, the Imperial Statutes of Cliina, and Dr. Morrison's translation of the Bible into the Chinese language. A copy of the Codex Sinaiticus was presented by Sylvester Willard, M.D., in 1870. From 1821 to 1827 only five gifts of money are recorded. Four of these amounted to $94; the amount of the last, received from Arthur Tappau, is not mentioned, but with it 28 volumes of costly works were purchased. During the next twenty-five years small donations of money were undoubtedly received, but no record of them has been pre- served. After 1855, through the exertions of Rev. Frederick Starr, financial agent of the seminary, a permanent library fund of $11,000 was secured. Of this amount $5,000 were given by Simeon Benjamin, of Elmira; $1,500 by T. G. Maxwell and brother, of Geneva; 11,280 by G. R. Rich, of Buffalo; $1,000 by Ferdinand Beebee, of East Bloom- field; $900 by Mrs. Sarah Downs, of Downsville, and smaller amounts by a few others. Robert Nelson, of Auburn, has recently added $500 to the fund. The interest only of the permanent fund is to be expended for books. Albert H. Porter, of Niagara Falls, has recently given $6,000 to be expended in filling an alcove with the standard patristic and rab binical works. Several hundred volumes have already been purchased. 152 Public Libraries in the United States. The library now contains about 10,000 volumes. Thie average yearly additions during the fifty years of its existence have been somewhat less than 200 volumes. But, during the last eight years, the additions have averaged over 300 volumes a year. In the biblical, critical and exegetical department, including the patristic and rabbinical works, there are about 2,500 volumes; in the theological and homiletical department, about 2,000 volumes ; in the department of religious literature, over 2,000 volumes; in the depart- ment of literature, about 2,000 volumes ; of United States and State government documents, about 1,000 volumes; and of pamphlets, bound and unbound, about 1,000 volumes. No catalogue of the library has yet been printed. Complete manu- script catalogues of authors and subjects are in separate volumes. The library is open daily except Sunday, the year round, and is free to the public for reference. The new library building, which cost $40,0[)0, is the gift of Hon. Wm. E. Dodge, and Hon. Brlwin D. Morgan, of New York, who shared the expense equally. The capacity of the building is from 80,000 to 10;),000 volumes. GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, NEW YORK, N. Y. The seminary was opened September 7, 1820, and the nucleus of a library was almost immediately formed by the liberality of a few indi- viduals. In 1821 the trustees reported 900 volumes, upwards of 300 of which were folios, and many of them extremely rare and valuable. This was exclusive of a valuable collection of theological books deposited for the use of the students by a gentleman of Connecticut. In 1821 the General Seminary of the Church, then in New Haven, was incorporated with the Theological School of New York, and the union of the two libraries iormed a collection of about 2,500 volumes, a large proportion of which were folios and quartos. Valuable donations were received from a number of gentlemen, particularly the Rev. Mr. Price, of Tulworth, England, and John Pintard, of New York. Since then the library has steadily increased, by gifts and purchases from the library fund. In 1836 the sum of $10,000 was presented to the seminary, of which $4,000 were a gift from Trinity Church, New York ; a portion was from a legacy, and the remainder was raised by subscription. The whole amount was to be devoted to the increase of the library', $4,000 to be immediately used in the purchase of books, and the remainder to be held in trust for the benefit of the library. The most liberal and constant donor to the library has been the Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning in the Diocese of New York. Every year additions are made to the library by this so- ciety, and in 1852 it gave 1,348 volumes purchased at the sale of the library of the late Samuel F. Jarvis, D. D., for the sum of $3,153. Theological Libraries. 153 Thi5 special value of this gift lay in the fact that many of the books were purchased expressly to fill vacancies existing in the collection, and by these means it was not only increased in numbers but its intrinsic value was greatly enhanced. A valuable collection of books, 552 volumes, from the library of the late Professor Walton, was placed in the library in 1873, in an alcove bearing his name. The library is largely theological, but comprises also works on general and on special history, on geography, biography, mythology, archaeology, as well as much encyclopaedic literature. It has also an extensive de- partment of ancient classical literature. Its collection of works in lexicography is especially rich. The pamphlet collection, which is very large, embraces miscellaneous pamphlets from the year 1641 to date, journals of church conventions, serial pamphlets, reviews, and maga- zines. These are arranged and catalogued so that reference to them is easy. The number of volumes in the library is 15,208; the number of pam- phlets, 7,481, of which 2,338 are serials and 5,143 miscellaneous, besides 1,719 " notices," equivalent to 9,200 in pamphlet department collected since 1802. The catalogues of the library, though only in manuscript, are full and complete. UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK, N. Y. The basis of this collection is the very valuable library of Leander Van Ess, the distinguished Roman Catholic divine, editor of the Septuagint and Vulgate, purchased in 1839. That library consisted of 17,000 titles, containing an unusual number of rare and valuable works ; about 500 incunabula, (before 1510,) and manuscripts; some 1,800 works, orig- inal editions, produced in the Reformation century ; the chief large collections on councils, on church history, and especially on canon law ; early editions, Benedictine and others, of the fathers and doctors of the church ; some 200 editions of the Vulgate and of German Bibles, (the oldest, 1478 ;) in short, the most valuable collection of works of this character ever brought into this country. The Van Ess collection and about 8,000 volumes besides were given to the library. The library now consists of about 34,000 volumes, almost entirely theological in character. There is no printed catalogue, but a full manuscript catalogue of authors, in 4 volumes, folio. There is no library fund. About $750 a year are expended upon the library from the general funds of the seminary. There is no separate library building. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ROCHESTER, N. Y. The collection of the library began with the founding of the seminary in 1851. It aims to provide facilities for investigation in the various de- 154 Public Libraries in the United States. partments of theology. Works on scieuee, arts, and literature are to some extent included, but only as they have relation to theological in- struction. Besides numerous small gifts of money and books, the library has received two important benefactions. Soon after its establishment the purchase, in Berlin, Germany, of the library of Dr. August iNTeander, the celebrated church historian, was effected through the liberality of Hon. Eoswell S. Burrows, of Albion, K Y. This library, specially rich in patristics and in material for historical investigation, was obtained for $3,000 in gold, a sum far beneath its real value. In tiie early part of 1872, the gift of $25,000 by John M. Brace, of YonkQrs, X. Y., placed the library upon an independent basis. The yearly interest of this sum, amounting to $1,750, is devoted exclusively to the purchase of books. There are now about 10,000 volumes in the library. No catalogue has been printed. LANE THE0L0GK;AL seminary, CINCINNATI, OHIO. The library dates from the opening of the seminary in 1829, and was for several years a miscellaneous collection, mainly classics and text books, given by friends as a nucleus. The first extensive purchase was made in 1836, in Europe, by Professor Stowe, who made an admirable selection in every department of theological literature. In 1865 a gift of $10,000 was received from Rev. W. Van Vleck, of Cincinnati, an alumnus of the seminary. About $6,000 of this amount were applied to the pur- chase of b()ok>!, and the remainder added to the permanent library fund. In 1868 the library of the late Rev. Thornton A. Mills, consisting of about 800 volumes, was given by his widow; and in 1875 about 200 vol- umes belonging to the library of the late Dr. T. E. Thomas, professor in the seminary, were given by Mrs. Thomas. The present number of volumes is 12,000. The library has an invested fund of $9,600. The Smith Library Hall was built in 1863, through the liberality of Preserved Smith, of Dayton, Ohio. MT. ST. MARY'S SEMINARY OF THE WEST, CINCINNATI, OHIO. Mt. St. Mary's library was founded by the Most Rev. J. B. Pur- cell, archbishop of Cincinnati, who gave a collection of books from his own library as a nucleus. This collection was steadily increased by the gifts of friends in this country and in Europe, and the library was be- coming very valuable, when, in 1863, a tire in the seminary building occasioned the loss of a great number of the books. In 1865 the founder gave another collection of 5,000 volu.nes ; and receiving about the same time a bequest of 4,80D volumes, valued at about $25,000 from the late Very liuv. Father Collins, of Cincinnati, he transferred this also to the seminary. Theological Libraries. 155 The library now contains 15,100 volnmes and 4,000 pamphlets. There is also a library of some 3,000 school books. About 2,500 volnmes are in the ancient classical languages, and over 4,000 in modern Euro pean languages. Among the old and rare works are the following printed before or about 1500 ; Biblia Gerraanica, Cologne, 1468-'70; the Decre- tum Gratiahi, Strassburg, 1472 ; and Nicholas de Lyra's Commentaries, 6 volumes, 1501. The plan of catalogue is the same as that adopted for the Public Library of Cincinnati. WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY, PA. Soon after the establishment of the seminary at Allegheny in 1827, the Eev. Allan D. Campbell, of that city, was commissioned to visit Great Britain for the purpose of soliciting donations to the library, [u response to his appeal, many valuable gifts of books were received. The library of the Rev. T. Charlton Henry, of Charleston, S. C, rich in biblical learning, was at his decease given to the seminary. The Rev. Luther Halsey, D.D., professor in the seminary, has contri- buted about 3,000 volumes to the library. The liev. Charles C. Beatty, D. D., one of the earliest friends of the seminary, and its most munificent patron, has from time to time given costly works. The library fund amounts to $5,000, the interest of which is available for purchases. The total number of volumes is about 15,000, well arranged in a new building which is considered to be fire-proof. CROZER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, CHESTER, PA. The Bucknell Library, belonging to this seminary, derives its name from William Bucknell, of Philadelphia, who, at the time of the organi- zation of the seminary in 186S, gave $25,000 to be expended in books, and afterwards built a handsome fire-proof building for their accom- modation. The fund has been nearly all used, according to the design of the donor, leaving only enough to continue serial works and periodicals. In the selection of this library the most scholarly care has been exer- cised, and it has the very best works in each department represented. It abounds in books which pre-eminently belong to great libraries, books of the first importance, as the great Patristic Collections, the Thesauri, the Talmudic Collections, the Documentary Collections of Councils. It has the leading theological reviews of the various churches; among them the very rare and valuable Altes und Neues : die Unschuldige Nachrichten, complete in every respect, 1701-50; the Studien und Kriti ken ; the Journal of Sacred Literature; and the Theologische JahrbUcher. 156 Public Libraries in the United States. There are also the choice reviews of Oriental literature, the Jourual of the German Oriental Society, 1847-72; of history, the Zeitschrift (iir al librai'ies of medical schools and societies, see table at the end of this article. — Editous. Medical Lihraries. 173 MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN NEW. YORK. The librar}' of the New York Hospital is the oldest and largest col- lectiou ill the city, and now contains about 10,000 volumes. It is well housed in a building which although not fire proof is comparativel}^ so. The books are conveniently arranged, and there is room for twice the present number. It receives about 100 current periodicals, but with this exception does not contain much recent literature. An alphabet- ical catalogue of authors was published in 1845 ; three supplement- ary catalogues have since been |)rinted, and a fourth is now in the press. The one jjublished in 1865 is a list of the donation of Dr. John Walson, consisting of 481 volumes of rare and valuable books. This library is for consultation and reference only, as no books are loaned, and is open daily, except Sunday, from 9 a. m. to 10 p. in. The collection of the New York Medical Library and Journal Associa- tion now contains about 3,500 volumes, and is mtiinly valuable for its collf'ction of periodical literature. It receives about 95 current journals. No catalogue of this collection has been i)ni)ted. The Mott Memorial Library is free and numbers 4,700 volumes.' The Academy of Medioine of New York City has recently taken steps to purchase a building, with the intention of forming a library which shall meet the requirements of so important a medical centre as New York, and valuable aid to this end from private collections is promised, notably from tlie library of Dr. S. S. Purple, which is remaT-kably com- plete in American medical periodicals and in early Americ.m medical literatAire. A large, well appointed, and well sustained medical library is much needed in the city of New York, and it is to be hoped that the eftbrt referred to will be crowned with success. The library at present numbers 3,000 volumes.^ MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN PHILADELPHIA. The medical libraries of Philadelphia are large and valuable, and an 'This library was founded by the widow of the eihinent surgeon, Valentine Mott, M. D., and is free for consultation and study to medical students and members of the profession. Additions to the collection are made annually by Mrs. Mott and her son; the latter manages its affairs. It has no permanent fund for its increase.— Editors. ^ The Medico-Legal Society of New York, organized in November, 1872, began in 1873 the formation of a special library. The following is taken fiom a ciicular prb- lished by the president of the society in October, 1875 : "The Medico-Legal Society of New York has voluntarily assumed the labor of organizing and maintaining a complete library of all accessible works upon medical jurisprudence — especially in the English, French, and German tongues. "There is not at the present time any notable collection of such works in the United States. The great law libraries in the city and State of New York, and indeed in the United States, have only a few standard works of this character, and there is no reason to suppose any change is likely to occur presently in this regard. The medical libraries of the nation are nearly as poor as are the law libraries in works upon medical juris- prudence. " The society, by a general resolution unanimously adopted, voluntarily assumed the 174 Public Libraries in tJie United States. interesting account of tbeir history and condition is given by Dr. Rich- ard Diinglison.' The library of the College of Physicians has received large additions within the last few years, and is now the most valuable working collec- tion in the country, with the exception of that in Washington. It numbers more than 19,000 volumes, re(!eives about 80 current journals, and is rich in the early medical literature of this country. It is a ref- erence and consultation library to the public, and loans books to the members of the college. It is much to be regretted that it has no printed catalogue nor a catalogue of subjects in any form. It has about 5,000 volumes of medical journals. The Library of the Pennsylvania Hospital, numbering 12,500 volumes, is the oldest medical collection in this country, having been begun in 1763. The last printed catalogue, issued in 1857, is a classed catalogue with an index of authors, on the plan of the catalogue of the Library of the Medical Society of Edinburgh, and is a valual)le work for reference, which should be in every public medical library. A supplement to it was issued in 1867. According to Dr. Dnnglison, there is a remarkable absence of dupli- cation between this collection and that of the College of Physicians, and together they well represent the early medical literature of this country, especially of Philadelphia imprints. Since the Medical Department of the University of Pennsslvania has occupied its new buildings in West Philadelphia, a valuable foundation for a medical library, consisting of about 3,000 volumes, has been pre- sented to it by Dr. Alfred Stille, provost of the university.^ MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN CINCINNATL In Cincinnati there is a small but valuable collection of medical books at the City Hospital. The Mussey Medical and Scientific Library coii- obligation on the part of each of its members, of contributing one volume per annum to this library. A membership, which has grown from a small list to upwards of four hundred iu three years, and which bids fair to be the strongest, numerically, of any of the kindred societies, makes this means alone likely, iu time, to furuish a collection of great value. Liberal contributions of money have also been made by individual mem- bers, which have been invested iu volumes, obtained by correspondence with all the dealers and most of the librarians of such works throughout the world. "A catalogue of the names of all works ever published on these subjects is in course of preparation by mt-mbers of the societj', and is now far advanced towards comple- tion." Tiie annual reports of the society show that up to November, 187.5, the contributions to the library bad been- :i'JO bound volumes, 121 pamphlets, besides $498 for the pur- chase of books. — Editoks. Thiladelphia Medical Times. Reprinted, 4G pp. 8"=. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1871. 2 This library is thus characterized by the generous donor : "The collection comprises upwards of 3,000 volumes, including a considerable num- ber of pamphlets. The bulk of the library consists of American, English, French, and German periodicals. The other works are in English, French, and German, and are chiefly medical as distinguished from surgical." — Editors. Medical Libraries. 175 tains about 4,000 volumes aud 2,000 pamphlets, aud is at present a special deposit in the Cincinnati Public Library, MEDICAL LIBRARY IN WASHINGTON. The Library of the Surgeon-General's Office is deposited in the Army Medical Museum at Washington, but may be considered as the medi- cal section of the Congressional, or National Library, and is managed and catalogued in substantially the same manner as that collection. It now numbers about 40,000 volumes and 40,000 pamphlets, or, to state it in another form, about 70,000 titles. The library is intended to cover the entire field of medical and surgical literature, and is now an excel- lent foundation for a national medical library that shall be worthy of the name, and put the writers and teachers of this country on an equality with those of Europe so far as accessibility to the literature of the subject is concerned. It has been formed within the last twelve years, and is of course too young to contain many of the incunabula or the books noted as rare and very rare, which are the delight of the bibliomaniac; nor, indeed, lias any special eiibrt been made to obtain such. Yet there are few of the ancient authors whose works it does not possess, although not always in the most desirable editions. It is comparatively full in American, English, French, and German medical literature of the present century, and in works relating to surgery, pathological anatomy, and hygiene- Of the early medical literature of this country, that is, prior to 1800, it has but little. It possesses a few valuable manuscripts, the oldest of which is a fine copy of the Lilium MediciniE of Bernard de Gordon, dated 1349.' CATALOGUING AND INDEXING. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the practical work- ings of a large library, and who, therefore, do not appreciate the amount ^ There are libraries belonging to several schools in which the Eclectic and Homeo- pathic theories of medicine are taught, the only one of the former reported being that of Bennett Medical College at Chicago, containing 500 volumes ; and the largest of the latter class that of the Hahnemann Medical College at Philadelphia, which numbers 2,000 volumes. The American i)eriodical literature of neither of these schools is exten- sive. The following statement is from the pen of the dean of the faculty of the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, also editor of the Eclectic Medical Journal. He thus sketches the history of the library of the institute : "Beginning in 184.'), it was deemed au important object to secure a good medical library of books, both new and old, aud as a nucleus of such, a private library was purchased, at a cost of .sl,5G0. It was a singular collection of books, both old and rare, and yet, with a few exceptions, it was wholly worthless for the i>ses of the medical student. The antiquary who desired to unearth old theories and crude methods of treatment would have been delighted with it. To this were added, from time to time, ■works of the present generation until, in 1853, some 3,000 volumes had been collected, when, the library room being required for enlargement of the college halls, the books were stored in a small room, aud the college was without a library for five years. In 1858 changes iu the building were again made, and the books were dusted, some of them rebound, numbered, and catalogued, and made ready for use. But still the students were not inclined to use them, even with the aid of a nicely carpeted, lighted, and heated reading room, aud, after two winters of disuse, the dust was allowed to 176 Public Libraries in the United States. of time and labor involved, the following account is given. It will give no information to the skilled librarian, who will see at once many de- fects in the mode of recording — due in this case to the lack of cler- ical force. The working catalogue of this library is a card catalogue of the usual form ; that is, each separate work, whether it be a pamphlet of two leaves or a cyclopaedia of fifty volumes, is catalogued on a slip of stout paper about 7 by 5 inches, giving under the name of the author the ex- act title of the work, the place and date of publication and the collation, that is, the number of pages or leaves, the size or form of the book, and the number of plates or tables. These cards are arranged in drawers, according to names of authors in dictionary order, anonymous works forming a separate class. From these cards was printed the catalogue of authors, which was completed in 1873, and makes two volumes, royal octavo, of about 1,200 pages each, with a supplementary volume containing the anonymous works, reports, periodicals, and transactions. The cards from which this was printed were then distributed according to subjects, the subjects being arranged in dictionary order. This forms the subject catalogue. As new books were added a second card catalogue was carried on for them, which is known as the supplementary catalogue. The subject catalogue above referred to has been very greatly ex- tended by a process of indexing original papers in medical periodicals and transactions. The preparation of this index was begun January 1, 1874, since -which date every number of current foreign medical jour- nals and transactions has been indexed as soon as received. Wheu a number of tlie London Lancet, for instance, is received, the librarian indicates in it by a slight pencil check the articles which should be in- dexed. The journal is then handed to a clerk who indexes each article checked upon one of the catalogue caids. The top line is lett blank for the subject. Next is given the name of the author, the title of the ar- ticle, literally transcribed, or if there be no title, one is made (or it, and accumulate ou the books, aud they I'dsteil iu peace uutil the tire of 1870, wheu they were fortuuately cousuuied. "While thus somewhat uufortuuate iu our j^eueral library, we have to record marked beuetit from a coUectiou of books of a differeufc character. In a medical col- lege there are often spare moments between lectures that studeuts might improve, if books were at hand ; and quite frecjueutly study would be much facilitated if refer- ence could be made to a standard authority, eveu for a moment. Often some im- portant fact will have escaped the learner's mind, which, could he recall it, would make an eutire subject plain and enable him to meet a coming examination. A mo- ment's reference to an authority between lectures is sufficient, while without it there might be complete failui'e. Frequently an eutire train of thought is arrested by the want of a single fact which is an initial point ; the struggle of the mind to recall this lact is frequently sufficient to incapacitate it for the day. ''A reading room furnished with several sets of the latest text books for reference was provided, aud with most satisfactory results. The books were in constant use. "I believe that these working libraries ar'o to be commended in all higher schools." — Editoks. Medical Libraries. 177 finally the abbreviateil title of the journal, the year, the nurabar of the volume, and the pagination. This made of indexing is on the phm pnr- sned in the Catalogne of S^iientiflc Papers, 1800-1863, compiled and published in six quarto volumes by the Royal Society of London. The number of the journal, with the cards thus prepared, is returned 'to the librarian, who indicates in pencil the subject under which each card should be distributed, and the cards go to the subject catalogue. The journal receives a red stamp showing that it has been indexed, is checked off on the register of periodicals received, and goes to the tiles. At first only foreign journals were thus indexed, it being known that Dr. J. M. Toner, of Washington, was preparing an index of American journals, which it is his intention to make comi)lete to the year 1876. Upon inquiry, however, the work of Dr. Toner was found to be on a very different plan, as it includes all articles, whetiier original or copied, while on the other hand the titles of articles are much abbreviated. It has therefore been thought best to index all journals, American and foreign, beginning with January 1, 1875. At the same time as much aa possible is being done to index preceding volumes of important journals and transactions, of which about 1,000 volumes were indexed during the past year. This work will be continued as rapidly as possible. The fol- lowing statistics show the total number of what may be called regular medical journals which have been established since the first, namely, Les Xouvelles Decouvertes sur toutes les parties de la Medecine, Paris, 1670, as well as the time and labor which the making of such an index will require: British A merica United States Mexico West ludies and South America Beljiium France and Alfceria Germany and Austria Great Britain , Greece Holland Italy Japan IJussia Spain and Portugal Sweden. Norwaj-, and Denmark Switzerland Syria T urkey Total a E "A 50 1,320 11 56 343 2,(58-1 3, 280 1,327 13 200 C71 - P 5 '" 209 2 1 7 I 10 49 1,259 10 If) 309 1, 846 j 2,504 i 1,129 1 97 1 527 87 j 260 84 IS 1 8,214 j I 2C4 IL'E 178 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. Froni tliis table it will beseen that the library now contains about 75 per cent, of all that has been published in medical journals. It would not probably be desirable to extend an index of these farther back than 1801), as the, works of Ploucquet andlieuss fairly cover all medical periodical literature of any importance prior to that date. A few of the journals will be very difficult, if not im[)0ssible, to obtain ; but these will be for the most part of little iiractical importance. Several medical officers of the Army, whose stations made it possible to send sets of journals to them without too much inconvenience, have assisted in the work, and if this aid can be continued, it is hoped that the index will be completed in about two years. There is little doubt that it will then be printed, and it will form a valuable contribution to medical bibliography. Such an index is proposed jn the preface to the Catalogue Kaisonne of the Medical Society of Edinburgh, published in 183G, but Professor Maclagan states that nothing has been done in this direction. ^ The important part of a medical library, that which will give it char- acter and value, and for deficiency in which nothing can compensate, is its file of medical journals and transactions. The difficulty of obtaining and preserving these is in i)roportion to the importance of the matter. The majority of them are essentially ephemeral iu character; small editions are published ; they are rarely preserved with care, and even when attempts are made to preserve them by binding, it is often, and indeed usually, without sufficient attention to the collation, so that in examining files of old journals it will be found that at least one-half lack a leaf, a signature, or a number. This fact causes much trouble and disappointment to the librarian, and must always be kept in view in the collection of this class of'literature. In the attempt to make a complete collection of American medical journals for this library, it has been repeatedly found that what purported to be the volume or number wanting to complete a file was defective. It is probable that there is not a complete collection in existence at any one point, although there are two public and at Ij^ast three private collections in this country which are very full, those of the library of the Surgeon General's Office; of the College of Physicians, of Philadelphia; of Dr. Toner, of Washington; of Dr. Hays, of Phdadelphia, and of Dr. Purple, of New York. The rarest American medical journals are probably some of those printed in the West and South; for instance, the Oliio Medical Reposi- tory (1820-27) and the Confederate States Medical and Surgical Jour- nal (1864-'63). Another class of medical literature which is important to the libra- rian, and the value of which is usually underestimated, consists of med- ical theses and inaugural dissertations. To obtain complete series of these is even more difficult than to get journals, for the reason that they are more ephemeral, and because it is scarcely possible to ascertain what ' Edinburgh Medical Journal, January, 1873, p. 585. Iledical Libraries. 179 have been published, or when the series may be considered complete. For a few schools, lists hav^e been published of the theses presented by their graduates, such as Paris and Edinburgh, but even for Edinburgh, the only catalogue of the theses which the writer has been able to ob- tain, (is, two collections which are rich in their specialties, the works on mollusks assembled by Dr. John Jay during a life of de- votion to /[jonchology, and those relating to fishes, obtained at great ex- pense and with rare knowledge by M-r. J. Carson Brevoort. The first, purchased for the museum by Miss Wolfe, is perhaps only second (except, possibly, as to the quite recent literature) to the corresponding section in the library of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ; the second, obtained for the library through the liberality of Mr. Robert Stuart, is unequaled in the country, and there are extremely few ichthyological treatises which are not contained therein ; it is especially rich in inaugural theses and authors' extras of articles originally pub- lished in periodicals. The other departments of the library are compar- atively poor. SCIENTIFIC LIBRARIES IN NEW HAVEN. In New Haven there is no first class public library but that of Yale College. The many eminent scientists connected with the college and Scientific Libra) ies. 187 tbe Connecticut Academy of Sciences (among whom may be especially mentioned Professors J. D. Dana and O. C. Marsh) have severally ac- quired libraries which collectively furnish the means for prosecuting bibliographical studies in great detail in almost every department of science. SCIENTIFIC LIBRARIES IN BOSTON, CAMBRIDGE. AND SALEM. Boston and Cambridge are well provided with public or serai-public repositories for scientific bibliographical investigations. In Boston are three noticeable libraries. The Boston Public Library takes special care in the selection of scientific works, and ranks next to the Library of Congress in the number of volumes, (having 297,615 volumes March 1, 1876, and about 181,000 pamphlets.) The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, during the almost century of its existence, (it was founded in 178Q,) has accumulated a collection of about 16,000 volumes and 2,000 pamphlets, and the several branches of science have been cared for. The Boston Society of Natural History has had for some time considerable means, (about 113,000 a year,') and its efficient libra- rians have brought its library up to a tolerable condition for general investigation, although it does not yet furnish the means for detailed bibliographical work, at least in most branches, like the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. In Cambridge the means for literary scientific researches are supplied by the good college libraries, supple- mented by the private collections of the professors. No exact data are at hand respecting the extent of the collections of works on the mathe- matical sciences. The natural sciences are known to be quite well repre- sented by works collected by the late Professor Agassiz and his son for their own use, and given to or deposited in the library of the museum of comparative zoology. The neighboring city of Salem has a society library (that of the Essex Institute) which, although small, (comprising 30,655 volumes and 105,408 pamphlets,) is, in proportion to its size, quite rich in scientific publica- tions, obtained partly in exchange for its own publications and partly through the customitry means of acquisition. Those thus described are believed to be the only places or public society libraries in the country which could furnish the means for any- thing like exhaustive studies of the literature of any given scientific subject. There are, however, in a number of other places, public or semi-public libraries, which, to a greater or less extent, are enabled to administer to the needs of the student of a local fauna or specific subject. Such are especially Albany, with its State Library and the Albany Institute; St. Louis and San Francisco, with their Academies of Sciences; Chicago, with its Public Library as well as the Cliicago Academy of Sciences; Buffalo, with the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences ; Charleston, with the Elliott Society of Natural History ; and 'A small poitiou of this sum is applicable for library purposes. 1-88 Public Libraries in the United States. New Orleans, with the New Orleans Academy of Scieace. The libraries in these several cities, however, so far as can be inferred from published reports and hearsay, are very incomplete and partial in their scientific departments. In tine, the experience of the author in a number of cases has been that in no instance could any bibliographical study on an extensive scientific subject be prosecuted to a satisfactory concl-ision in any one city, although the means for so doing are best i)rovided in Philadelphia; and in the present state of our libraries a visit to that place is necessary before concluding any such investigation. Next to Philadelphia, there is no very decided choice, in some respects Washington offering the most facilities, and in others Boston. An outlay of less than $5,000, to be expended under a competent scientific bibliographer, would, however, give either the decided predominance in every department of scientific literature. Of the four principal cities, so far as the experience of the author has gone, the convenient resources of New York for research are the least effective. EECORDS OF PROGRESS. Among the most important and really indispensable works of refer- ence for the scientific investigator, and indeed for any student who de- sires to become familiar with the progress of science in its several branches, are the annual volumes in which are recorded the various contributions to the literature of science during the successive years. Yet, strangely enough, they are rarely met with in our libraries, and the existence of such annual epitomes of scientific literature is known only in part, and sometimes absolutely unknown, to our librarians. After visits to all the libraries in the city of Washington, the author is able to present only the present quite imperfect list of these valuable publications. Several of the series are entirely unrepresented in the libraries, and others only by fragments or odd volumes. In default of these annual reports, the labors of the investigator are not only much increased by the necessity of examining in detail all the periodicals in which by any chance papers might be published; but the chances even then would be great that some article of importance might be over- looked. It is true that in previous articles on the same subject refer- ences may be given to the previous literature, but there is often no means of ascertaining to what extent bibliographical researches have been undertaken, and the previous investigator may have been more unfortunately situated with regard to means of investigation than the new one. A sine qua non, therefore, not only of a professed scientific library, but of every library that professes to administer to the needs of other than the elementary student, should be a complete collection of the annual records of scientific literature for each department of science. The cost is quite small, and if the series were present in at least the more important libraries of the land, fewer volumes marked by the almost absolute ignorance on the part of their compilers of the latest developments of science would be issued than at present. It is to be Scientific Libraries. 189 hoped tliat the followin<; may be of use in giving some idea of the character, scope, and extent of the series in question. The most serious detect in most of these is the lateness of issue, some being in iiublication several years behind the periods for which they are issued. Wliile this is, of course, to be regretted, the length of time taken allows more for the elaborate and exhaustive collection of the literature of the respective years, and the present need of the student will be subserved to a great extent by tlie catalogues enumerated under the first liead, which are issued with .comparative promptitude, and give the titles of the academical publications as they severally appear. GENERAL. BIBLIOTHECA Histniico-Natiiriili<, Physico-Naturalis, Pbysico-Cheinica et Matbenia- tica; <);eim'iiie Tlieorie der Electricitiic uud des Magnetismas.— Gsueral theory of electricity and of uiaifnetisrri. 2B. Elecfriciliitserrej^any. — Iiiductioa of electricity. 27. Elektrostatik. — Electrostatics. 2rt. Batterieeiitladiiiig. — Discharge of batteries. 29. Galvanische Ki^tteii.— Galvanic chains. 30. Galvanische Messapparate. — Gilvanoinetric appai'atus. 31. Treorie der Kette. — Theory of the chain. 32. Elektrochemie. — Electro-chemistry. 33. TluMinDelektricitiit. — Thermo-electrii;iry. 34. Elektrische Wartneerzeujriin>^. — Heat produced by electricity. 35. P^lektrisches Licht. — Electric light. 36. iMa;j;netisiuas. — Magnetism. 37. Elektiomagiietisiniis. — Electro-magnetism. 3'<. Eicktrodynaniik, Indnctiou. — Electro-dyuaiuics, induction. 39. ElektrophvsiolDgie. — Electro-physiology. 40. Aiiw.'iidiingen disr ElectricitaC. — Applied electricity. SechstT Abiihnilt. Physik der Erde. — Piiysics of the globe. 41. Meteorologische Optik. — Meteorological optics. 42. Meteorologie. — Meteorology. 43. Erdmagnt'tisinus. — Terrestrial magnetism. 44. Atm;)Si)h;i,i-isclie Elektriciiiit. — AtniDsplieric electricity. 45. rhy.->ikalische Geographic.— Physical get)graphy. CUEMISTRY. JAHRESBEKICHT iiUer die Fortsohritteder reinen, pharmacentishen nnd technischen. Cheniie, Physik. Mineialogie nnd Geologic. Bei icht iiber die Fortschiitte der Chemie nnd vcrwandter Tht-ile anderer Wissenschaften. — Fiir liiid. — Giesseu. J. Kick- er'sfhc liuchhandlnng. 1872. [8».] The It-ports for 1857 to 18(39 have also a second title-pa^e, viz : .Tahreshi'i'iijht iibLsr die Fortschritte der Chemie und verwandter Theile anderer "NVissenschatten. [Fiir l-^r)7-18t)0.] Von Hermann Kopp nnd Heinrich Will. 1858-62. [Filr 18!Jl-18ii2.] Unter Mitwirknng von Tii. Engelbach, W. Hallwachs, A. Kno[>; hcransgegt-ben von Hermann Koi)p uiid Heinrich Wills. 1863. [Fiir 18j-;-18ii7.] Unt r Mitwirknng von C. Bohn [1863-65]. Th. Engelbach [18ii3-67], A. Knop, [1863], Al. Naumann [1867] , K. Zoppritz [1867], herausge- geben von llcmrich Will. 1864-69. [Fiir 18,;8.] Unter Mitwirknng von Th. Engelbach, A1. Naumann, W. Stiidelher- aniigrg(',l)en von Adidph Strecker. 1870. J. Ricker'sche Buchhandluug. . . . 1872. [Fiir 186J.] Unier Mitwirknng von A. Laubenheimer, Al. Naumann, F. Nies, F. Rose ; lierausgegcbeu von Adolph Strecker. — Fiir 1869 — Giesseu. J. Ricker'sche Buchhandluug. 1872. [Suppl. title, xxxvii, 1372 pp.] The literature of clieiuistry in the last completed volume at hand (publisheil 187:i) is epitomized under the following heads : JUqemciup inxl nhii'H-'i'hr.hp. Chpmie. — Qeueral and physical chemistry. Krystallkunde. — Crystallography. Scienti/ic Libraries. 193 Allgemeine theoretisch-chemische Untersucliungen. — General theoretic cliemical in- vestigations. Thermisch-chemische Untersuchungen.— Thermo-chemical investigations. Electrisch-chemische Untersuchungen. — Electro-chemical investio-ations. Magnetisch-chemische Untersuchungen. — Magneto-chemical investigations. Optisch-chemische Untersuchungen. — Optico-chemical investigations. Unorganische Chemie. — Inorganic chemistry. Sauerstoff. — Oxygen. Schwefel. — Sulphur. Selen. — Selenium. Chlor. — Chlorine. Jod. — Iodine. Fluor. — Fluorine. Stickstoff. — Nitrogen. Phosphor. — Phosphorus. Bor. — Borax. KohlenstofF. — Carbon. Silicium. — Silicon. Metalle, Allgemeines. — Metals, general. Kalium. — Potassium. Natrium. — Sodium. Lithium. — Lithium. Baryum. — Barium. Strontium. — Strontium. Calcium. — Calcium. Beryllium. — Beryllium (.cerite metals). Mangan. — Manganese (Jargonium). Eisen. — Iron (ferrum). Chrom. — Chromium. Kobalt und Nickel. — Cobalt and nickel. Zink. — Zinc. Iridium. — Iridium. Cadmium. — Cadmium. Kupfer. — Copper (cuprum''. Blei. — Lead (plumbum). Zinn.— Tin (stannum). Titan. — Titanium. Bismuth. — Bismuth. Antimon. — Antimony (stibium). Uran. — Uranium. Molybdiin. — Molybdenum. Tantal und Niob. — Tantalium and niobium. Vanadium. — Vanadium. Quecksilber. — Mercury (hydrargyrum). Silber. — Silver (argentum). Gold.— Gold (aurum). Platinmetalle.— Platinum. Organische Chemie. — Organic chemistry. Allgemeines. — General. Cyanverbindungen. — Cyanides. Kohlenwasserstoffe, Alkohole aud deren Substitutiousproducte.— Hydrocarbons alcohols, and substitute products. Aromatische Kohlenwasserstoffe und Verbindungen.— Aromatic hydrocarbons and their compounds. Aldehyde.— Aldehydes. 13 E 194 Fiiblic Libraries in tJie United States. Acetone. — Acetones. Siinren. — Acids. Amide und Nitride.— Amides and Nitrides. Organische Basen. — Organic bases. Kohlenhydrate und Ahnliches.— Carbon hydrates and similar compounds. Eigenthiimliche Pilanzenstofife und Pflanzeuanalysea.— Peculiar products and analyses of plants. Pflanzenchemie und Pflanzenanalyseu.— Vegetable chemistry and analyses of plants. Eiweisskorper. — Albumines. Thierchemie. — Animal chemistry. Analytische C/iemJe.— Analytical chemistry. AUgemeines. — General. Erkennung und Bestimmung unorganischer Sabstanzen. — Recognition and deter- mination of inorganic substances. Erkennung und Bestimmung organischer Substanzen.— Eecognition and deter- mination of organic substances. Apparate. — Apparatus. Technische C7iem?e.— Technical chemistry. Metalle, Legirungen. — Metals, alloys. Metalloide, Siiiiren, Alkalien, Salze.— Metalloids, acids, alkalies, salts. Schiesspulver, Spreng- und Ziindmaterialien.— Gunpowder, material for blasting and percussion. Mortel, Cement, Thon, Glas.— Mortar, cement, clay, glass. Agricaltiirchemie. — Agricultural chemistry. Nahrungsmittel. — Food. Brennstoffe. — Fuel. Leuchtstoffe. — Illuminators. Pflauzen- und Thierfaser.— Animal and vegetable fiber. Fiirberei .—Dyeing. Mineralog ie.—M'meialogy. AUgemeines. — General. Metalloide.— Metalloids. Metalle. — Metals. Tellnride.— Tellurides. Arsenide. — Arsenides. Antimonide. — Antimouides. Snlfuride. — Sulphides. Oxyde.— Oxides. Oxydhydrate. — Oxyhydrates. Oxydoxydulhydrate. — Protoxyhydrates. Silicate. — Silicates. Silicate mit Basen R 0. — Silicates with bases R O. Silicate mit Basen R2 O3.— Silicates with bases Riz O:?. Silicate mit Basen R und R2 O3.— Silicates with bases R O and R.^ O3. Wasserhaltige Silicate. — Hydrosilicates. Silicate mit Titanaten, Boraten u. s. w.— Silicates with titanites, borates, &c. Titanate.— Titanites. Tantalate und Niobate. — Tantalates and niobates. Molybdate.— Molybdates. Vanadinate. — Vanadiuates. Wolframiate.— Wolframiatea. Phosphate.— Phosphates. Arseniate. — Arseuiates. Nitrate.— Nitrates. Scientific Libraries. 195 Borate.— Borates. Sulfate.— Sulphates. Sulfate mit Carbonaten. — Sulphates with carbonates. Carbonate.— Carbonates. Fluoride. — Fluorides. Chloride. — Chlorides. Orgauoide. — Organoids. Unbekannte Mineralien. — Unknown minerals. Versteinerungsmittel. — Materials for petrifaction. Pseudomorphosen. — Pseudomorphs. Paragenesis. — Paragenesis. Chemische Geologie. — Chemical geology. Allgeraeines. — General. Wasseruntersuchungen. — Examination of W"aters. Meteoriten. — Meteorites. JAHRESBERICHT liber die Fortschritte auf dem Gesammtgebiete der Agricultivr- Chemie. Begriindet von Dr. Eobert Hoffmann. Fortgesetzt von Dr. Eduard Peters. Weiter fortgefiihrt von Dr. Th. Dietrich, Prof Dr. H. Hellriegel, Dr. J. Fittbogen, Prof. Dr. R. Ulbricht, . . . Elfter uud zwolfter Jahrgang : die Jahre 1868 und 1869. Mit einem vollstilndigen Sach- und Namen-Register. —Berlin. Verlag von Julius Springer. 1871. This is a record of the progress of agricultural chemistry, the first volume of which (for 1858-1859) was published in 18G0. It was originally and for the first ten years of its issue published in annual volumes 5 from 18G0 to 1865 under the editorship of Dr. Robert Hoffmann, and from 1866 to 18G8 under that of Dr. Eduard Peters, but the last volume accessible to the present bibliographer contains a summary for the biennial period 1868 and 1869. JAHRESBERICHT iiber die Fortschritte der Pharniacognosie, Pharmacie und Toxi- cologie. Herausgegeben von Med.-Rath Dr, Wiggers uud Dr. A. Huseraanu, . . . Neue Folge des mit Ende 1865 abgeschlossenen Canstatt'schen pharmac. Jahres- berichts, l[-7] Jahrgang, 1866[-1872J. 26[-zweinnddreissigster] der ganzen Reihe Jahrgang.— Gottingen. Vandenhoeck &, Ruprecht's Verlag. 1867-[187.3]. [Jahres' bericht fiir 1872-1873, 660 pp.] This series interests not only the pharmacist, but also the vegetable physiologist and anatomist, as well as to some extent the systematist and likewise the zoologist, the articles on the poisons and poison glands of venomous animals being epitomized. The literature is systematically recorded under three primary heads, viz : I. Pharmacognosie. II. Pharmacie. III. Toxicologic. JAHRESBERICHT ilber die Fortschritte der Thierchemie. Herausgegeben von Dr. Richard Maly. . . . Dritter Band, fiir das Jahr 1871. Wien, 1875 ? Wilhelm Braumiiller, k.-k. Hof- und Universitatsbuchhiindler. The reports of progress in animal chemistry of course concern the zoologist as well as the chemist. The literature is discussed under the following heads : 196 Public Libraries in the United States. Capitel I. Eiweissartige Substanzen. — Albuminous substances. II. Albuminoide (dera Eiweiss nahesteheude Stoffd).— Albuminoids (sub- stances resembling albumen). III. Kohlenhydrate. — Carbonbydrates. IV. Fette.— Fats. V. Andere Substanzen des Thierkorpers. — Other substances of the animal body. VI. Blut.— Blood. VII. Milch.- Milk. VIII. Harn. — Urine. IX. Speichel, Magen- und Darmverdauung u. s. w. — Saliva, gastric and in- testinal digestion, etc. X. Leber und Galle. — Liver and gall. XI. Muskeln. — Muscles. XII, Knochen. — Bones. XIII. Eier. — Eggs. XIV. Gesammtstoffwechsel. — Nutrition. XV. Fermente (Giihrung), Faulniss u. s. w. — Ferments (fermentation), de- composition, etc. XVI. Pathologisches (Fieber, Eiter u. s. w.).— Pathological (fever, pus, etc.) ZOOLOGY. To the general record of progress in zoology are devoted two general reports and several on limited and special branches, e. g. authropolog3-, anatomy, etc. The general reports (one German and one English) should both be consulted, for although most of the memoirs are noticed in both, quite a large number are referred to only in one or the other. Each, too, has its special points of excellence. In some departments the German periodical is fuller and more satisfactory in its notices, and in others the English. TheEaglish work, however, exhibits one element of decided superiority to the German, and that is the more uniform repro- duction of the complete original titles of the articles reviewed. Both are quite full in their synoptical notices, and of late years, not only the numerous monographic works, but also the zoological contents of between 200 and 250 periodicals, (in the Zoological Record for 1874, 238 are enumerated,) altogether aggregating between 30,000 and 40,000 pages, have been catalogued or epitomized. In both series, the literature of the several branches is reviewed by experts in such branches, and dis- cussed in a rigidly systematic order. ARCHIV fur Naturgeschichte. [I-VL] In Verbindung rait mehreren Gelchrten herausgegebeu vou Dr. Ar. Fr. Aug. Wiegmann, ausserord. Professor an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitiit zu Berlin. — Erster [-Sechster] Jahrgang. Zvveiter Band. [IV-VI. Bericht iiber die Leistungen ira Gebiete der Naturgeschichte wahrend der Jahre 1837-1839.] Ber- lin, 1838 [-1840]. In der Nicolai'scheu Buchhandluug. [VII-XIV.] Gegriflidet von A. F. A. Wiegmann. La Verbindung mit Prof. Dr. Grisebach in Gottingen, Prof, von Siebold in Freiburg, Dr. Troschel in Berlin, Prof. A. Waguer in Miiuchen und Prof. Rud. Wagner in Gottingen. Herausge- Scientific Libraries. 197 gebea von Dr. W. F. Erichsou, Professor an der Frieclrich-Wilhelms-Universitat zu Berlin. Siebenter [-Vierzehuter] Jahrgang. Z we iter Band. Berlin, 1841 [-1848], in der Nicolai'schen Biichhandlung. [8<^.] [XV-XXI.] Gegriiudet von A. F. A. Wiegmann. Fortgesetzt von W. F. Erichsoa. In Verbindiing rait [mehreren] herausgegebsn von Dr. F. H. Troscbel, Professor an der Friedricb-Wilhelms-Universitat zu Bonn. FUnfzehnter [-Einund- zwanzigster] Jabrgang. Zweiter Band. Berlin, 1849, Verlag der Nicolai'schen Bitchhandlung. [8°.] [XXII-XLL] Gegriindet von A. F. A. Wiegmann. Fortgesetzt von W. F. Erichson. In Verbindung mit Prof. Dr. Leuckarfc in Leipzig beransgegeben von Dr. F. H. Troscbel, Professor an der Friedricb-Wilhelms-Universitat zu Bonn. — Zweiundzwanzigster [-ICinundvierzigster] Jabrgang. Zweiter Band. — [XXII- XXIII. "Verlag der Nicolai'schen Bucbhandlung" und XXIV-XLI] Berlin, Nicolai'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. . . . 1857 [-1875]. This periodical is issued in numbers forming two volumes for each year, the first containing original memoirs, and the second the reports on the progress of the several branches of zoology. The dates on the title-pages are quite misleading, inasmuch as they indicate the year succeeding the period of progress recorded, but in reality the volumes of the record are sometimes not concluded for several years after. Thus, of the record for 1873 only the first of three parts has been received in Washington, and that only in September, 1875, although the completed volume, if former practice is followed, will bear the date 1874. Two volumes of the Archiv are published each year, the first of ■which is restricted to original articles, and the second alone contains the record of progress. Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Naturgescbicbte der Vogel wabrend des Jabres 1874. [Report on the publications on the natural history of birds during the year 1874.] Von August von Pelzeln in Wien. Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Naturgescbicbte der Siiugethiere wabrend des Jahres 1874. [Report on the publications on the natural history of mammals during the year 1874.] Von Troscbel. Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Herpetologie wiibrend des Jahres 1874. [Report on the publications in herpetology during the year 1874.] Von Troscbel. Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Ichtbyologie wiibrend des Jabres 1874. [Report on the publications in ichthyology during the year 1874.] Von Troscbel. Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Naturgescbicbte der Mollusken wiihrend des .lahres 1874. [Report on the publications on the natural history of the mollusks during the year 1874.] Von Troscbel. Cephalopoda. Brachiopoda. Cephalopbora. Tunicata. Lamellibranchiata. The contributors to the volume for 1839, the last complete one at hand, on the other groups were as follows : Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Naturgescbicbte der lusekten wabrend des Jahres 1869. [Report on the publications on the natural history of insects during the year 1869.] Von Friedricb Brauer in Wien. Ortboptera. Lepidoptera. Neuroptera. Apbaniptera. Coleoptera. Diptera. Hymenoptera. Hemiptera. 198 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. Bericht iiber die wissenschaftlichen Leistuugen in der Naturgescbichfce der niederen Tbi,ere wahrend der Jahie 1868 und 1869. Zweite Hiilfte. [Report on tlie scientific publications on the natural history of the lower animals during the years 1868 and 1869. Second half.] Von Dr. Kud. Leuckart. Echinodermata. Protozoa. Coelenterata. ZOOLOGICAL (The) Record, viz : [V. 1-6.] The Record of Zoological Literature. 1854. Volume first. Edited by Albert C. L. G. Guother, M. A., M. D., Ph. D., F. Z. S., etc., etc. Lou- don : John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row. M.DCCC.LXV. [H'*.] [v. 7-9.] The Zoological Record for 1870 [1871, 1872, aud 1873], being volnine seventh [eight, ninth, and tenth] of the Record of Zoological Literature. Edited by Alfred Newton. M. A., F. R. S. London: John Van Voorst. M.DCCC.LXXI. [v. 10.] The Zoological Record for 1873 ; being volume tenth of the Record of Zoological Literature. Edited by Edward Caldwell Rye, F. Z. S., librarian to the Royal Geographical Society. Esplorate solum : sic fit via certior ultr&. London : John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row. M.DCCCLXXV. [8». xxiv, 543 pp.] lu the last cited Tolume the literature is discussed Iq the order aud \>j the authors indicated below. This record is published in annual volumes, bound in cloth, at the rate of a guinea a volume. Mammalia. By Edward Richard Alston, F. Z. S. J res. By R. B. Sharpe, F. L. S., F. Z. S., &c. lieptiUa. By A. W. E. O'Shaughuessy. Fisces. By A. W.E. O'Shaughuessy. Mollusca. By Prof. Eduard von Martens, M. D., C. M. Z. S. MoUuscoida. By Prof. Eduard vou Martens, M. D., C. M. Z. S. Crustacea. By Prof. Eduard von Martens, M. D., C. M. Z. S. Arachnida. By the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, M. A., C. M. Z. S. Mijriopoda. By the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, M. A., C. M. Z. S. Insecia. The general subject, by E. C. Rye, F. Z. S. Coleoptera. By E. C Rye, F. Z. S. Hymenoptera. By E. C. Rye, F. Z. S. Lepidoptera. By W. F. Kirby, M. E. S., &c. Diptera. By E. C. Rye, F. Z.'s. Neuroptera. By R. McLachlan, F. L. S. Orthoptera. By R. McLachlan, F. L. S. Rhynchota. By E. C. Rye, F. Z. S. Vermes. By C. F. LUtken, Ph. D., F..R. D. A., &c. Echinodermata. By C. F. Liitkeu, Ph.D., F. R. D. A., &g. Coelenterata. By C. F. Liitkeu, Ph.D., F. R. D. A., &c. Protozoa. By C. F. Liitkeu, Ph. D., F. R. D. A., &c. ANATOMY. BERICHT Uber die Fortschritte der Anatomiennd Physiologieim Jahre 1857[-1871]. Herausgegeben vou Dr. J. Henle [1860— Dr. W. Keferstein] und Dr. G. Meissner, . . . [1857-1868. Als besondere Abtheilung der Zeitschrift fiir rationelle Medicin.] . . . Leipzig uud Heidelberg. C. F. Wiater'sche Verlagsbuchhaudlung, 1858[-1872]. This series, which.was so long the most complete review of anatomical literature for the successive years, was, unfortunately for the convenience Scientific Libraries. 199 of investigators, brought to a formal close with the Bericht for 1871 (" Mit diesem Bande schliessen wir die Reihe unseter Jahresberichte. Henle. Meissner"). It gives uot only a quite full resume of the papers published from year to year relative to human anatomy, but also those on comparative anatomy when involving the consideration even second- arily of the human organization ; it further, uuder the head of aids to investigation (Hiilfsmittel), gives useful lists at least of works and articles on the microscope and microscopical manipulation. The contents of the last published volume are arranged under the following heads: Bericht iiber die Fortschritte der Anatomie im Jabre 1871. [Report on the progreas of anatomy in the year 1871.] Von Dr. J. Henle. AUgemeine Anatomie.— General anatomy. Handbiicher. — Manuals. Hiilfsmittel. — Auxiliaries. AUgemeine Histologie. — General histology. I. Gewebe mit kugligen Elementartheilen. — Tissues with spherical elementary particles. II. Gewebe mit faserigen Elementartheilen. — Tissues with fibrous elementary particles. III. Compacte Gewebe. — Compact tissues. IV. Zusammengesetzte Gewebe. — Complicated tissues. Systematische Anatomie. — Systematic anatomy. Bericht iiber die Fortschritte der Physiologic im Jahre 1871. [Report on the pro- gress of physiology in the year 1871.] Von Dr. G. Meissner. Hand- und Lehrbiicber. — Manuals and elementary works. Erster Theil. Erniihrung. — Nutrition. Zweiter Theil. Bewegung, Empfindung, psychische Thiitigkeit. — Motion, sensa- tion, psychical function. Autoren-Register. — Index of authors. JAHRESBERICHT iiber die Leistungen und Fortschritte in der gesammten Medicin. (v. 1, Fortsetzuug von Canstatt's Jahresbericht.) Unter Mitwirkung zahlreicber Gelehrten herausgegeben von Rud. Virchow und Aug. Hirsch. Unter Special-Re- daktion von [Dr. E. Gurlt und] Aug. Hirsch. — [I.-XL] Jahrgang. Bericht fiir das Jahr[1866-]1874. Erster Band [-Zweiter Baud]. Berlin, [1867-]1875. Verlagvon August Hirschwald. In this series is incorporated a very full epitome of the researches in human anatomy and physiology for each year; in the last volume 278 of the large pages being exclusively devoted to the record of progress in those branches by the following gentlemen, viz : Descriptive Anatomie, Prof. Rildiuger, Miinchen. Histologie, Prof. Waldeyer, Strassburg. Entwickelungsgeschichte, Prof. Waldeyer, Strassburg. Physiologische Chemie, Prof. Salkowski, Berlin. Physiologic — I : AUgemeine Phy8iologie,allgemeineMuskel-uud Nerven-Physiologie, Physik der Sinne, Stimme und Sprache, thierische Wiirme, Athmung, Prof. Rosenthal, Erlangen. Physiologic — II: Haemodynaraik und specielle Nerven-Physiologie, Prof. v. Witticb, Konigsberg, tind Prof Goltz, Strassburg. 200 Public Libraries in the United States. These reports on anatomy and physiology appear to be published in a limited (perhaps author's) edition, separate from the rest, under the title Jahresbericht iiber die Leistungeu und Fortschritte in der Anato- mie und Physiologic. Unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher Gelehrten heraus- gegebem von Rud. Virchow und Aug. Hirsch. (See Bibliotheca histori- co-uaturalis, physico-chemica et mathematica, XXIV. Jahrgang, 109.) JAHRESBERICHT iiber die Leistnngen und Fortschritte iin Gebiete der Ophthalmo- logie, herausgegebeu im Verein mit niehreren Fachgeuosseu und redigirt von Dr. Albrecht Nagel. . . . [Erster-] Z welter Jalirgang. Bericht fiir das Jahr [1870 und] 1871. Tiibiugeu, [1872-]1873. Verlag der H. Laupp'schen Buchhandlung. In these reports is recorded the current literature relative to the eye, morphological and physiological as well as pathological, and conse- quently they will prove to be of service in directing the zoologist as well as physicist in his investigations. The mode of treatment is exem- plified iu the abstract of the table of contents of the second Jahres- bericht. Ophthalmologische Bibliographie des Jahres 1871, zusammengestellt von Prof. A. Nagel. Anatomie des Auges ; Referent, Prof. G. Schwalbe. Eutwickelungsgeschichte des Auges; Referent, Prof. W. Waldeyer. Phyelologie des Auges; Referent, Prof. A. Nagel. Patbologie und Therapie der Augenkrankhelten. [By various.] Naraen-Register. Sachen-Register. ANTHROPOLOGY. ARCHIV fiir Anthropologie. Zeitschrift fiir Naturgeschicbte und Urgeschichte des Menschen. [I-III.] Herausgegeben von C. E. v. Baer in St. Petersburg, E. Ddsor in Neuen- burg, A. Ecker in Freiburg, W. His in Basel, L. Lindenscbtnit in Mainz, G. Lucae in Frankfurt am M., L. Riitimeyer iu Basel, H. Schaaff hausen in Bonn, C. Vogt in Genf und H. Welcker in Halle. Uuter der Redaction von A. Ecker und L. Lindenscbmit. Erster Band [-Dritter Band]. Mlt zablreicben in den Text eingedruckten Holzsticben und lithographirten Tafeln. Braunschweig, Druck und Verlag von Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn. 1866[-1868]. [IV-VII.] Organ der deutscheu Gesellschaft fUr Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte. Herausgegeben von C. E. v. Baer in St. Petersburg, E. Desor in Neuenburg, A. Ecker in Freiburg, F. v. Hellwald in Wien, W. His in Basel, L. Lindenscbmit in Mainz, G. Lucae in Frankfurt am M., L. Riitimeyer in Basel, H. Schaaifhausen in Bonn, C. Semper in Wiirzburg, R. Virchow iu Berlin, C. Vogt in Genf und H. Welcker in Halle. Redaction: A. Ecker, L. Lindenscbmit, und der Generalsecretair der deutscheu anthropologischen Gesellschaft. [Vierter Band] -Siebenter Band. Mit in den Text eingedruckten Holzsticben und litho- graphirten Tafeln. Braunschweig, Druck und Verlag von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn. [1870-] 1874. To this periodical, in addition to critical notices in the body of each volume, is attached a full and well considered notice of the literature of anthropology for the successive years (Verzeichniss der anthropologi- schen Literatur), in which the. contributions to the various branches Scientific Libraries. 201 of the science are arranged under their authors' names in alphabetical order. BOTANY. BDTANISCHER Jaliresbericht. Systetnatisch georrlnetes Repertoriiira derbotaiiischftu Literatur aller Lander. Uater Mitwirkuuj^ von Prof. Dr. Aschersoa ia BarlLa, Dr. Askenasy in Heidelberg, Dr. Batalin in St. Petersburg, Dr. Engler in Miinchen, Prof. Dr. FJiickiger in Strassburg, Dr. Focke in Bremen, Dr. Geyler in Frankfurt am M., Prof. Dr. Just in Carlsruhe, Dr. Kalender in Koln, Prof. Dr. Kauitz in Clansenburg, Prof. Dr. Kuy in Berlin, Dr. Kulin in Berlin, Dr. Levier in Florenz, Dr. L )ew in Berlin, Dr. Lojka in Pestb, Dr. A. Mayer, Dr. H. Miiller (Tliurgau), O'jerlehrer Dr. H. MLiller in Lippstadt, Dr. Peyritsch in Wien, Prof. Dr. Pfitzer in Heidelberg, Dr. J. Schroter in Rastatt, Dr. Sorauer in Proskau, Prof. Dr. Strasburger in Jena, Dr. H. de Vries in Amsterdam, Prof. Dr. A. Vogl in Wien, Dr. E. Wanning in Kopeuhagen, her*iU9gege- ben von Dr. Leopold Just, Professor am Polytechuikum in Carlsruhe. Erster Jahr- gang (1873). Berlin, 1875. Gebriider Borntraeger (Ei. Eggers). N"o volume of this has been seen by the writer; bat, according to Dr. Farlow, the following authors have contributed on the respective sub- jects indicated: Physikalische Pliysiologie. HoUandisclie Literatur. Dr. H. de Vries. Technische Botanik. Prof. Dr. A. Vogl. Ungarische Literatur. Prof. Dr. Kaaitz. Gefiisskryptogam. Dr. Kuhn. Morphologie der Coniferen und Gaetaceen. Prof. Dr. Strasburger. Hybridation. Entstehung neuer Arten. Dr. Focke. Moose. Dr. H. Miiller (Thurgau). Pharraaceutische Botanik. Prof. Dr. Fliickiger. Morphologie der Zelle. — Bacillariaceen. . Prof. Dr. Pfitzer. Morphologie der Gewebe. Dr. Loew. Flechten. Dr. Lojka. Eussische Literatur. Dr. Batalin. Italienische Literatur. Dr. Levier. Befruchtung und Ausstreuungs-Einrichtungen. — Verbreitungsmittel der Pflan- zen. Oberlehrer Dr. H. Miiller (Lippstadt). Systematische Monographieen und aussereuropaische Floren. Dr. Engler. Algen. Dr. Askenasy. Morphologie der Monocotylen und Dicotylen. Dr. E. Wanning. Pflanzenkraukheiten. Dr. Sorauer. Pflanzeugeographie uud europiiische Floren. Prof. Dr. Ascherson. Paliiontologische Botanik. Dr. Geyler. Chemische Physiologie. Prof. Dr. Just. Pilze. Dr. J. Schroeter. Bildungsabweichungen. Dr. Peyritsch. Schadigung der Pflanzen durch Insekten. Dr. Kalender. Ernahrung niederer Organismen. Dr. A. Mayer. EEPERTORIUM annuum literaturae botanicae periodicaecuravit J.A.van Bemmelen, custos bibliothecae Societatis Teylerianae. — Tomus primus. — MDCCCLXXII. — Har- lemi, Erven Loosjes, 1873. [8". Title, xvi, 223 pp.] In this repertory are enumerated the titles of the botanical contribu- tions to 101 periodicals of various kinds, as well as the floras and mona- 202 Public Libraries in the United States. graphic works, so far as they had been Doticed in the periodical works published in 1872. No indications other than those furnished by tbe titles themselves are given of the contents of the articles, but references are given to bibliographical notices in various journals. The work, use- ful as it is, must be consulted with caution. Thus, under the head "America Septentrionalis," the author, deceived by the ambiguous name adopted in the paper cited, has enumerated an article on the shells of the family Unionidae (Lea, J., Naiades of North America) among the botanical memoirs relating to this continent. The compiler has adopted for his enumeration the classification employed by Dr. L. Pfeiflfer in his Synonymia botanica locupletissima generum, sectionum vel subgene- rum, Cassellis, 1870. Morphologia Universalis. Morpbologia cellalae. Morphologia telae (contextus cellulosi). Morphologia partium esternarum. Morphologia Specialis. Thallophyta. Characeae. Muscoideae. Cryptogamae vasculares. Phanerogatnae. Physiologia. Vires moleculares in plaiitis. Functiones chemicae plantariim. Universales vitae couditione^plantarum. Mechanica cresceadi. Motus periodic! et exfcerais stimulis escitati orgiaorum planfcarum. Sexualitas. Morphogeaia (Eatstehung der Pflanzenformen). Monograjyhia. Plantae cryptogamae. Thallophyta. Muscoideae. Cryptogamae vasculares. Phauerogamae. Florae. Europa. Terrae arcticae. Scandinavia. Dania. Britannia. Belgium foederatum. Austria. Germania. Gallia. Helvetia. Hispania et Lusitania. Italia. Turcia. Graecia. Scientific Libraries. 203 Asia. Archipelagus Malayanus. Africa. America septentrionalis. America centralis et raeridionalis. Australia Oceania. Opera argumenti mixU et getieris universalis. Geot^rapliia plantatum. Palaeontologia (Generalia). Plantae sacrorum bibliorum et tie plantis vetenim critici. Horti botanici et musea varia. Methodus studii botanici. Collectio herbariorum. Microscopium. Bibliographia. Vitae botanicorum. Historia botanices. Botauica applicata. GEOLOGY. Eevue de geologic. Pour l'ann6e 1860 par M. Delesse, ... et M. Laugel, . . . Extrait des Annales des mines,. tome xx, 1861. — Paris. Danod, 6diteur, . . . 1861. Pour I'ann^e 1861 par M. Delesse, . . . et M. Laugel, . . . Ua extrait de cette revue a 6t^ publie dans les Annales des mines, tome ii, 1862. — Paris. Dunod, ^diteur, . . . 1862. Pour les ann6es 1862 et 1863 par M. Delesse, ... et M. Laugel, ... Un extrait de cette revue a 6t6 public dans les Annales des mines, tome vi, 1864. — III. Paris Dunod, ^diteur, . , . 1865. Pour les anuses 1864 et 1865[-1871 et 1872]' par M. Delesse, . . . et M. de Lappa- rent, . . . Un extrait de cette re vue a 6t^ publie dans les Annales des mines, tome viii, 1865[etcJ.— IV[-VIII?] Paris. Dunod, ^.diteur, .. . 1866[-1874]. The volumes of this series, as indicated oq their title-pages, are re- printed in whole or part from the Annales des mines. The bibliography of the subject is given in tolerable detail, but the original titles of the memoirs analyzed are rarely reproduced with extictaess. Tliey are summarized under the following heads, being nearly those adopted by Dana in his Manual of Geology : ^ I. Preliminaires. Ouvrages do g^ologie. — Generalit6s sur le globe. II. GMogie Uthologique. fitude des roches et de leur gisement. — Roches proprement dites et roches m^tallifferes. III. Geologie historique. [fitude des terrains au point de vue stratigraphique et pal^oafcologiri[iie. — Lois du developpement des v^g6taux et des animaux qui vivaient pendant la forma- tion de ces terrains. ' Only the first six reports (for 1860 to 1867) are in a separate form in the Library of Congress. The rest are only known to the author from being included in the volumes of the Annales des mines. - " La classification qui a 6te suivie dans oette revue est a peu pr^s celle du Minuel de geologic de M. J. D. Dana, et, comrae les auu6es pr6c6dente3, elle comprendra cinq parties." Eevue pour 1871 et 1872. 204 Public Libraries in the United States. IV. Geologic gSograpMque. Examen des cartes et des descriptions g^ologiques. — Giologie agroaomique. V. GSologie dynamique. fitade des agents et des forces quL ont proJuit des changejieats geologiques, ainsi qae de leur mode d'action. GEOLOGICAL (Tiie) Record for 1874. An aocaunt of v\^orks on ge:)logy, miQeralogy , and palaeontology published during the year. Edited by William Whittaker, B. A., F. G. S., of the Geological Survey of England. London : Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet street. 1875. [8». xvi, 397 pp.] This record, of which the first aad only volume yet published has but lately appeared, is designed to catalogae, and to some extent to summarize, the publications that from year to year appear relative to geology and the auxiliary branches of science. One hundred and eighty-six periodicals or reports are recorded as having besn examined for articles in addition to the monographs; " there are altogether more than 2,090 entries." The titles of the respective articles are reprodnced in the languages of the originals. The literatnre is arranged and dis- cussed under the heads below enumerated. StratigrapMcal and descriptive geology. 1. British Isles. W. Topley. 2. Europe. G. A. Labour. 3. Arctic Regions. G. A. Lebour. 4. America. G. A. Lebour. 5. Asia. F. Drew. 6. Africa. 7. Australasia. R. Etheridge. Physical Geology. Prof. A. H. Green. 1. Volcanic phenomena ; metaQiorphism ; underground temperature ; changes of level; formation of mountains. 2. Denudation ; glacial phenomena. 3. Rock formation. 4. Cosmogony ; miscellaneous. Applied and economic geology. W. Topley. Petrology. F. W. Rudler. Meteorites. Mineralogy. F. W. Rudler. Mineral waters. Pal(eontology. 1. Vertebrata. L. C. Miall. 2. Invertebrata. Prof. H. A. Nicholson. 3. Plants. W. Carruthers. Maps and sections. Miscellaneous and general. Addenda. Index. By H. B. Woodward. SPECIAL BIBLIOORAPHICAL AIDS. All the branches of science, in addition to the annual records of prog- j ress, have one or more notable bibliographies, which are indispensable to the student. The most important of these are immediately herein- Scientific Libraries. 205 after eaameratecl, aad iadicatioas ia most cases given of their rela- tive completeness and value. GENERAL SCIENCE. POGGENDORFF (J. C). Biographisch-literarisches Handworterbncb zur Gescbichte derexacteu Wissenschaften ; euthaltentl Nachweisungeu iiber Lebeusverbiiltnisse uud Leistungen von Mathematikern, Astronomen, Pbysikern, Chemikern, Mineralogeu, Geologen u. 8. w. aller Volker and Zeiten, gesammelt von J. C. Poggeiidorff, Mitglied der Akademie der Wissenscbaften zu Berlin. [2 vols.] Leipzig, 186:3. Verlag von Jobann Ambrosius Bartb. [8°.] Contents. Erster Band. A-L. [viii, 398 1., witb 1584 columns.] Zweiter Baud. M-Z. [title, 367 1., witb 1463 columus, 4 pp.]. This is merely a partial catalogue of the writings of the more promi- nent investigators, mainly of the physical sciences, accompanied, in most cases, by brief biographical data respecting the authors. REUSS (Jerom David). Repertorium commentationutn a societatibus litterariis edi- tarum. — Secundum disciplinarum ordinem digessit J. D. Reuss, in universitate Georgia Augusta Pbilos. et Histor. litter, professor et sub-bibliothecarius, [etc.]— [See con- tents.] — Gottingae, apud Henricum Dieterich. [1801-1821. 16 vols. 4o. 46 Tb. 16 Gr.] Contents. [Tom. I- VI.] Scientia uaturalis. Tom. I. Historia nataralis, generalis et z:>Dlogi'X. 1S31. [2 p. 1., iv, 574 pp.] Tom. 11. B3tanica et mineralogia. 1802. [viii, 604 pp.] Tom. III. Ctiemia et res metallica. 1803. [viii, 221 pp.] Tom. IV. Physica. 1805. [viii, 416 pp.] Tom. V. Astronomia. 1804. [viii, 548 pp.] Tom. VI. Oeconomia. 1803. [xvi, 476 pp.] [Varia.] Tom. VII. Matbesis ; Mecbanica; Ilydrostatica ; Hydranlica; Hydrotecbnica ; Aerostatica; Pneumatica; Tecbnologia; Architectura civilis ; Scieatia navalis ; Scientia militaris. 1808. [xiv, 514 pp.] Tom, VIII. Historia. Subsidiahistorica; (Gjographia; Chronologia ; Miuumeuta veterum populoram ; Inscriptiones ; Numi et res uumaria; Ars diplomatica ; Heraldica;) Historia, universalis ; Historia generis bumani ; Historia mytbiea ; Historia specialis ; Asise ; Africae ; Americae ; Eiiropte; Historia ecclesiastica ; Historia litteraria. 1810. [xii, 674 pp.] Tom. IX. Pbilologia; Linguae; Scriptores Latini ; Litteras elegantiores ; Poesis ; Rbetorica; Ars antiqua; Pictura; Musica. 1810. [xii, 230 pp.] Tom. X-XVI. Scientia et Ars medica et cbirurgica. [X.] 1. Propaedeutica ; Anatomia et Pliysiologia ; Hygieine; Patbologia sen Nosologia generalis ; Semeiotica. 1813. [xviii, 420 pp.] [XL] 2. Materia medica; Pliarmacia. 1816. [xx, 423 pp.] [XII-XV.] 3. Therapia generalis et specialis. [XII.] P. L continens A, B, C. 1817. [xii, 354 pp.] [XIII.] P. II. continens D, E, F, G, H. 1818. [xii, 534 pp.] tXIV.] P. III. continens I-S. 1820. [xiv, 476.] [XV.] P. IV. contiuens T-Z. Operationes cbirurgicae ; Medicina foret sis, legalis et politica. 1820. [xiv, 507.] 206 Public Libraries in the United States. [XVI.] Ars obstetrica. 1821. Ars veteriuaria. A most useful index to the contents of the transactions and other pe- riodical publications of learned societies, at least up to the end of the eighteenth century. The primary arrangement is by subjects, the clas- sification being a rigorous systematic one; but there are indexes of au- thors to the several parts. LONDON (Royal Society of). Catalogue of scientific papers. (1800-1863.)— Compilerl and published by the Royal Society of Loudon.— Vol. I [-Vol. VI]. London : printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoods, printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. For her Majesty's Stationery Office. — 1857 [-1872]. Contents. Vol. I. 1867 [List of periodicals ; A-Clu.— Ixxix, 960 pp.]. II. 1868 [Coa-Gra.— iv, 1012 pp.]. III. 1869 [Gre-Lez.— V, 1002 pp.]. IV. 1870 [Lhe-Poz.— iv, 1006 pp.]. V. 1871 [Pra-Tiz.— iv, 1000 pp.]. VI. 1872 [Tka-Zyl.— xi, 763 pp.]. This is, to some extent, complementary to the Repertorium comraen- tationum of Reuss, and is a useful and indeed an almost indispensable auxiliary for the scientific investigator. All the articles published in periodical literature (the publications of scientific societies as well as the scientific magazines) are herein enumerated under the authors' names in alphabetical order. A supplementary volume, it is understood, is now in press, which will include the contributions to the periodical literature published between 18G3 and 1874. It is also contemplated to publish another series in the same form, combining all the articles according to subjects. If this intention is completed, a collection will be thus formed which must necessarily be accessible, either through public libraries or private means, to every man engaged in active scientific research. MATHEMATICS. SOHNCKE (L. A.). Bibliotheca mathematica.— Verzeichniss der BUchor iiber die gesammten Zweige der Mathematili, als : Arithmetik, hohere Analysis, construirende nud analytische Geometric, Mechanik, Astronoraie und Geodiisie, welche in Deutsch- land und dem Auslande vom Jahre 1830 bis Mitte des Jahres 1854 erschienen sind. Herausgegebeu von L. A. Sohncke, weil. Prof. d. Mathematik in Halle. — Mit eineni vollstiindigen Materienregister. — Leipzig. Verlag vou Wilhelm Eugelmann. 1854. [8°. xviii, 388 pp.] Quite a mil catalogue of separately published volumes and theses, enumerated under authors' names in alphabetical order, in five separate sections, viz : A. Mathematik iin AUgemeiuen und Arithmetik im Beson- deren (mathematics in general and arithmetic especially), B. Hohere Analysis (higher analysis), C. Construirende und analytische Geometric Scientijio Libraries. 207 (descriptiv^e and analytical geometry), D. Mechaaik (mechanics), und E. Astronoraie uad Geodiisie (astronomy and geodesy). An alpliabeti- cal index of subjects, under which authors' names are mentioned, with references to the pages where the titles are giv^en, is added. WOLFF (Emil Th.). Quellen-Literatur der theoretisch-organischen Chemie oder Ver- zeichuiss der voni Anfang des letzteu Viertheils des vorigen Jahrhuaderts bis zani Schluss des Jahres 1844 ausgefuhrtea chemischea Uotersuchuageii iiber die Eigeii- schaftea und die Constitutioa der orgaaischen Substanzen, ihrer Verbiiidungea uud Zersetzungsproducte. Mit Rteter Beriicksichtiguug der Literatur der Chemie in ihrer An wendnngauf Agricultur, Physiologie und Pathologie aiis den wichtigeren deutscheu und franzosischen Zeitschriften der Chemie und Fharniacie gesammelt, in systema- lische Ordnung zusainmengestellt und mit ausfdhrlichen Sach- iiad Nainenregistern versehen von Emil Th. Wolff, Doctor der Philosophie. — Halle, Edouard Anton. 1845. [8", xii pp., 202 1., with 808 columns,— Price, 2 Th.] ZUCHOLD (Ernst Amandus). Bibliotheca chemica. — Verzeichuiss der auf dem Ge- biete der reinen, pharmaceutischen, physiologischen und technischen Chemie in den Jahren 1840 bis Mitte 1858 in Deutschland und im Auslande erschienenen Schrif- ten. Von Ernst Amandus Ziichold. Mit einem ausfiihrlichen Sachregister. Gottin- gen. Yandenhoeck «Sr Ruprecht's Verlag. 1859. [8°. viii, 342 pp. Price, 1 Th. 15 Ngr.] The titles are arranged under the names of the authors in alphabeti- cal order, but an analytical index of subjects is added, under which the names of authors contribnting thereto are specified, with reference to the pages of the body of the work. The work is useful, but very incom- plete. RUPRECHT (Rudolph). Bibliotheca Chemica et Puarraaceutica.— Alphabetisches Vorzeichniss der auf dem Gebiete der reinen, pharmaceutischen, physiologischen und technischen Chemie in den Jahren 1853 bis Ende 1870 in Djutschland uad im Aus- lande erschienenen Schriften. Von Rud. Ruprecht. Mit einem ausfiihrlichen Sach- register.— Gottingen, Vandeuhoeck «S6 Ruprecht's Verlag. 1872. [8°. Title, 125 pp.] A continuation of the preceding, and arranged according to the same plan. ZOOLOGY.— (general.) AGASSIZ (Louis John Rudolph) and STRICKLAND (Hugh E.). Bibliographia Zoolo- gife et Geologic-e. — A general catalogue of all books, tracts, aud memoirs on zoology and geology. By Prof. Louis Agassiz, corr. memb. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sc. &c. Cor- rected, enlarged, and edited by H. E. Strickland, M. A., F. G. S. &c. [vol. IV;]— (and Sir William Jardine, Bart., F. R. S., E. & C.) [Vol. I-I V as below]. London : printed for the Ray Society. 1848 [-1854]. 8«. Contents. Vol.1. Containing periodicals, and the alphabetical list from A to BYW.— 1848. [1 p. 1., xxiii, 506 pp.] Vol. XL Containing the alphabetical list from CAB to FYF.— 1850. [3 p. 1., 492 pp.] Vol. III. Containing the alphabetical list from GAB to MYL.— 1852. [3 p. L, 657 pp.] Vol. IV. Containing the alphabetical list from NAC to ZWI.— 1854. [3 p. 1., 604 pp.] 208 Public Libraries in the United States. This work ia its time was of considerable use to zoologists and geol- ogists who simply wished to ascertain what a given writer had published upon a subject and where it might be found. The articles are cata- logued in each case under authors' names alone, and the articles of any given author are not arranged according to any uniform method, chro- nological or otherwise ; the titles also are often taken at second hand or in translated forms, the originals not having been accessible to the authors. This, therefore, at once indicates the absence of many works available for consultation. A critical examination amply con- firms this supposition. The work was originally prepared for Pro- fessor Agassiz's private use, but was subsequently accepted by the Ray Society for publication, and Mr. Strickland, the editor, by his biblio- graphical ability and care has greatly increased the number of titles and otherwise improved the work, so that he should be treated as a co-author. A catalogue of the publications of societies (Pars prima? acta societatum, diaria, et tractatuum syllogas continens) is prefixed to the alphabetical arrangement under authors, and is the model which the Smithsonian Institution has adopted for the catalogue of periodical works in its own library. The work has now been superseded by Carus and Engelmann's Bibliotheca Zoologica. EXGELMANN (Wilhelm). Bibliotheca liistorico-naturalis. Verzeichniss der Biicher iiber Naturgeschicbte welche ia Dautschland, Scaudiuaviea, Holland, England, Frankreicb, Italieu i\nd Spanien in den Jabren 1700-1346 erscbienen siud. Von Wilhelm Eugelmann. — Erster Band. Biicherkunde. Hiilfsmittel. AUgemeine Schriften. Vergloichende Anatomie und Physiologie. Zoologie. Palaeontologie. — Mit einem Namen- und Sachregister. — Leipzig. Verlag von Wilhelm Eugelmann. 1846. [8°. ix, 786i)p.] Also entitled on opposite (left hand) title-page : Index librorura historiam natnralem spectantiura ab anno MDCC ad MDCCCXLVI in Germauia, Scandinavia, Anglia, Gallia, Belgio, Italia atque Hispauia impressorum. Edidit Guilielmas Eugelmann. — Pars Prima, continens historiam natnralem in nniver- 8um, anatomiam et physiologiam comparatam, zoologiam, palaeontologiam. — Cnm indice scriptorum et rerum. — Lipsiae, sumptibus Guilielmi Eugelyiaun. MDCCCXLVI. [etc.]. CARUS (Jnlins Victor) und ENGELMANN (Wilhelm). Bibliotheca Zoologica.— Ver- zeichniss der Schriften iiber Zoologie, welche in den periodischen Werken enthalten und vom Jahre 1846-1860 selbstilndig erscbienen sind. Mit Einscbluss der allgemein- naturgescbicbtlicheu, periodischen nud palaeontologischea Schriften. Bearbeitet von J.Victor Cams, Professor der vergleichenden Anatomie in Leipzig und Wilhelm Eugelmann. Zweiter Band. — Leipzig. Verlag von Wilhelm Eugelmann. 1861. [8«. 1 vol. in 2, viz: x, 1-950 pp. ; xxiv, 951-2144 pp.] Also entitled on opposite (left hand) title-page : Bibliotheca Hlstorico-Naturalis. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Engelmann. Supple- ment-Baud, euthalteud die in den periodischen Werken aufgenommenen und die vom Jahre 1846-1860 erschieneneu Schriften. Leipzig. Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann. 1861. Scientific Libraries. 209 As indicated by the title-page, the last work is complementary and supplementary to that published by Eugehnaun in 1846 under the title Bibliotheca Historico-jS'aturalis. It is, however, far superior in every respect to the previous work. The series is one of the most complete and useful of scientific bibliog- raphies, so far, at least, as the supplementary volume is concerned. It embraces not only the special works that have appeared since the year 1700, but also all the memoirs and articles that have appeared in the numerous periodical publications of different countries. In the supple- mentary volume the primary arrangement is according to subjects under the following captions: Naturwissexschaftex iji Allgemeixex.— Natural sciences ix general. I. HUlfsraittel. — Auxiliaries. II. Geschichte der Naturwisseuscliafteu. — Historj' of natural sciences. III. Periodische Scbriften. — Periodical writiugs. IV". Vermischte naturhistorische Scbriften. — Miscellaneous natural history writ ings. V. Naturhistorische Lander- und Reisebeschreibungen.— Natural history of different countries and vojages. ZooLOGiE.— Zoology. A. Vergleichende Anatoinie und Physiologic. — Comparative anatomy and phy- siology. B. Vermischte zoologische Scbriften. — Miscellaneous zoological writings. C. Tbiergeograpbie. Faunen. — Animal geography. Faunas. D. Scbriften liber einzelue Gruppen. — Writings upon special groups, viz: I. Wirbellose Thiere im AUgemeinen. — Invertebrate animals in general II. Protozoa. III. Coeleuterata. Polypi et medus:e. IV. Echinodermata. V. Vermes. VI. Artbropoda. VII. Rotatoria VIII. Crustacea. IX. Myriapoda. X. Arachnida., XL Insecta. XII. MoUusca. XIII. Wirbeltbiere im AUgemeinen. — Vertebrates in general. XIV. Pisces. XV. Reptilia et amphibia. XVL Amphibia. XVII. Reptilia. XVIIL Aves. XIX. Mammalia. XX. Homo sp. Palaontologie. — PaLJEOX'TOLOGY. I. Allgeraeines und Vermischtes. — General and miscellaneous. 11. Petrefacten einzelnerLiinder und Orte. — Fossils of single lauds and regions. III. Petrefacten eiuzelner Schicbten. — Fossils of single strata. 14 E 210 Public Libraries in the United States. IV. Fossile Pflanzeu.— 'Fossil plants. 1. Im Allgemeiueu. — In general. 2. Einzelue Fatnilien, Gattungea unci Arteu. — Single families geaera, aad species. V. Fossile Thiere.— Fossil animals 1. Im Allgemeinen. — In general. 2. Einzelne Gruppen. — Single groups. A. Wirbellose Thiere im Allgemeinen. — Invertebrate animals in general. B. Protozoa. C. Polypi. D. Echinodermata. E. Vermes. F. Crustacea. G. Arachnida et insecta H. Mollusca. I. Wirbelthiere im Allgemeinen. — Vertebrates iu general. K. Pisces. L. Amphibia et reptilia. M. Aves. N. Mammalia. Nachtriige. Sachregister. Autorenregister. ORNITHOLOGY. GIEBEL (Dr. Christoph Gottfried). Thesaurus Ornithologiae.— Repertorium der ge- sammten oruithologischen Literatur und Nomenclatur siimmtlicher Gattuugen und Arten der Vogel nebst Synonymen und geographisoher Verbreitung. Von Dr. C. G. Giebel, Professor der Zoologie und Director des zoologischen Museums der Univer- sitat in Halle.— Erster Band. Leipzig. F. A. Brockhaus. 1872. Of this work, two volumes, in four half- volumes, have been published, viz: Erster Band, xi, 868 pp., 1872; Zweiter Band, vii, 788 pp., 1875, A third volume is.proposed to complete the work. The numerous mis- takes and. carelessness of execution render it a very unreliable work The bibliographical portion (Repertorium oruithologicum) occupies the first 252 pages of the first volume. The titles of papers are collected under twenty-three general heads, viz : I. Ornithologia generalis. Systema. Nomenclatura. II. Opera periodica. III. Opera illustrata et collectiva. IV. Monographite. Familiie. Genera. Species. V. Pterylographin. VI. Anatomia. Physiologia. VII. Embryologia. VIII. Oologia. Nidologia. IX. Propagatio. X. Biologia. XI. Migratio. XII. Distributio geographica. XIII. Europa. XIV. Europa Septentrioualis. Terr* Arctic.e. XV. Britannia. XVI. Gern:ania, Austria. (Holland'a.) XVII. Gallia (Belgium). Scientific Libraries. 211 XVIII. Eiiropa Meridioaalis (Hispauia. Italia. Holvetia. (jrneoia. Tarcia. InsuUe Mediterrauefp). XIX. Russia. XX. Asia. XXI. Archipelagus Malayanus (Moluccas. Philippinne). XXII. Australia. Oceania (Nova Guiuea. iSfova ZelanJia. Polynesia). XXIII. Africa. XXIV-VI. America Septentrionalis, Centralis, Meridionalis. XXVII. Aves lUQnstros;^, abuormes, hybriche. XXVIII. PaL-Bornithologia. XXIX. Aves domesticPB et captivre. XXX. Ornitbologia agraria et venatoria. XXXI. Oruitbologia vulgaris. XXXII. CoUectioues. XXXIII. Taxidermia. The manner in which articles are collected under these several heads makes it very difficult to know exactly where to look for many, and there is no index of authors. The work has been very generally and severely criticised by ornithologists; but as there is no other at present of the same scope, it is a useful one. It must, however, be consulted with extreme caution. ICHTHYOLOGY. BOSGOED (D. Mulder). Bibliotbeca Icbtbyologica et Piscatoria.— Catalogus van boeken en gescbriften over de uatuurlijke gescbiedenis van de visscben en walvis- scbeu, de kunstmatige viscbte^Jlt, de visscberijen, de wetgeving op de visScberijen, enz. Bewerkt door D. Mulder Bosgoed, bibliotbecaris van bet Rjtterdamsch Lees- kabinet. — Haarlem, de erven Loosjes. 1874. Also entitled : Bibliotbeca Icbtbyologica et Piscatoria.— Catalogue de livrcs et d'6crits snr I'bistoire naturelle des poissons et des c6tac63, la pisciculture, les pecbes, la legislation des p^cbes, etf. Rddig6 par D. Mulder Bosgoed, bibliotbdcaire du Rotterdamscb Lees- kabinet. — Haarlem, cbez les beritiers Loosjes. 1874. [8°. xxvi,474pp.] A tolerably full bibliography of ichthj^ology, but of minor value, in- asmuch as the articles are only enumerated under the authors' names under a few very general heads, viz : I. NaTUURLIJKE GE'SCHrEDEXIS VAN DE VISSCHEN.— HiSTOIRE NATURELLE DES rOIS- SONS. a. Allgemeene ^yerken. — G6n6ralit6s, dictionn aires, encyclopddies, etc. 1). Visscben von verscbillende landen en werelddeelen. Eukele soorten. — Poissons de differents pays. Espfeces s6par6es. c. De baring eu baringacbtige visscben. — Le hareug. d. De zalm en zalmacbtige visscben. — Le saumon. e. De walvisch en walviscbacbtige dieren. — Les ccStacds. /. Kunstmatige viscbteelt. — Pisciculture. ViSSCHERIJEN.— PfeCHES. a. Allgemeene werken. — G6n6ralit6s. h. Haringvisscberij. — Pecbe du bareng. c. Walviscbvangst en reizen ter walviscbvangst. — Pecbe de la baleine et journaux de baleiniers. d. Kabeljauwvisscberij. — Pecbe de la raorne. 212 Piihlic Libraries in the United States. e. Kustvisscherij. Oestervisscherij ea vesterteelt. — Peche coti^re. Peche et culture des huitres. /. Riviervisscberij. Hengelkunst. Zalmvisscli3rij.— Peche fluviale. Peche a la ligne. Peche du saumou. g. Tentoonstellingen van visscherij-voortbreugseleD, gereedschappeu, enz. — Exposi- tions de produits et engins de peche. h. Wetgeving op de visscherijen. — Lsgislation des peches. i. Tractateu betrekkelijk de visscherijen. — Trait6s et conventions concernant les peches. k. Addenda. Alphabetisch register.— Table alphab6tique. CONCHOLOGY. BINNEY (William G.)- Bibliography of North American conchology previous to the year 1830. Prepared for the Smithsonian Institution by W. G. Binney. Part I. American authors. — Washington : Smithsonian Institution. March, 1863. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. V, article 1. 8'. vii, 650 pp.) Part II. Foreign authors. — Washington: Smithsonian Institution. June, 1864. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 174, vol. IX, article 1. 8^. 3 p. 1., 306 PP-) A quite couiplete and elaborate bibliograpliy of all data relative to Americau couchology and conchologists, but very indigested, no uniform arrangement having been adopted for the classification of the titles, and no complete index having been yet published, although long promised. ENTOMOLOGY. PERCHERON (A.). Bibliographie entomologique, comprenant I'indication par ordre alphab OOOO" ------- 2 S § § § § § ;: s S < o - "^ - . I ^- -2 1 I -* o o t- tO CO lO PI o o o o o 5 ^ s n in 00 S 02 t- ^ 3 o S .2 _ M -^ ! '2 O -3 -2 ■- ^ ^ .■s j» .2 a >, « 5 - I I § a cf '^ ^ ^ ^ I 1 I ^ I 1 1 1 III § I 5 s § .1 g S2; a's '§1 I 'i !^ a S "3 S g 3 M O M =5 •■5 C O ;z5 >^ i5 .5 c3 a 2 rj O ^ cC § cs = a 3 S ? fee sc tc to to tr tx! 6: ►5 ^ ^ S a S Scientific Libraries. 217 1 9, s s 1 o § g ? ^ o ^ r^- si >^ ' " n a 1 1 " 1 ;^ ;z; s s f^ • o : g : S •/: ^ ^ • a 1 o j^ a a a fl = a i^i ^ Iz; ;z; K Izi 'A >5 S 00 o o ^ s 1 S 11 isssii E S R o o o LT ^- o- .o- t= OOmOO'^J'OOOOOO _ OOi.lOO-^OOOOOOO of « o -i" 1-i" ©f (m" ;o t-h" o" CHAPTER VIII. LIBRARIES IN PRISONS AND REFORMATORIES. BY THE EDITORS. I.— PKISOX LIBRARIES. History of prison libraries ix the United States — Number — How maintained — Regulations for use — Characteu — Extent of use— Influence. A majority of the convicts in the State prisons of tbe Northern and Western States can read j a large proportion both read and write, and many, before their incarceration, received higher instruction than is im- parted in the common schools. According to an official report^ to the legislature of Xew York in 1867, the number of prisoners unable to read at the time of commitment varied from one-twentieth in Vermont to one- third each in Wisconsin and New York, (Sing Sing prison,) which two prisons contained the largest proportion of illiterate Inmates. The report adds : Of convicts who give themselves iu as able to read, from a fourth to a half cannot, as a general thiug, do so without spelling out more or less of the words. The reports of the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Penn- sylvania, at Philadelphia, show that of the 7,092 convicts received in a period of forty-three years, beginning with 1829, 1,418, or 19.99 per cent., could neither read nor write ; 1,124, or 15.85 per cent., could read ; and 4,5.50, or 64.16 per cent., could read and write. In the Southern States the proportion of illiterate convicts is consid- erably larger. Thus the warden of the North Carolina Penitentiary re- ported in February, 1875, that of the 455 prisoners but 75, or about 16.5 per cent., could read. In the Mississippi Penitentiary one-fourth of the convicts are reported as making use of the library ; while that iu the Virginia Penitentiary is used by one-third of the convicts. According to a report^ made in 1874, the number of convicts in all the State prisons and penitentiaries proper, in 1873, was 18,520. From thirty-four prisons 1 Eeport on the Prisons and Reformatories of the United States and Canada, made to the legislature of New York, January, 1867, by E. C. Wines, D. D., LL. D., and Theo- dore W. Dwight, LL. D., commissioners of the Prison Association of New York. As- sembly document 35, p. 23L Transactions of the Third National Prison Reform Congress, being the third annual report of the National Prison Association of the United States. S". New York, OfiSce of the Association, 1874, pp. 376, 382. 218 Libraries in Prisons and Beformatories. 219 statistics of the education of the prisoners were received and reported as follows, the percentages given being averages for the whole number: Percentage of prisoners who were unable to read, and of t'lose who read with diffi- culty on their admission — prisoners, therefore, who were virtually illiterate, forty- eight ; percentage of prisoners having a fair common school education, fifty-one ; per- centage of prisoners having a superior education, one. Deducting from the total number of convicts all unable to read, and making allowance for those who read but imperfectly, there still remains a large proportion of the American prison population that can and will read if an opportunity is afforded. Impressed by this fact, and actuated by the belief that the^difficulties of prison discipline would be lessened, greater efficiency of adminisl ration secured, the moral sense of the pris- oners quickened and improved, and thus an important end of imprison- ment, the reformation of the criminal, rendered of easier attainment, manj" l)hilanthropic men and women, distinguished by their efforts in behalf of prison reform, began at an early day a movement to furnish libraries to prisons. The collections thus made were designed to form a necessary adjunct to the Sunday and secular schools which, by the energy and perseverance of these philanthropists, were about the same time organized for the instruction of convicts, as well as to supply the intel- lectual and moral wants of those who did not need primary instruction. The first notice we find looking toward the formation of a prison library in our country is in a code of rules and regulations enacted by the inspectors of the Kentucky penitentiary as early as the year 1802. The following is the provision of the code on this subject: The convicts shall be encouraged to employ any leisure time in reading, and dona- tions of books will be thankfully received ; and the keeper shall take care of them, and procure a list with the names of the donors. It is not stated that any considerable collection of books resulted from this invitation. Prison libraries owe their origin to the benevolence of individuals and societies, stimulated by the appeals of statesmen and philanthropists like Livingston, Seward, Sumner, Mann, Dwight, Bacon, Howe, Miss Dix, and a host of others who, forty years ago, devoted themselves to in- culcating correct views as to the purposes of imprisonment, eradicating the evils which beset prison administration, and ameliorating the con- dition of prisoners. Their efforts laid the foundations of many prison libraries, the beneficial influences of which were sooner or later recog- nized by legislators, so that now, in many of the States, the prison libra- ries receive a regular annual grant from the public treasury for their increase and maintenance. In 1845, after "four years' personal study and observation of the penitentiaries, jails, and almshouses in the Northern and Middle States, with occasional visits to others adjacent," Miss D. L. Dix made a report^ in which will be found a thorough dis- ' Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States. By D. L. Dix. 8". Boston, Munroe & Francis, 1845. 220 PuNic Libraries in the United States. cussiou of the several questions of prison management, and much in- formation regarding the reformatory agencies employed. Respecting libraries, the report affords the following information : Thomastoivn, Me.— The prison is deficient in a supply of books. Concord, N. H. — There is a small library, and each prisoner is supplied with a weekly temperance paper and a religious paper. Charlestotvn, Mass. — Some hundred volumes of books are in circulation, presented by several individuals from time to time, but chiefly purchased, first by the sura of $50 sent by the mother of a life prisoner to her son to furnish him with proper read- ing. Books were purchased with this sum, and these he used for a time, and then put them into general circulation, that his fellow-prisoners might be benefited thereby. A donation of $50 was opportunely sent from New York by persons friendly to this important means of promoting good in prisons; the sum was expended as designed by the donors. At the last session of the legislature $100 were appropriated to add to the number and variety of works already in use. The additions to the library Lave for these several years past been made by the prisoners, who, on being discharged have often left the books which they brought with them, or which have been furnished by their friends. Auburn, N. Y. — The supply of books at this, as at other prisons, is quite inadequate to the wants of the i)risoners. I think there were less than 350 volumes in a condition for use. SingSivgjN. Y. — Books have been, through the efforts of intelligent persons interested in the reform of the prisons, contributed, and these, with the efforts of the officers, have aided in the improvement of the convicts. Trenton, N. J. — Some have received books, but there are too few belonging to the prison library to aiford much advantage. Baltimore, Md. — The Maryland Tract Society has liberally proposed to establish a library of appropriate books for the use of the convicts, and much good is expected to result therefrom. Allegheny, Pa. — The prison library is receiving additions from time to time. Philadelphia, Pa. — A well chosen library, established by the benevolence of Mr. J. Bacon, which is gradually increasing through the good offices of those who ax^preciate this mode of instructing the prisoners, is in continual circulation. Dauphin County Jail, Harrishurg, Pa. — Has a well chosen library. Philadelphia, Pa., County Jail. — The prisoners are supplied with suitable work, and with books. The library of the State Penitentiary at Philadelphia was, as we have seen, begun by the gift of Mr. Bacon, in 1829 ; that at Sing Sing, N. Y., owes its origin to the benevolence of Governor Seward, who, in 1840, directed the officers of the prison to select books for the prison library to the amount of $300, which he paid ; the library of the prison at Al- ton, 111., was given in 1846, by the convicts in the Oharlestown, Mass., prison. The following account of the donation is from Prison Disci- pline in America :^ About a year ago, a clergyman from Alton, 111., visited the prison and was requested by the chaplain to perform the evening service ; after which he made a short address to the prisoners — a mark of attention from a stranger which always gives them pleas- ure. He expressed his high gratification with the neatness, order, and contentment ■which prevailed there, and his particular delight in seeing the library, observing that they were much better off in this respect than the inmates of the State prison at Al- 1 Prison Discipline in America. By Francis C. Gray. London, John Murray, Albe- marle street. 8°. 1848. pp. 53, 54. Libraries in Prisons and Reformatories. 221 tou, who had no books at all. The next day, as the chai)lain was walkin^j through one of the workshops, a prisoner having asked leave to quit his work and speak to him, told him that he had some books which he could spare and should like to seud to the prisoners at Alton, if permitted, aud so had some of hisshopmates. The chaplain, having conferred with the warden, stated in the chapel, after evening prayers, that such an application had been made to him, and added, that if any prisoner had books which he wished to send to the Alton prison he might leave them in the adjoining room, on coming to prayers the next moruing. He also sent worl to his friend the clergyman, that if he would call at the prison the next day he would fiud some books for Alton. The reverend gentleman went accordingly and took with him a large silk handiierchief to carry off the books. What was his astonishment to find, in the room adjoining the chapel, more than four hundred bound volumes, besides tracts and pamphlets. The silk handkerchief would not do, and the prisoners req[uested permis- sion to make boxes to pack the books in. The prison libraries gradually increased in number, aud iu 1837, accord- ing to the report of Drs. D wight and Wines, before quoted, there were in 13 prisons 20,413 volumes ; being an average of 1,570 volumes to each. The largest prison library in the country at that time was that at Sing Sing, with 4,000 volumes, and the smallest reported was that? of the Wis- consin State Prison, with 250 volumes. The report says : The legislatures of many of the States make a fixed annual appropriation for the in- crease of the prison libraries. New York appropriates for her three prisons $950; Pennsylvania for her two, $450 ; Michigan, $300 ; Massachusetts, $200 ; Connecticut, $100 ; New Hampshire, $50 to $100 ; Vermont, $25. The legislatures of Ohio, Wisconsin, and other States appropriate for this purpose only on application by the prison author- ities, accompanied with a statement of the necessities, and the amouut required to meet the same. According to the latest reports received at the Bureau of Education there are forty prison libraries in the United States, containing in the aggregate 61,095 volumes, being an average of 1,527 volumes to each. The largest library reported is that in the State Penitentiary at Phila- delphia, which numbers nearly 9,000 volumes, besides 1,000 school books: and the smallest, that in the State Penitentiary of Florida, which in 1873 reported 40 volumes. The legislatures of thirteen States make annual appropriations for the purchase of books, the amount varying iu different States from $50 to $800 ; five prisons report " occasional appropriations ; " the libraries of the remainder receive additions from purchases made from visitors' fees, earnings of prisoners, contributions, and by donations of books. The following abstract of the regulations respecting the use of books by the convicts in several prisons is taken from the report of Drs. Dwight and Wines : In the prisons of Ohio and Wisconsin prisoners are not allowed a choice as to the books to be read by them, but are furnished, in the former once in two weeks, and the latter once each week, with such as the ofiScers may choose to give them. In all the other prisons visited by us the convicts are allowed to select such books as may suit their taste. The method of distributing the books to the prisoners varies in different prisons. In Massachusetts the following plan is adopted : The convicts are allowed to take out 222 Public Libraries in the United States. oue book at a time, on Mondays and Saturdays, and they keep it a fortniirbt. If it is wanted for a longer period, permission must be obtained from the librarian. Each volume is numbered, and every prisoner has a catalogue and card, and pats down on the card the numbers of (say twenty to ftfty ) such books as he would like to read, so that he may be sure of securing some one. He lays bis book, after he has read it, on the stool in his cell, with the card in the book, and the runner takes it and carries it to the assistant librarian, who changes the book and sends back another. As the book is read the number is rubbed off the card, and another one placed in its steal. A somewhat similar method of distribution is pursued in the Eastern Penitentiary, Pennsylvania. The books are distiibuted every two weeks, and each applicant is al- lowed to take out one large volume, or two of more moderate size. Every convict has in his cell a printed catalogue and a card-slate, on which he marks eighteen numbers, out of which the librarian is able to obtain some book that will suit his taste, though not always the one that he would prefer. A very different plan from either of tlie above is adopted in two of our New York prisons— those at Sing Sing and Clinton. There the prisoners come in squads or com- panies once in three weeks, and each one selects one or two volumes for himself of those that may be upon the shelves at the time. No doubt a good deal of time is con- snmed in this way, and the work might be done, is done iu other prisons, in a much shorter period. But it is at least doubtful whether it would be wise to change the method on this ground. There are obvious advantages, and those connected with the higher ends of prison discipline, in the mode of distribution practiced in these prisons. The coming of several hundred prisoners every three weeks into the chaplain's office affords him the opportunity of becoming personally acquainted with them, and of dropping into their ear, perchance into their heart, many a wise counsel and exhorta- tion. These opportunities, we have reason to think, are gladly embraced and faith- fully used. At Auburn a plan is in use differing from either of tlie above, and, as it strikes us, inferior to both. Prisoners have the privilege of exchanging their books once a week. The chaplain sends a quantity of books to each shop, together with a list of the same, to the keeper ; and thus the exchange is effected in the shop where they are at work. The objection to this is, first, that it limits the convict's selection to a very small part of the library, and, secondly, that it must hd a source of more or less disorder in the workshops. The rule in all prisons is to examine books on their return ; but it is enforced, as indeed all rules are, with different degrees of stringency. In the Wisconsin prison, if books — and they are carefully scrutinized when returned — are found soiled, dogeared, or in any way marred or defaced, tha offouder is deprived of the privilege of the library for a certain time, which is longer or shorter according to the extent of the injury done to the book. All injuries to books are recorded for future reference. We are sorry to be obliged to report that in many State prisons, our own among the number, very inadequate provision is made for prisoners reading at night. In England, there is a gas-burner in every cell ; in America, such an arrangement, we believe, is quite unknown. Lights, whether from gas or oil, are placed in the corri- dors, and very often at such a distance from each other that scarcely oue prisoner in ten can see to read. For about five months iu the year, the convicts are locked in their cells from thirteen to fifteen hours a day. There are prisons (we wish the number were less) in which, during all these long and dreary hours, only those few prisoners whose cells happen to be near the lights can make any use of their books ; all the rest being condemned to intellectual starvation, with ample stores at hand, as Tantalus was to eternal thirst, with tlite water reaching to his chin. Thus is left to the dark- ness of his cell and the deeper, sadder darkness of an ignorant, benighted mind, many a young man, who, if opportunity were afforded him of acquiring useful knowledge, might, despite his fall and its forlorn consequences, be awakened to hope, to cheerful- ness, to virtue. More than once have wc heard bitter lamentations by convicts over Libraries in Prisons and Reformatories. 223 their iuability, from want of light, to occupy themselves in re;uling while locked in their cells during the long winter evenings. We look upon such deprivation as a hardship and a wrong ; and we have known it to be, in many ways, most hurtful in its consequences. We thiuk it no more than right, and certainly it would be good policy, that prisoners should have at least two hours of light for reading every night during the winter mouths. In the Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet, a copy of the catalogue is kept in each cell, and the selections maile from it by the convicts are written, by number, upon the library slate with which each cell is also provided. Taese slates are collected oace in ten days by the librarian, and the books are issued according to the selections, and placed in each cell while the men are at work. The convicts are allowed lights in their cells, and can read from the time of quitting work (which is 6 p. m. from March to November, 4.45 p. m. the remainder of the year) until 9 o'clock p. m., and all day Sunday, except the time taken for chapel exercises. SELECTIONS OF BOOKS. The character of the books composing prison libraries ia 18(J7 is de- scribed iu the report last quoted : The character of the books composing the prison libraries is, as might be expected, quite miscellaneous. Works on religion, histories, biographies, travels, works on science and general literature, and standard novels (those of a sensational character being generally excluded) predominate. It is not strange that the preference should be given, in the majority of cases, to story books, magazines, and the lighter literature, but the reading of convicts is by no means confined to works of this character. His- tories, travels, biographies, and even treatises on science and philosophy, find many readers. This we found to be pre-eminently the casein the Massachusetts State Prison, where Humboldt's Cosmos and other works of a no less elevated and philosophical character have been read through by many of the convicts. Indeed, the testimony is quite uniform to the effect that numbers of the prisoners are most evidently growing in useful knowledge ; and we think, from the evidence before us, that there is more reading, and that of a solid character, too, done by the convicts in our American State prisons than by any equal number of working people taken promiscuously in free society. On this subject, Mr. Cordier, of Wisconsin, says : "I really believe that no convict, nnless he be a perfect idiot, leaves the prison without having his mind im- proved, and without having gained some knowledge." The library of the State Penitentiary at Philadelphia contained in February, 1875, exclusive of school books, 8,737 volumes, classitieJ as follows: Religious, 701; instructive, 3,121; entertaining, 3,721; Ger- man, 839 ; French, Latin, etc., 52 volumes. The printed catalogue of the library iu the Illinois Penitentiary shows tnat it contains a greater proportion than above of works that might be classed as " entertaining," though a fair proportion of them are standard works of their class. USE OF LIBRAEIES BY CONVICTS. That the libraries are highly valued by the prisoners is amply at- tested by the extent to which they are used. D.s. Dwight and Wines say on this point : In all our State prisons, the proportion of prisoners who take out books is very large ; indeed, the general if not the universal rule is, that all draw books who are able to 224 Public Libraries in the United States. read. We were anxious to ascertain whether the books so taken out are really read by the persons receiving them. The answers to our inquiries on this point were unanimous to the efit'ect that such was undoubtedly the fact in the great majority of cases. On calling for the proofs of this, they were stated to be, first, the appearance of the books when returned ; secondly, observation of the prisoners in their cells ; thirdly, their comments on the books ; and, fourthly, questioning them on the subject matter of the volumes taken out. In reference to the second of the above named proofs, the Rev. Mr. Ives, of Auburn, remarked : " In passing through the galleries, I see the men al- most all engaged in reading. I have often been through on purpose to see what proportion were thus engaged, and have found ninety-seven out of one hundred. In the shops it is the same, when their tasks are finished." Wardens and chaplains of other prisons made substantially the same statement. Convicts in all the State prisons have considerable time which they can devote to reading if they are so disposed. Everywhere they have the whole of Sunday, after deducting the portion spent in pub- lic worship and the Sabbath school, where such exists. Besides this, they have for reading, during the day and evening, on an average from two to four hours. In the New York State prisons, prisoners are allowed to take their library books to the work- shops and read in them after they have finished the task of the day ; but nowhere else, as far as we could learn, even where task work is in vogue, except occasionally by special permission. In far the greater number of State prisons the convicts are not allowed to take or read secular newspapers, but the reverse of this is true as re- gards magazines. In Wisconsin, and we believe also in Missouri, both classes of pub- lications may be taken by the prisoners. The average pioportiou of convicts " using the library" in 25 prisons, as reported in 1875, was nearly 78 per cent. The chaplain of the Sing Sing (N. Y.) Prison, in reporting that 99 per cent, of the convicts use the library, remarks : You may think that we give a large proportion who use the library, for it is in fact larger than the proportion who read. But many who cannot read draw books and get their fellow convicts to read to them. •The warden of the Illinois Penitentiary reported : To an average of 1,350 convicts, we issue constantly from 1,050 to 1,150 volumes Only one book is allowed to each convict. The library of the Kansas Penitentiary, with 1,500 volumes, reports a monthly circulation of 1,500 volumes. In the State Penitentiary at Philadelphia, with an average of 654 convicts, (527, or 82.11 per cent, of whom use the library,) there were issued in the year 1874, 38,978 volumes, or nearly 74 volumes to each reader during the year. The Western Penitentiary, at Allegheny, Pa., had, daring the year 1873, an "aggregate population" of 033. The 3,000 volumes in the library circulated as follows : The total number of books issued during the year was 12,640. Of these there were novels and romances, 3,812 : histories, 1,525 ; travels and poems, 1,438 ; magazines, 1,410; religious and scientitic works, 1,254; biographies, 1,117; German, 709; mis- cellaneous, 1,575. INFLUENCE OF PRISON LIBRARIES ON CONVICTS. The remarkable extent to which prison libraries are used by convicts suggests at once the question : \Yhat influence does this reading exert Libraries in Prisons and Reformatories. 225 ou piisou discipline and on tlie character of the convicts ? A few facts and conclusions, presented b^' men who have improved their facilities for personal observation and investigation outweigh w^hile they coin- cide with the general opinions of those who have not enjoyed similar opi)ortunities, and are more valuable than a volume of theories as an answer to this question. Drs. D wight and Wines, in the report before quoted, say : We made it a point of spscial iag[airy to ascertain the opinions of prison officers, botli wardens and chaplains, as to the utility of libraries in prisons. With a solitary exception — that of Dr. Campbell, of the Western Penitentiary, Pennsylvania, who re- gards the library as " of doubtful influence'' — we found a perfect agreement among these officers in thinking a prison library a most important instrument of good. With singular unanimitj- they represent it as valuable in communicating useful knowledge to the prisoners ; in elevating their minds; in beguiling many a tedious and weary hour ; in making them cheerful and contented ; in affiarding them good material for reflection, and so diverting their minds from brooding over past offenses and meditat- ing schemes of future mischief; in affording good topics of conversation with them ; in improving the discipline of prison ; and in constituting one of the best and most effective of reformatory agencies. We quite agree, too, with Mr. Hill' in thinking it important that a prison library should contain many books which, while free from anj'- thing immoral or irreligious, are both interesting and entertaining. This will tend to create a taste for reading, to inspire a liking for other than sensual pleasures, and to give the mind cheerful subjects of thought, in addition to tliose of a more serious cast. A. due mixture of books of this cheerful type, so far from interfering with reading of a more solid and even religious character, adds fresh zest to such reading. Mr, Gray writes as follows^ respecting the use of books in the Charles- town prison : There is a library in the prison, to the support and increase of which $100 a year are appropriated from the earnings of the prison by law, and books are taken out and re- turned by the convicts once a week. Many prisoners also have books of their own in their cells purchased from their money in the warden's hands. One of them is now reading Latin, and another studying Greek. Rev. B. I. Ives, chaplain of the Auburn (X. Y.) Prison, in his annual report for the year 1868, says : As many as 95 per cent, of the convicts draw books from the library, and many of them become great readers. There is nothing that so much aids in keeping up the dis- cipline of the prison as a good library. A man of extensive observation has well said : " One of the great instrumentalities for promoting the reformation of convicts is a ju- diciously selected library. By affording them facilities for reading, their thoughts are not only diverted from the gloomy reflections natural to their condition, but they are led into channels of thought which will inevitably tend to elevate and inspire them to look to the future with higher hopes, more enlightened views of the world, and a greater respect for the community they may be thrown among when released from confinement." Rev. D. A. Shepard, chaplain of the same prison in 1869, reports: The convicts make a great use of the books. If deprived of them for a single week, which unavoidably occurs at the quarterly exchange, they become restless, and more than ordinarily troublesome ; and, to prevent this, we circulate a large number of tracts during this interval. 'Crime: its Amount, Causes, and Remedies. By Frederick Hill. 8°. London, 1853. 2 Prison Disci^ line in America, p. 53. 15 E 226 PuUic Libraries in the United States. Rev. Levi Siuitli, cbaplaiu of tbe Clinion (X. Y.) Prison, s:iys in his report for tbe j'ear 1SC9 : About uiae-teulbs of the men read more or less. Nearly all are eager for books. Some are verj' stiulious and seek works of scieuce and other substantial reading. The library is therefore a great blessing. It relieves the loueline s of the cell, controls and informs the mind, and induces quietude and contentment. The warden of tbe Iowa State Penitentiary, in bis biennial report dated 1874, remarks : Among other incentives to good order is the prison library. The convicts able to read are urgently recommended from time to time to employ their otherwise idle time in reading the books found in the library. Tlie report of tbe cbaphiiu of tbe Kansas State Penitentiary, for tbo year 1873, says : The prisoners who can read are eager for reading matter; many use a portion of the small amount allowed them from their earnings to provide themselves with books and papers, and no less than seventy are regular subscribers for some magazine or journal. The report of tbe cbaplain of the same prisjn for the year 1874 con- tains tbe following: A book is the prisoner's com;)auion ; if it is goo.l, it serves as a sedative in discipline and as a stimulant to the moral, mental, and physical well being of the prisoner. Nv> instrumentality is more important in securing the ends for which prisons are estab- lished than a well selected and regulated library. The chaplain of the Western Penitentiary, at Allegheny, Pa., rc'ports in 1873 : The library is one of our most eflicient agencies for instruction and eutertainmsut. Its privileges are highly ap])reciated by the mass of the inmates. The books are well taken care of in the cells. In no instance during the year has there been any depriva- tion of privileges of the library on account of abuse of its volumes. All books issued to the cells are carefully examined on their return to the library. In many instances extracts are copied and carefully studied for future service.. Similar extract.^* might be multiplied did space per.iiit. Tiie testi- mony of prison ofticials as to tbe value and usefulness of the libraries is uniform. IL— LIBKAlUi:S OF REFOPtMATOKIES. HISTORY, EXTENT, AND INFLUENCE. The first reform school in the United States was opened in New York iu tbe year 1825, with nine inmates. It originated in tbe philan- thropic efforts of Edward Livingston, John Griscom, and others, who sought to arrest vicious youth on tbe road to prison and train them to become worthy members of society. Tbe following year a similar school was opened in Postoii, and in 1828 the House of Refuge was established at Philadelphia. h\ tbe lirst quarter of a century from the foundation of the school in New York there were but tive others for a similar [Mir- pose in operation in the United States. In May, 1837, a convention of superintendents of bouses of refuge and Libraries in Prisons and Reformatories. 227 schools of reform was held in New York, when plans for the improve- ment of those institutions were discussed. Seventeen reformatories were represented, and the statistics presented showed, since 1825, 20,Gj8 inmates, 3,530 of whom remained under care. The averaj^e age of inmates on admission was 12| years and the number of pupils reformed was estimated at 75 per cent. In 1872 Mr. F. B. Sanborn, secretary of the Massachusetts board of State cjarities, estimated^ the number of pupils in the reform schools of the United States the preceding year at 12,00), not including an equal number (estimated) in '-strictly educational and preventive establish- ments." He says : Perhaps the pi^rceutage of worthy cicizans traiuel np aiii')iig tli9 whole '21,000 Li preventive aud reformatory schools would be as high as 75. From the very first, moral and intellectual instruction was relied on as among the most powerful means of reformation. Of libraries as an adjunct of education in the reform schools in the United States, no statistics appear to have been published before the year 1870, when the task was undertaken by the Bureau of Education; returns for the year 186S were obtained from 23 reformatories, 18 of which reported libraries ranging from IGO to 2,500 volumes each, con- taining in the aggregate 20,545 volumes. The whole number of inmates np to that time had been GG,510, and the average for the year MQ^ was 7,4G3. For the year 1871, more or less perfect returns were received from 5G reformatories. The aggregate number of inmates in 43 since their foun- dation was reported at 110,G22; the aggregate number of inmates at date of report was 11,185, distribute I among 40 schools; 40 reported libraries containing altogether 35,012 volumes; and 15 reported an ag- gregate increase of books during the year amounting to 1,945 volumes. Later returns from 40 houses of correction, houses of refuge, and other reformatory institutions under State, municipal, and corporate or private control, place the aggregate number of volumes in the libraries at 51,4GG, an average of 1,050 volumes to each. The largest library of this class is that of the l!^ew York House of Refuge, which numbers over 4,000 volumes. During the first forty-seven years of its existence this house received 14,275 inmates. The reports of officers of reforma- tories bear unvarying testimony to the benefits derived from Jibraries and reading rooms in the schools under their care, and where neither exists the deficiency is lamented. ' See paper on juvenile refjrmatories in the United States of America, in Transac- tions of the International Penitentiary Congress, held at London, July 3-13, 1872. 8". Loudon, Longmans, Green & Co., 1872. See also abstract of same^paper,in.R3port'oa the International Penitentiary Congress of London, by E. C. Wines, D.^D., LL. D., United States Commissioner. 8". Washington, Government Printing-Office, 1873, 'pp 115, 116. 228 Public Libraries in the United States. -aosud JO aiSB^aaoiad: : ^ t- g 1-2 Iv § S I S S ; ° : » ; 5 ^^ 1 i i 3 ■4nuoniv ^ 1 ig 1^ 11 1 i S .* 1 ° i 3 i I ' =1 1 > 1 a 11 1 1 1 s 1 1 J 2 II s § :2 >^ O f> at 1 i Yearly State grant County tax Occasional State grants Yearly State grant ■sainnioA jo J9qcanjs[ §1? liiiiiiiiiiiSiiiiiii ^- « ^- ;3 « Of ^- Cf CO » -niStJO JO 9jB(i I iiliiillliiiiii nil 1 1 i i c/- c -i 1 1 ^ 5 1 = 4 s c 1 1 1 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 1 a; ^ -2 -S % -g 1 1 1 J 'i 1 .J J > I -§ 1 a 1 'c 2 a: >> •J a .•§ a 1 s C c ' J 4- 1 1 1 < 1 1 e 1 1 1 1 Is 1 -1- 1 1 E 1 1 1 1 1 c .1 1 c c •3 .1 J i 1 1 J £ 1 S a a >- i i Libraries in Prisons and Reformatories. 229 o — p rS o o « tc » ° s 2 § S? ^1 g 3 £ g t> O >H O O O, CJ o o o o o o c* o o o is H >H >-l ^ iB § S Et s: 3 a rt aJ a a •?! n P 12; 5 a g • 2. 5—3 a s c< -=5 3 r-i 5 IS ? i ;zs o o Ps 2§ *2 5§ '5 S 6 o ^ ^ ?— lO o CHAPTER IX. ROFESSOKSHIPS OF BOOKS AXD HEADING. I. -BY F. B. PERKINS. II.-BY WILLIAM MATHEAVS, A. M L— ON riiOFEssoRsmrs of books and eeading. PUOI-'ESSORS SHOULD TEACH A METHOD, NOT A SUBJECT — A PROPER ADDITIONAL COLLEGE PROFESSORSHIP — READING AS NOW MANAGED — METHODS AND MEN. METHODS, NOT SUBJECTS, TO BE TAUGHT. The first idea suggested by a demand for " professorships of books and reading" is uot unlikely to be this: that the department indicated is too large, or, rather, too indistinct, for the work of one professor; too much like Mr. Carlyle's " professorship of things in general." But upon considering the subject matter of various perfectly regular and satis- factory i^rofessorships commonly existing, the reasonableness of this one will quickly appear. Indeed, some of these, when cited, will be seen to call for some explanation of an apparent pre-emption of the very ground claimed by the new settler. Thus, we have in abundance in collegiate institutions, professorships of "belles-lettres," of "English language and literature," of "rhetoric and oratory," of "modern lan- guages and literature," all these separately or together. Dj they not, or do not some of them, cover the very ground proposed ? To answer this inquiry will leave it unnecessary to do m^re than merely refer to other parallel cases of large subjects for professorships. Such are mental and moral philosophy, natural philosophy, theology, modern history, law. It is quite superfluous to describe the immensity of each of those fields of labor, and indeed the overwhelming nature of the themes of some of them. As to the suffiiiient importance of the proposed new subject, that will be referred to presently ; but that it is not too large for a professorship, as j^rofessorships go, there can hardly be a doubt on a comparison with these cases. To recur to the suggested question of definitions. The partly synony- mous literary chairs above named may perhaps be described as follows : 1. "Modern languages a:i I literature" usuilly im^)lies the study of German, French, Italian, or Spanish — not so often of other modern lan- guages — and this often in an elementary in.iuner, witli grauu.ir, diction- ary, and the memorizing of coiijagations, declensions, and phrases — mere primary school work, in fact. Even if the instruction goes further it is pretty sure to niea;i (very [)roperly, of ca;u\se,) only other modern languages than Engli^ll. '2i0 Profcssovships of Boolis and Beading. 231 2. " Rhetoric aurl oratory." This Hue of teachiuj^ looks mostly to spoken rhetoric, and is commonly not greatly, if at all, cDucjraed with the reading of l)3oks or with writing them. 3. " Eagiish language and literature " of course excludes the stu ly of other literatures, than our otu, except in translations. The 03cupant of a chair with this title will, however, commonly instruct either in English composition, in the history of the English language, or in the history of English literature. All these are necessary, of course, and perhaps asuSQciently vigorous and accomplished man, in a sufficiently small institution, might undertake the proposed new department along with these, for they are not far distant from each other; b'ut they are hy no means the same thing, any more than the law and the gospel are. 4. "Belles lettres" is about the same as what is still called in some institutions, " the humanities," as what used to be called more than now, " polite literature; " and the professor of these would seek to ac- quaint his pupils with poetry, fiction, and the drama, rhetoric and ora- tory, literary criticism, perhaps also with more or less of history, and perhaps of philology. And the same observation may be made as to annexing the proposed new department to this one as under the pre- ceding head. The new field, then, is not actually occupied, in any complete way, though doubtless some hints pertaining to it are more or less subjoined to some of the above enumerated courses of instruction. "What will the new chair teach ? Not the history of literature, nor any one literature, nor any one de- partment of literature, nor the grammar of any language, nor any one language, nor language itself, nor any form of its use, nor even any particular form of thought. It is something higher than^any of these; it is not any one subject, any one field of investigation, but it is a method for investigating any subject in the printed records of human thought. It might be compared with the calculus in applied mathematics; it is a means of following up swiftly and thoroughly the best researches in any direction and of then pushing them further; it seeks to give a last and highest training for enlarging any desired de- partment of recorded humiu knowledge. It is the science and art of reading for a purpose ; it is a calculus of applied literature. Before leaving this definition of the propDsed new dijpartment of study, something should be said of the various printed courses of read- ing and similar manuals that are extant. These may be supposed by some to contain all that is necessary to enable any student to do well enough without any teacher. This, however, is not at all the case. Foreign treatises of the kind are practically worthless for American purjjoses and need not be examined; and those which we have are thoroughly incompetent for the work required. AVatts on the Im- provement of the j\[ind, for instance, is quite obsolete. Pycroft's book, of which an edition has been issued with additions by an American editor, contains Fcme s^ensible suggestions, but it is thirty 232 PiibUc Libraries In the United States. years old. Chancellor Kent's, prepared still earlier, (in 18A0,) for the use of the members of the Xew York Mercantile Library Association, is simply a list of books on a classified schedule of subjects, beginning with Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xeuophon, and ending with Knox's Essays, Drake's Literary Hours, Verplanck's Essays, Ir^ing's Essays, under the title of Geoffrey Crayon, Dr. Channing's Discourses and Reviews, Fisher Ames's Works, Webster's Speeches, and Everett's Speeches. To most of the titles is appended a brief valuation of the books, and while the whole was a good and kind thing for the chancellor to do, and is far from foolish, it is heavy and conventional, and thirty-five years old. Knapp's Advice in the Pursuit of Literature, like Chancellor Kent's, was made out with a view to the advantage of the New York Mercan- tile Library Association, to which it is dedicated. It consists of brief sketches of eminent authors and important literary eras, ancient and modern, with a good many poetical extracts. It is executed with a fair share of taste and discrimination, but it is forty-three years old. A number of lists of books recommended, with more or less suggestion as to order of reading, have been issued by publishers ; but these are only trade lists, with a variation. President Porter's work, Books and Read- ing, issued only a few years ago, is a collection of solid didactic essays, but consisting largely, as every such treatise must of necessity consist, of generalizations, which are like army coats ; they fit no one exactly, because they must fit almost anybody somehow. But no book can serve the purpose of a live man. THIS IS A PROPER ADDITIONAL COLLEGE PROFESSORSHIP. No better exponent of the accepted theory of college education will be found than the experienced, conservative, and thoughtful president of Yale College, to whose book on the subject under consideration refer- ence has just been made. In his inaugural, delivered October 11, 1871, he stated this theory in substance as follows: Our higher education (meaning our college, or, as President Porter wishes it could be first made and then rightly named, our university education) should be First. Conversant with the past, including — a. The doings of the past ; I). The record of those doings. Second. A learned education ; that is, based to a liberal extent on learning, properly so called, and given at seats of learning. Third. Nevertheless, in appreciative and friendly relations with the thought and progress of the present. Fourth. Provident for the future, by sending out graduates having the best possible training, both intellectual and moral. To this end two rules (or parts of one rule) as to the method pursued are indis- pensable for observance, viz : a. It is culture, training, that is lo be given rather than such* and such quantities of knowledge. That is — Professorships of Books aiil Reading. 233 h. The results to ba sought for are not so much immediate ones as remote ones. Now, these heads of doctrine are as harmonious with the exposition herein made as if they had been worked out for the same purpose, in- stead of having been prepared without the remotest reference to or even knowledge of each by the author of the other, and four years apart. Eead over once more the above four heads of President Porter's dis- course, and ask after each, " Will the course on books and reading, as above proposed, serve this purpose ?" And the answer will be, '' Yes, "' every time; and it will serve it, too, with a striking directness and effectiveness. But it may possibly be objected that there are enough kinds of profes- sorships already. The general question involved is important, being that of the progressive subdivision of departments of education ; and a brief exposition of it is in place here, since it involves the particular ques- tion of the proposed additional department. As the whole field for mental activity and the accumulated stores gath- ered in it increase, the number of different sorts of this activity increases. The extent of their separate departments in one sense diminishes ; but no earnest specialist has ever found his field too narrow ; witness the story of the German philologist. This scholar, it is related, famous for profound researches on the third declension in Latin, approaching his end, and advising his son, also a promising philologist, warned him against attempting too much by alleging his own example. "Too late," said the dying professor, "I have realized that I ought to have devoted my life exclusively to the dative case." There has been a steady and interesting progress in what Mr. Her- bert Spencer calls " differentiation " in all the history of human learn- ing. Four centuries ago, in the early days of printing, a popular encyclopaedia, or the book that then stood for such, instead of being twenty-one quarto volumes, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica, or even ten large octavos like Chambers's Cyclopaedia, -was one small quarto volume, with not so great an extent of reading matter in it as the Old Testament. And there was then really nothing so very absurd in a man's professing all that was known. There is a well-known Latin phrase of that period which describes such a man: " Qui tria, qui sep- teyn, qui onine scibile, novit,^^ — i. e., "Who knows the three, the seven, in short, all that there is to know." Xow, this three and seven were the "trivium" and " quadrivium," or courses of three studies and of four studies, first three alone and then both together. The three were grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and the additional four were arith- metic, music, geometry, and astronomy. And in the small extent to which they were known at all, a quick-witted, talkative person (such as was the Admirable Crichton, for instance) might lecture ably enough for the period on the whole of them. Even these seven may, of course, be ranged as only three — language, music, and mathematics, showing •234 FnUk Libraries in the United States. a still earlier stage of learning-. But now we Lave, for instance, compo- sition, sacred rhetoric, homiletics, besides the three old departments of language, music, sacred and secular, instrumental and vocal, and dif- ferent departments of each, and so on. All the natural scieuces have been added; the whole of mechanics, pure and applied; a number of industrial pursuits, even, and so on, until the numb3r of separate de- partments of knowledge is such, and the extent of research in each has become such, that a jiretender to know all the learning of to-day would either be hustled off to a lunatic asylum, or would be ticketed with some keen descriptive jest, like those which paid off Lord Brougham for undertaking to know more than was practicable. "Distinguished by vast and varied misinformation," one of these said of him ; and the other (imported from France, by the way) was to the effect that " if the lord chancellor (Brougham was then such) only kuew a little law, he would know a little of everything." The. extent of recorded knowledge, then, is now such that it is per- fectly hopeless to attempt to master it all. Of works already printed there are, literally, millions. To this number are added, includ- ing the printing world, i. e.. Christendom, not less than tweuty-flve thousand new works each year. Also, probably five thousand volumes each year of magazines and reviews ; also, a quantity of newspapers, of which numerals can only give a notion even less accurate and adequate than the foregoing roughly estimated, but not extravagant totals. There are said to be about five thousand in the United States, the hive of newspapers. Suppose we have as many as all the rest of the world ; that gives a total often thousand. If only one in twenty of these is a daily, that gives a total of six hundred and thirty-four thousand dif- ferent newspapers issued a year. To read through a first class daily, would take a swift reader two hours. Suppose, however, it only took five minutes to read a book and one minute to read a newspaper ; then he who should read all the current issues of the book and periodical press, (pamphlets are omitted, it will be observed, from this estimate, and no allowance made for reading up on past books,) would have to provide for the purpose five hundred and forty -four days of twenty-four hours each, every year; or more than thirteen hundred working days a year, of ten hours each. But if, instead of this one-minute and five-min- ute scale, we allow what it would really take to read each book and ])aper; if we allow also for reading up the volumes issued since the first book with a date was printed, 1457 — restricting ourselves to the English language, omitting all but local periodicals, and niaking any other fair allowances that can be imagined — while the fanciful nature of the estimate is admitted, the mass of reading matter it covers is simply enormous; immeasurably beyond the acquiririg powers of any one mind ; a field superabundantly ample in size, as it is in significance of contents, to justify a technical professional guidance in exa;niuing it and selecting from it. Professorships of Bools and Readiuf/. 235 READING AS NOW MANAGED. So far as ordiuary readers are concerned, the printed records of past and present human knowledge and mental activity are thus a trackless, if not a howling wilderness, in which a guide, philosopher, and friend will find ample occasion for his services. The matter of reading is at present in a whoUj' unorganized, unscientific, empirical comlition, like navigation before the use of the compass and the application of scientific astronomy, or like mining before the introduction of scientific geological and miner- alogical investigations and of scientific engineering. Every one digs wherever he fancies ; he may possibly find a deposit of g )ld, but he ma^' find only mere barren rock or slag or dirt. O.- i)3rhap^ it m ly bd still more aptly compared with the physician's profession, in which famous and successful practitioners begin their lectures by saying, " Medicine, gentlemen, is something that physicians know nothing about," and in which an advertising quack, whatever his effect on the graveyard, will sell a great many morexloses to fools, and make a great deal more money out of them, than a conscientious and scientific gentlemen in treating people of good sense. The low comparative merit of American literary and scholastic work as a whole, compared with that of England, France, and Germany, is another very important reason for scientific dealing with literature, l^o doubt our literature is improving; and no doubt we have many good writers and workers in various fields of thought. Bat every one who has had occasion to examine at the same time, as one does who is purchas- ing for a large library, the average issues of the American press and the English press, for instance, will be prompt to admit the great superiority of the average foreign article. In the lifetime of Mr. Hawthorne, there mayhave been but few English novel writershis equal, and but oneor two, if any, his superior. Bat the best hundred English novels of any given year were then greatly better than the best hunilred American novels of that year. There may not be a better historian now at work in Eng- land than Mr. Motley ; but the English historical books issued this year are collectively a great deal more useful and va;luable than the American ones. And so on through most subjects on which books are written. This is not an agreeable statement to make, but it is a state of things which requires to be fully understood and appreciated, if we are ever to escape it. It is not disgraceful, it is not discouraging ; it is the perfectly natural and necessary and invariable experience of a new people with small money capital, handling vast unimproved lands, forced to do rather than to read. So that in fact it is only just now that we are coming to the social st ite where we are realy t.o produce a trained literary class. Thus far we have not done it, whatever may have been the case with a few individuals, and we have had no business to do it. Ax, plow, steam engine, not pen and palette, have been thus far our proper implements; and we have done a noble " spot of work" with them. Exactly now, at 236 Pahlic Libraries in the United States. the end of our first national century, it is good to sum and value just this total of attainments. And exactly such a scientific instruction in books and reading- as is here discussed is one of the influences which will do most to correct our views, to raise our ambition, to bring us up to the present limits of attainment in knowledge and in thought, and to prepare us fgr extending those limits. Comparing our past with that of Europe, we have had at most two centuries and a half of literary ex- istence — the same length, by the way, as that of our political existence ; which is not true of any European nation. Njw, roughly speaking, our higher education system may be dated back to 1638, the origin of Harvard College. Compare this period with the duration of the corre- sponding institutions in Europe, where the date of foundation of the universities of Bologna, Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge is a matter of doubt; but where that of Bologna was existing in 1158; of Paris al- ready in 1250, when the Sorbonne was founded; where that of Prague was founded in 1318, and four more, at Vienna, Heidelberg, Cologne, and Erfurt, before the year 1400. Here we have the European nations, some of them rooted in a civilization already ancient, and having higher educational systems, now six and seven centuries old and more. Is it a discredit to us that, in our brief existence, and with our other work to do, we are not now as far forward as they in special scholarship ? Not at all. We are in advance of those nations in things enough. We have done more than might reasonably have been expected in the very direction under discussion. Certainly, the influence of trained thinkers and students in directing the choice aud valuation of books, and times and modes of reading, will do much to cause a demand for better and better hooks, and thus to cause the appearance of better and better writers ; for if crude, silly, cheap, and easy writing is the only kind that people will buy, it is the only kind that can be produced except by rich persons — and the great works in literature have not, as an invariable rule, been produced by the rich. Another argument in favor of scientific guidance for reading is that we have, as a people, so little time for it. We are still deeply mortgaged to our lands; and, until we have developed from the earth a larger amount per man of permanent capital than yet exists, we shall, as a nation, continue to have but little time for reading. It follows, of course, that we need to use the more skilfully what time we have. These considerations have been meant to show the desirableness of the proposed instruction, in view of the conditjon of reading as actually pursued among us at present, and in view of our present educational attainments. But such instruction is furthermore indicated with equal directness and clearness by the general present tone and tendency of the best public opinion in regard to educational systems of the higher class. That opinion has, at present, a distinct set towards the employ- ment of a thorough, systematic, and scientific training in lines of attain- ment other than scholastic. It is not meant at all by this to suggest Professorships of Books and Beading. 237 anything about the question of relative values of subjects of education. Whatever these may be, the fact referred to is shown plainly enough in the recent growth of scientific and technological schools of various kinds; some separate, others in connection with some university organ- ization. Wehaveprofessorshipsofagriculture, of physical culture, of po- litical economy, of aesthetics, of mechanics, and so on, every one of them useful and desirable. And in like manner it is in accordance with the spirit of the educational movement of to-day, that we should have professor- ships of books and reading ; for the knowledge of what to read and how to read it is the indispensable completion and finish to any one of the previous or other courses of study in any university or high grade insti- tution of learning. No other department, in fact, could be contrived, so adapted to be the last symmetrizing and polishing process to a com- plete education. METHODS AND MEN. An instructor, if he is fit for his business, must adjust his methods to a great extent to suit his own gifts or deficiencies and those of his pupils. All that can be done here, therefore, is to make a few suggestions to show that there are many practical questions as to range and choice of subject matter, and as to modes of procedure. As far as possible, the instructor should adapt his teaching to the peculiarities, if any, of his individual pupils. A good many of them will have no very marked peculiarities. For these, and in the beginning for all, the general course must be begun and followed. As one develops a strong love for metaphysics, another for historical sociology, another for military history, another for biography, and so on, each of these should be shown the relativ^e value and capabilities of his chosen topic; should be taught how to pursue that specialty without too much neglect- ing others, and how to take up along with it the related branches. As deficiencies in attainment appear, they should be put in course of cure. The tendency t o reading for mere amusement should be carefully watched and limited. If inferior books are preferred, the pupil should not be too suddenly forced away from them, but should be gradually trained to like better ones. Especial care should be taken to habituate the student to the investigation and mastering of subjects, rather than to the mere reading of books ; to teach him not to pile up lumber and bricks, but to plan and build an edifice. The various mechanical modes of retaining a hold on one's reading should be recommended, and, if possible, put in practice, always permitting the student whichever, on trial, he finds best for his own mental habits. With one the vowel system, "Index Rerura," will do; with another, a regular slip catalogue; while a third may prefer a system of commonplacing, without so much indexing, and a prodigy may any day rise up whose memory, " wax to receive and marble to retain," will enable him to cite, and perhaps to recite, volume and page without making a single note. Perhaps some may like to try a mnemonic system, and if they do, they should. 2o8 PnhUc Libraries in the United States. The habit of making oral and written analyses and sninmaries of books and parts of them should be cultivated as far as possible. It is a great aud wonderful secret to learn, that in many cases this practice of search- ing out the anatomy of works already created, transmutes itself, in time, into the power of creating other works, jnst as the profoundest knowledge of anatomy has belonged to the greatest sculptors. Keading cau usually be for one or more of only three purposes, viz: 1. pjutertainment ; 2. Acquisition of knowledge ; 3. Literary production. The first is hardly worth teaching; the object here being merely to train to good taste in selection and good sense iu indulgence. The second is, or should be, pretty sufticiently practiced in the undergradu- ate aud university course, though a skillful teacher in the proposed de- partment would greatly re-enforce the methodology of every class iu the college. In fact, his course would coincide better with a professed course in methodology, by name, than with either of the partly synonymous courses referred to in the beginning of this paper; it would necessarily be based, if it was a correct course, upon a complete and detailed methodology. It is, however, the third sort of reading alone — that for literary pro- duction — which is the ideal of the scientitic use of books, and the one for which the course should primarily be modeled. It will be found easy to relax from its thorough work quite as often as desirable. All these suggestions, it will be seen, point towards making the student in- dependent of his teacher as soon as possible, for they tend to set him to doing his own thinking, and, indeed, his own acting, at the earliest practicable period. A hygiene for the eyes, for the stomach, in fact for the whole economy of students, should be thoroughly taught ; showing, for instance, how to manage artificial light ; how to get the most work out of the eyes with- out ruining them ; how to live so as to keep the brain in the best work- ing order, and so on. A capacity for understanding how, and how much, a book is useful for the student, himself, aud a habit of ascer- taining tbis with distinctness, should be taught; but this done, it is a question whether the maximum of literary power aud accomplishment requires much more. It is better to try to bring something good to pass for one's self than to be watching to see whether other people have done well or ill. The question of pursuing one's reading into other languages, ancient or modern, will require various decisions ; so will that of using or of making translations. The use of reference books will often need to be taught ; and some enthusiastic student may be encouraged to begin to prepare some kind of reference book for himself, as a first essay in pro- ducing something from his reading. The work may be of intrinsic value ; and if ic is not, it will be valuable to have made it. The relative and positive importance ai;d value of our own aud other literatures Frofcssorships of Books and Readhnj. 2o0 M-ill require to be coiisil; and others, of distinguished ability in tlieir specialties, have either no aptitude for instructing or no desire to instruct. But the professor of books and reading will be worse th.in useless unless he is a man who takes the full pleasure of instructing. For such a man, the nature of the subject, and its peculiar adaptation to the minds of young men of college age, will render his work a keen delight. Ue may range over the whole held of human history, knowledge, and activity; his teaching may be a system- atizing of all these, and at the same time a course of applied mental philosophy, as he stimulates and guides the various minds before him, and of morals, as he develops the ethical significances of all his themes. Such a discursive activity would not suit everybody; but for minds of a certain class — and that a very valuable class— it would be simply happiness. 240 PuhVic Lihraries in the United Stufes. IL— PROFESSORSHIPS OF BOOKS AND READING. Value of books as a means of culture — A proper course of readixg — Difficulty of selecting — Manuals not sufficient — Colleges should provide a professor to assist the student — Objections to the pro- posed PROFESSORSHIP CONSIDERED. The valne of books as a means of culture is at tliis day recognized by all men. Tbe chief allies aud iastruments of teachers, they are the best substitutes for teachers, and, next to a good college, a good library may well be chosen as a means of education. Indeed, a book is a voiceless teacher, and a great library is a virtual uuiversitj". A literary taste is at once the most efficient instrument of self-education and the purest source of enjoyment the world aftbrds. It brings its possessor into ever- renewing communion with all that is noblest and best in the thought of the past. The garnered and winnowed wisdom of the ages is his daily food. Whatever is lofty, profound, or acute in speculation, delicate or refined in feeling, wise, witty, or quaint in suggestion, is accessible to the lover of books. They enlarge space for him and prolong'time. More wonderful than the wishing-cap of the Arabian tales, they transport him back to former days. The orators declaim for him and the poets sing. He becomes an inhabitant of every country, a contemporary of all ages, and converses with the wisest, the noblest, the teuderest, and the purest spirits that have adorned humanitj'. All the sages have thought and have acted for him ; or, rather, he has lived with them; he has hearkened to their instructions; he has been the witness of their great examples; and, before setting his foot abroad in the world^ has ac- quired the experience of more countries than the patriarchs saw. The most original thinkers have been most ready to acknowledge their obligations to other minds, whose wisdom has been hived in books. Doctor Franklin traced his entire career to Cotton Mather's Essays to do Good, which fell into his hands when he was a boy. The current of Jeremy Beutham's thoughts was directed for life by a single phrase, "The greatest good of the greatest number," caught at the end of a pamphlet. Cobbett, at eleven, bought Swift's Tale of a Tub, and it produced what he considered a sort of "birth of intellect." The genius of Faraday was fired by the volumes which he perused while serving as an apprentice to an English bookseller. One of the most distinguished personages in Europe, showing his library to a visitor, observed that not only this collection, bat all his social successes in life, he traced back to " the first franc he saved from the cake shop to spend at a book stall." The French historian Michelet attributed his mental inspira- tion to a single book, a Virgil, he lived with for some years; and he tells us that an odd volume of Racine, picked up at a stall on the quay, made the poet of Tou'lou. Books not only enrich and enlarge the mind, Professorships of BooJiS and Reading. 241 but they stimulate, inflame, aud concentrate its activity; and. though without this reception of foreign influence a man may be odd, he can- not be original. The greatest genius is he who consumes the most knowledge and converts it into mind. What, indeed, is college ecbica- tion bat the reading of certain books which the common sense of all scholars agrees will represent the science already accumulated ? A well known American writer says that books are only for one's idle hours. This may be true of an Etnersoa; but how many Emersons are there in the reading public ? If the man who gets almost all his informa- tion from the printed page, " needs a strong head to bear that diet," what must be the condition of his head who abstains from this aliment ? A Pascal, when his books are taken from him to save his health, injured by excessive studj', may supply their place by the depth and force of his personal reflection ; but there is hardly one Pascal in a century. Wollaston made many discoveries with a hatful of lenses and some bits of glass and crystal ; but common people need a laboratory as rich as Tyndall's. To assume that the mental habits which will do for a man of genius will do for all men who would make the most of their faculties, is to exaggerate an idiosyncrasy into a universal law. The method of nature, it has been well said, is not ecstacy, but patient attention. ''There are two things to be considered in the mitter of inspiration; one is, the infinite God from whom it comes, the other the finite capacity which is to receive it. Jf Newton had nev^er studied, it would have been as easy for God to have revealed the calculus to his dog Diamond as to Newton. We once heard of a man who thought everything was in the soul, and so gave up all reading, all continuous thought. Said another, ' If all is in the soul, it takes a man to find it.'" It is true that, as Ecclesiasticus tells us, "a man's mind is sometimes wont to tell him more than seven watchmen that sit above in a high tower;" but it is also true that the man will hear most of all who hearkens to his own mind and to the seven watchmen besides. No doubt books, like every other blessing, may be abused. " Eending," as Bacon says, "makes a full man;" and so does eating; but fulness, without digestion, is dyspepsia, and induces sleepiness and flabbiness, both fatal to activity. The best books are useless, if the bookworm is not a living creature. The mulberry leaf must pass through the silk worm's stomach before it can become silk, and the leaves which are to clothe our mental nakedness must be chewed and digested by a living intellect. There are readers whose wit is so smothered under the weight of theiraccumlationsas to be absolutely powerless. It was said of Kobert Southey that he gave so much time to the minds of other men that he never found time to look into his own. Robert Hall said of Dr. Kippis that he piled so many books upon his head that his brains could not move. It was to such helluones Ubrorum, or literary anacondas, who are possessed by their knowledge, not possessed of it, that Hobles of Malmesbury alluded, when he said that had he read as many books as 16 E 242 TiihUc Libraries in the United States. other men, he would have known as little. There is in many minds, as Abernethv complained of his, a point ot saturation, which if one passes, by putting in more than his mind can hold, he only drives out some- thing aire ady in. It was one of the advantages of the intellectual giants of old, that the very scantiness of their libraries, by compelling them to think Ibr themselves, saved them from that habit of intellectual depend- ence, — of supplyingone's ideas from foreign sources, — which is as sure to enfeeble the thinking faculty as a habit of dram drinking to enfeeble the tone of the stomach. But though books may be thus abused, and miny flue wits, like Dr. Oldbuck's, lie " sheathed to the hilt in ponder- ous tomes," will any man contend that such abase is necessary ? The merely passi^^e reader, who never wrestles with his author, may seem to be injured by the works he peruses ; but in most cases the injury was done before he began to read. A really active mind will not be weighed down by its knowledge, any more than an oak by its leaves, or than was Samson by his locks. Great piles of fuel, which j)ut out the little fires, only make the great fires burn. If a man is iiijure^l by multifarious knowledge, it is not because his mind does not crave and need the most various food, but because it '' goes into a bad skin." His learning is mechanically, not chemically, united to the mind; incorporated by con- tact, and not b^' solution. Such being the value of books, how can the college student better spend his leisure time, beyond what is required for sleep, meals, bodily exercise, and society', than in reading? But what books shall he read, and how shall he read them ? Shall he let his instincts guide him in the choice, or shall he read only the works which have been stamped with th e approval of the Hges ? IIow may he acquii;e, if he lacks it, a taste ior the highest types, the masterpieces, of literature ? Are there any critical tests by which the best books may be known, and is there any art by which '' to ])luck out the heart of their mystery?" These ques- tions, if he is a thoughtful young man, anxious to make the most of his time and opportunities, will confront him at thfe very threshold of his college life. Of the incompetency of most students to answer them for themselves those persons who have watched them when drawing books from college libraries can have little doubt. Kot to speak of the under- graduates who read merely for amusement, or of the intellectual epi- cures who touch nothing but dainties, nibbling at a multitude of pleas- ant dishes without getting a good meal from any, — how few, even of the laborious and conscientious students who would economize their precious moments, read wisely, with definite purpose or plan ? How many, ignorant that there is a natural order of acquirement, — that, for young readers, biography is better than history, history than philoso- phy, descriptive poetry than metaphysical, — begin with the toughest, the most speculative, or the most deluding books they can find! How many, having been told that the latest works in certain departments of knowledge are best, plunge at once into Mill, Spencer, Buckle, Darwiu, Profcssorslilps of Books and Reading. 243 anil Taiiie! — books pre-etninently saf;,2;-estive to well trainel mituls, l):it too difficalt of dio^estioii for minds not thoroiiiij'lily instructed. There is, perhaps, no more frequent folly of the yoangthan that of reading- hard, knotty books, for the sake of great names, — neglecting established facts in science, history, and literature to soar into regions where their vanity is flattered by novel and daring s.neculations. Again, how many students read b^oks through by rote, without inter- est or enjoyment; without com[)rehending or remembering their con- tents, simply because they have been told to read them, or because som? great man has prohted by them ! Who has not seen young men plod- ding wearily through bulky volumes of history or science, utterly un- suited to their actual state of develop nent, under the delusion that they were getting mental strength and illuniination, when, in fact, they were only inflaming their eyes and wasting their precious time ? An lieroic freshman, full of enthusiasm, and burning to distinguish himself by some literary conquest, fancies that it would be " a grand thing " to possess himself of universal history, and so he attacks the history of the world, in seven volumes, by M. Charles Bollin. He plods through Hume, Gibbon, Robertson, and other " works which no gentleman's library should be without," journeying over page after page with incredible pa- tience, and with a scrupulous attention to notes, and, in in rare cases, to maps, that is morally sublime. Xo tome is too thick for him, no type too small; whether the author is luminous or voluminous, it is all the same to him. Years pass, perhaps the young man graduates, before the truth flashes upon him that the object of reading is not to know books but things; that its value depends upon the insight it gives ; and that it is no more necessary to remember the books that have made one wise thin it is to rfemember the dinners which have made one strong. He finds that instead of enriching and invigorating his mind he has taken the most effectual course to stultify it. He has crammed his head with facts, but has extracted from them no wisdom. He has mistaken the husks of history for the fruit, and has no more assimilated his heterogeneous acquisitions than a millstone assimilates the corn it grinds. The corn wears out the millstone, giving it a mealy smell ; and the books have worn out the student, giving him only the faintest odor of intellectual culture and discipline. Almost every college has its literary Calvin Ed- sons — living skeletons that consume more mental food than the strong and healthy, yet receive from it little nourishment — remaining weak and emaciated on much, while the man of sound constitution grows vigorous on little. The difficulties of deciding what books to reail are greatly multiplied in our day by the enormous number of volumes that weigh down the shelves of our libraries. In the National Library at Paris it is said there are 800,000 separate volumes, or, according to a late writer's esti- mate, 148,760 acres of printed paper! The library of the British Museum, which contains over 700,000 separate volumes, is said to have 244 Public Libraries in the United States. forty miles of book shelves. And yet the largest librarj' in the world does not contain over a quarter part of the books that have been printed since the time of Gutenberg and Fust, while new books are flying from the press as thick as snowflakes on a wintry day. Five thousand new publications are issued in a j^ear in England, and it has been ascertained that over ten thousand works, including maps, or a million volumes, are l)oured forth annually from the press of Germany alone. The Leipsic catalogue contains the names of fifty thousand German authors, and it is estimated that the time will speedily come when the number of German writers will exceed that of German readers. What reader is not appalled by such statistics '? Who can cope with even the mas- terpieces of literature, to say nothing of the scientific and theological works, whose numbers are increasing in geometrical ratio ! De Quincey calculates that if a student were to spend his entire life from the age of twenty to eighty in reading only, he might compass the mere reading of some twenty thousand volumes; but, as many books should be studied as well as read, and some read many times over, he concludes that five to eight thousand is the largest number which a student in that long life could hope to master. What realms of books, then, must even the Alexantiers of letters leave unconquered ! The most robust and inde- fatigable reader who essays to go through an imperial library cannot extract the honey from one-twentieth of this hive ; though he read from dawn to dark, he must die in the first alcoves. It is true that, in another view, the facts are not quite so discouraging. New-ton said that if the earth could be compressed into a solid mass it could be put into a nutshell; and so, if we could deduct from the world of books all the worthless ones and all those that are merely repetitions, commentaries, or dilutions of the thoughts of others, we should find it shrunk into a comparatively small compass. The learned Huet, who read incessantly till he was ninety-one, and knew more of books per- haps than any other man down to his time, thought that if nothing had been said twice everything that had ever been written since the crea- tion of the world, the details of history excepted, might be put into nine or ten folio volumes. Still, after all deductions have been made, the residuum of printed matter which one would like to read is so great as to be absolutely terrifying. The use of books is to stimulate and re- plenish the mind, to give it stuff to work with, — ideas, facts, sentiments ; but to be deluged with these is as bad as to lack them. A mill will not go if there is too little water, but it will be as effectually stopped if there is too much. The day of encyclopsedic scholarship has gone by. Even that ill-defined creature, "a well-informed man," is becoming every year more and more rare; but the Huets and the Scaligers, — the Bacons, who "take all knowledge to be their province," and the Leibnitzes, who presume " to drive all the sciences abreast" — must soon become as extinct as the megatherium or the ichthyosaurus. The most ambitious reader who now indulges in what Sidney Smith calls the foppery of Professorships of Books and Reading. 245 naiversality, speedily learns that no iadividaal can grasp in the limits of a lifetime even an elementary knowledge of the many provinces of old learning, enlarged as they are by the vast annexations of modern dis- covery ; and, like Voltaire's little man of Saturn, who lived only dur- ing five hundred revolutions, or fifteen thousand of our years, he com- plains, as he closes his career, that scarcely has he began to pick up Ji little knowledge before he is called on to depart. For all these reasons we cannot but think that our colleges, while they provide the student with libraries, should also provide him with a professor of books and reading. It is not enough to introduce him to these quarries of knowledge; he should also be taught where to sink his shafts and how to work them. Mr. Emerson, speaking of such a professorship iu one of his later essays, says, " I think no chair is so much wanted." Even the ripest scholar is puzzled to decide what books he shall read amongthemyriadsthatclamorforhisattention. What, then, must be the perplexity of one who has just entered the fields of literature! If. in Bacon's time some books were "to be tasted, others to be swal- lowed, and some few to be chewed and digested," how much greater must seem the necessity of discrimination at this day, when the amount of literary pabulum has quadrupled and even quintupled ! Is there not, then, an absolute necessity that the student who would economize his time and make the best use of his opportunities, should be guided in his reading by a competent adviser ? Will it be said that, according to the theory of a collegiate education, the studies of the curriculum Avill demand all his time; that^he will have no spare hours for general culture ? We reply that, as a matter of fact, whatever the theory, in no college does the student, as a rule, give his whole time to the regular lessons, however long or difficult. Unless very dull or poorly prepared, the student does find time to read — often several hours a day — and he is generally encouraged to do so by the professors. The question, there- fore, is not whether he shall concentrate all his time and attention upon his text books, but whether he shall read instructive books, for a defi- nite purpose and under com[)etent direction, or shall acquire, without direction, the merest odds and ends of knowledge. We live in a day when it is the practice in every calling to utilize things which were once deemed valueless. In some of the great cities of Europe ev^en the sweepings of the streets are turned to account, being sold to contractors whor use them as dressing for farms. In the United States Mint at Philadelphia the visitor to the gold room notices a rack placed over the floor for him to walk on; on inquiring its purpose, he is told that it is to prevent the visitor from carrying away with the dust of his feet the minute particles of precious metal which, in spite of the utmost care, will fall upon the floor when the rougher edges of the bar are filed, and that the sweepings of the building save yearly thousands of dollars. How much more precious are the minute fragments of time which are wasted by the young, especially by those 246 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. who are toiling in the mints of knowledge! Who can estimate the value to a college student of this golden dust, these raspings and parings of life, these leavings of days and remnants of hours, so valueless singly, so inestimable in the aggregate, could they be gleaned up and. turned to mental improvement ! Let us suppose that a young man, on entering c'ollege, economizes the odds and ends of his time so far as to read thoughtfully twelve pages of history a day. This would amount, omit- ting Sundays, to about three thousand seven hundred pages, or twelve volumes of over three hundred pages each, in a year. At the end of his college course he would have read forty-eight volumes, — enough to have made him master of all the leading facts, with much of the phi- losophy, of history; with the great, paramount works of English liter- ature ; with the masterpieces (in translations) of French, Germau, Spanish, and Italian literature, and with not a little of the choicest periodical literature of the day. What a fund of knowledge, of wisdom, and of inspiration would these forty-eight volumes, well chosen, well understood, and well digested, be to him ! What a quickening, bracing, and informing study would even one great book prove! The histories of *IIallam, Grote, Merivale, Mommsen, Milman, Macaulay, Motley ; Clarendon's gallery of portraits. Gibbon's great historic painting; any one of these might date an epoch in the student's intellectual life. The thorough, conscientious, study of any masterpiece of literature. Dr. Johnson thought, would make a man a dangerous intellectual antagonist. Over and above all this, the student would have formed habits of self- improvement and of economy in the use of his time which would be of more value than his acquisitions, and would influence his whole life. In saying this we do not forget that it is not wpU for the intellectual worker to be always in the harness, or to be a slave to the clock. We have no symi)athy with those persons who, with a pair of compasses, divide the day into portions, allotting one portion and no more to one thing, and another portion to another, and who think it a sin to lose a minute. On the contrary, we believe there is profound truth in the say- ing of Tillier that "le temps le mieux employe est celui que I'on perd." Much of our education, even of our best education, is acquired, not only out of school, but out of the study, in the hours which morbid or mechanical workers consider lost. Deduct from our acquisitions all that is learned in seemingly idle hours, in times of recreation and social in- tercourse, and the residuum would be a heap of bones without flesh to cover them. Making, however, all deduction for necessary rest and relaxation, we still believe there are few students who cannot find time to read twelve pages a day. Are there not many who, through ignorance of what to read, and how to read, and even of the chief advantages of reading, waste doubfe this time'^ Will it be said that it is enough for the student to read a few choice authors, — to absorb thoroughly a half-dozen or more representative books, — and that these he can select for himself? No doubt there are Professorslups of Books and Beading. 247 advantages in thus liiuitiug one's reading. So far as reading is not a pastime, but a part of the systematic cultivation of the faculties, it is nseful only so far as it implies close and intimate knowledge. The mind should be not a vessel only, but a vat. A man may say that he has read Milton's minor poems, if he has skimmed over them lightly as he would skim over the columns of a newspaper, or if he dispatches them as a person boasted that he had gone through a geometry in one after- noon, onlj' skipping the A's, and B's, and crooked lines that seemed to have been thrown in to intercept his progress ; but he has not read them to any good purpose until they have fascinated»his imagination and sunk into his memory. E^ally great books must be re id and re-read with ceaseless iteration, must be chewed and digested till they are thoroughly assimilated, till their ideas pass like the iron atoms of the blood into the mental constitution ; and they hardly begin to give weight and power to the intellect, till we have them so by heart that we scarcely need to look into them. It is not in the number of facts one has read that his intellectual power lies, but in the number he can bring to bear on a given subject, and in his ability to treat them as data, or factors of a new product. It is hardly possible to censure too sharply what Sir William Hamilton calls " the prevailing pesti- lence of slovenly, desultory, effeminate reading." A great deal of the time thus spent is but the indulgence of intellectual dram drinking, affording a temporary exhilaration, but ultimately emasculating both mind and character. The Turk eats opium, the Hindoo chews tobacco and betel nut, the civilized Christian reads; and opium, tobacco, and books, all alike tend to produce that dizzy, dreamy, drowsy state of mind which unfits a nnin for all the active duties of life. But true as all this is, " the man of one book," or of a few books, is, we fear, a Utopian dream rather than a reality, in this nineteenth century. Tiie young man who has a keen, vigorous api)etite for knowledge, and who would be abreast with his age, will never be content to feed on a few choice authors, even though each be a library. He knows that as the Amazon and the Mississippi have hundreds of tributaries, so it is with every great stream of knowledge. He sees that such are the interrelations and overlappings of science that, to know one subject well, it is neces- sary to know something of a thousand others. He recognizes, sooner or later, the fact that, as Maclaurin says, " our knowledge is vastly greater than the sum of what all its objects separately could afford; and when a new object comes within our reach, the addition to our knowledge is tlie greater the more we already know; so that it increases, not as the new objects increase, but in a much higher proportiou." Above all, he knows that, as in our animal economy it is a disastrous policy to eat ex- clusively the nitrates which contribute to the muscles, the phosphates which feed the brain and nerves, or the carbonates which develop fat, so we starve a part of our mental faculties if we limit our mental diet to a few dishes. The intellectual epicure who would feed on a lew 248 Public Libraries in the United States. choice antbors is usually the laudator temporis acti, — the indiscriminate eulogist of the past ; and this, of itself, renders worthless all his recipes for mental culture, and cuts him off from the sympathy of the young. He is forever advising them to read only classic authors, — which would be to live in an intellectual monastery. It is quite possible to feed a young- man with too concentrated a diet. It has been truly said by a wise teacher that if there is one law more sure than another in intellectual development, it is that the young must' take their start in thought and in taste from the models of their own time ; from the men whose fame has not become a tradition, but is ringing in clear and loud notes in the social atmosphere around us. There are some persons, no doubt, who are opposed to all guidance of the young in their reading. They would turn the student loose into a vast library and let him browse freely in whatever literary pastures may please him. With Johnson they say, " Whilst you stand deliber- ating which book your son shall read first, another boy has read both ; read anything five hours a day and you will soon be learned." Coun- sel, advice in the choice of books, they condemn as interfering with the freedom of individual taste and the spontaneity which is the condition of intellectual progress. " Read," they say to the young man, " what you can read with a keen and lively relish; what charms, thrills, or fasci- nates you; what stimulates and inspires your mind, or satisfies your intellectual hunger; 'in brief, sir, study what you most affect.'-- No doubt there is a vein of wisdom in this advice. It is quite possible to order one's reading by too strict and formal a rule. A youth will con- tinue to study only that in which he feels a real interest and pleasure, constantly provoking him to activity. It is not the books which others like, or which they deem best fitted for him, that he will read and read with profit, but the books that hit his tastes most exactly and that sat- isfy his intellectual cravings. Xo sensible educator will prescribe the same couxses of reading for two persons or lay down any formal, cast iron rules for the direction of the mental processes. That which is the most nutritious aliment of one mind may prove deleterious and even poisonous to another. To some extent, too, the choice of books may be left to individual taste and judgment. There are some minds that have an eclectic qual- ity which inclines them to the reading they need, and in a libraiy they not only instinctively pounce upon the books they need, but draw at once from them the most valuable ideas as the magnet draws the iron filings scattered through a heap of sand. But these are rare cases and can furnish no rule for general guidance. To assert that a learned and judicious adviser cannot help the ordinary student in the choice of books, is to assert that all teaching is valueless. If inspiration, genius, taste, elective affinities are sufficient in the^ selection and reading of books, why not also in the choice of college studies? Why adopt a curriculum ? The truth is, the literary appetite of the young is often ProfessorsMps of Books and Beading. 249 feeble, and oftener capricious or perverted. While their stomachs gen- erally reject unwholesome food, their minds ofteu feed on garbage and even poison. The majority of young persons are fond of labor saving processes and short cuts to knowledge, and Lave little taste for books which put much strain on the mind. The knowledge too easily acquired may imi)art a temporary stimulus and a kind of Intellectual keenness and cl.everness, but it brings no solid advantage. It is, in fact, "the merest epicurism of intelligence, — sensuous, but certainly not intellec- tual." Magnify as we may the necessity of regarding individual pecu- liarities in education, it is certain that genius, inspii^ation, or an affinity for any kind of knowledge, does not necessarily exclude self knowledge, self criticism, or self control. As another has said, " If the geaius of a man lies in the development of the individual person that he is, his manhood lies in finding out by stud> what he is, and what he may be- cou)e, and in wisely using the means that are fitted to form and perfect his individuality." Will it be said that there are manuals or " courses of readings," such as Pycroft's, or President Porter's excellent work, by the aid of wbich an undergraduate may select his books without the aid of a professor? We answer that such manuals, while they are ofteu serviceable, can never do the work of a living guide and adviser. Books can never teach the use of books. Ko course of reading, however ideally good, can be exactly 'adapted to all minds. Every student has his idiosyn- crasies, his foibles, his " stond or impediment in the wit," as Bacon terms it, which must be considered in choosing his reading matter, so that not only his tastes may be in some degree consulted, but "every defect of the mind may have a special receipt." A professor of books and reading should be a man of broad and varied culture, with catholic tastes, a thorough knowledge of bibliog- raphy, especially of critical literature, and much knowledge of men ; one who can readily detect the peculiarities of his pupils, and who, in directing their reading, will have constant reference to these as well as to the order of nature and intellectual development. While he may pre- pare, from time to time, courses of reading on special topics, and especially on those related to the college studies, he will be still more useful in advising the student how to read most advantageously ; in what ways to improve the memory ; how to keep and use commonplace books; when to make abstracts; and in giving many other hints which books on reading never communicate, and which suggest themselves only to one who has learned after many years of experience and by many painful mistakes the secret of successful study. He will see that the young men who look to him ixs their guide read broadly and liberally, yet care ^'■imdtum legere potius quam multay He will see that they cultivate "the pleasure grounds, as well as the corn fields of the mind ;" that they read not only the most famous books, but the best reputed current works on each subject ; that they read by subjects and 250 Public Libraries in the United States. not by authors ; perusing a book uot because it is the newest or the oldest, but because it is the very one they need to help them on to the next stage of their inquiries; and that they practice subsoil plowing by re-reading the masterpieces of genius again and again. Encouraging them to read the books they " do honestly feel a wish and cariosity to read," he will teach them to discriminate, nevertheless, between true desire, the monition of nature, and that superficial, false desire after spiceries and confectioneries, which, as Carlyle says, is "so often mis- taken for the real appetite, lying far deeper, far quieter, after solid nutritive food;" and, discouraging shortcuts in general, he will yet often save the student days of labor by pointing out some masterly review article in which is condensed into a few pages the quintessence of many volumes. Perhaps one of the greatest services which such a teacher might perform for the undergraduate would be in showing him. how to economize his reading — how to transfer or inspirit into his brain the contents of a good book in the briefest time. At this day, the art of reading, or at least one of the arts, is to skip judiciously, — to omit all that does not concern us, while missing nothing that we really need. Some of the best thinkers rarely begin a book at the beginning, but div^e right into the middle, read enough to seize the leading idea, dig out the heart of it, and then throw it by. In this way a volume which cost the author five years of toil, they will devour at a night's sitting, with as much ease as a spider would suck the juices of a fly, leaving the wings and legs in the shape of a preface, appendix, notes, and conclusion, for a boiled joint the next day. It is said that Patrick Henry read with such rapidity that he seemed only to run his eye down the pages of a book, often to leap over the leaves, seldom to go regularly through any passage; and yet, when he had dashed through a vol- ume in this race-horse way, he knew its contents better than any- body else. Stories similar to this of " the forest- born Demosthenes" are told of some of his contemporaries. Wonders are recounted of their powers of perusal; how Johnson would swoop down upon his prey like the eagle, and tear out the heart of a book at once ; how Burke, reading a book as if he were never to see it again, devoured two octavo volumes in a stagecoach; and how package after package of these sweet medicines of the mind were thrown in to Xapoleon on the island of St. Helena, like food to a lion, and with hoc preHto dispatched. It is said that Coleridge rarely read a book through, but would plunge into the marrow of a new volume, and feed on all the nutritious matter with surprising rapidity, grasping the thought of the author, and fol- lowing out his reasonings to consequences of which he had never dreamed. Chief- Justice Parsons of Massachusetts, who, according to Chief-Justice Parker, " knew more law than anybody else, and knew more of other things than he did of law," read books with a similar rapidity, taking in the meaning not by single words but by whole sen- tences, which enabled him to finish several books in a single evening. Professorships of Books and Beading. 251 Thierry', the historian, tells us of himself that from the habit of devour- ing long pages in folio, in order to extract a phrase and sometimes one word among a thousand, he acquired a faculty which astonished him, — that of reading in some way by intuition, and of encountering almost immediately the passage that wonld be useful to him, — all the vital power seeming to tend toward a single vital point. Carlyle devours books in the same wholesale way, j^lucking ont from an ordinary vol- ume " the heart of its mystery" in two hours. It is absurd, of course, to suppose that every man, — above all, that young men, — will be able with profit to dash through books as did these great men ; but all stu- dents can be taught how, by practice, to come nearer and nearer to such a habit. It is a miserable bondage to be compelled to read all the words in a book to learn what is in it. A vigorous, live mind will fly ahead of the words of an author and anticipate his thought. Instead of pain- fully traversing the vales of commonplace, it will leap from peak to peak on the summit of his ideas. Great quickness, acuteness, and power of concentration are required to do this ; but it is a faculty susceptible of cultivation and measurably attainable by all. The first thing to be learned by every student is liow to read. Few know how because few have made it a study. Many read «t, book as if they had taken a sacra- mentum militare to follow the author through all his i)latitudes and twaddle. Like the American sloth, they begin at the top of the tree and never leave it till they have devoured all of which they can strip it, whether leaves or fruit. Others read languidly, without re-acting on the jiuthor or challenging his statements, when the pulse should beat high, as if they were in battle and the sound of the trumpet were in their ears. A reader who knows the secret of the art will get through a book in half the time, and master it more thoroughly than another who, ignorant of the art, has plodded through every page. A word, in conclusion, touching the cost of such a professorship as we have advocated. In the leading colleges we believe there should be a chair of " books and reading" specially endowed ; but in the smaller colleges its duties might be discharged by the professor of English liter- ature, or by an accomplished librarian. CHAPTER X. LIBRARIES OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. BY THE EDITORS. IxTRODucTiON— Library of Coxgress — House of Eepresext.vtives — Uxitkd States Sekate — Executive Mansion — Department op State— Department of THE Treasury AND its Bureaus— Department of War, its Bureaus, Military Academy, and Artillery School — Department of the Navy, its Bureaus, Naval Observatory, and Naval Academy — Post-Office Departmeni' — De- partment OF THE Interior, its Bureaus, Government Hospii'al for thu Insane, National Deaf-Mute College— Department of Justice— Department OF Agriculture— Summary— Libraries partially maintained by the Gov- ernment: Soldiers' Home, Military Posts, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Naval and Merchant Vessels. IXTEODUCTION. The libraries of the General G.iverainenfc have grown oat of the exi- gencies of its administration. Before the Government was removed from Philadelphia to Washington, members of Congress and the execu- tive officers of the several departments were obliged to avail them- selves of the courtesy of a proprietary library. The new Cai)itol offered no such facilities. The Library of Congress was therefore begun, and has grown, as needs required, until it now numbers over 300,000 volumes and 60,000 pamphlets. As the business of administration increased, and its cares were divided by the creation of new departments, a reference library for each was found necessary for the proper conduct of business. In like man- ner, it became essential from time to time to form libraries in a number of the bureaus of the departments. With three or four exceptions, these libraries have been formed with reference to the special duties devolving on the respective bureaus. The establishment of the Naval School at Annapolis and the Military Academy at West Point necessitated libraries in each. The subjoined notices, several of which have been prepared by the librarians in charge of the collections named, will show the growth and importance of the libraries referred to, as well as of some not so directly connected with the Government, such as those at military gar- risons and arsenals, at the several navy yards and marine hospitals, and on board ships of war. Small collections of reference books are also found in the principal custom houses and mints, and at the places of holding the United States distiict courts. 252 Libraries of the General Government 253 THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, OR XATIOXAL LIBRARY. BY A. B. SPOFFORD, Librarian of Congress. The Library of Conjjress had its ofigiu la the wants of our National Legislature for books and inforination. Its establishment, like that of some of the government libraries of other countries, was almost co-eval with the existence of the Government in a permanent form, tlie origin of the Library of Congress dating from the year 1800, about the time of the establishment of the seat of Government at Washington. The Continental Congress, assembled at Philadelphia during the period of the Revolution, represented a government consisting of a mere league of colonies, without central power or authority ; and it was de- pendent for library aid upon the chance researches of its members, and the gratuitous use of books tendered them by the Library Company of Philadelphia. Thus it formed no library of its own, and after the adop- tion of the Constitution in 1789, while the controverted question of the ultimate seat of government remained unsettled, there was little motive to enter upon the collection of a permanent library. The first appropriation made by Congress for the purchase of books was on the 24th of April, 1800, in the fifth section of. "An act to make further provision for the removal and accommodation of the Govern- ment of the United States." This act appropriated the sum of $5,000 "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Con- gress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apart- ment for containing them, and placing them therein." The selection of books was devolved upon a joint committee of both Houses of Congress, to be appointed for that purpose. And the statute provided : That said books shall be placed in one suitable apartment in the Capitol in the said city, for the use of both Houses of Congress, and the members thereof. FOUNDATION AND HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY. Congress met in October, ISOO, at the city of Washington, for the first time. In the unfinished condition of the original Capitol, the two Houses, with the Supreme Court, were all croi^ded into the north wing of the new building, and little was done for the accommodation of the nascent Library of Congress. At the next session, which convened un- der the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, in December, 1801, that officer appears to have taken an earnest interest in the library, and, at bis sug- gestion a statement was made, on the first day of the session, respect- ing the books and maps purchased by the joint committee of Congress. A special committee was appointed at this session on the part of both Houses to take into consideration the care of the books, and to make a rep(irt respecting the future arrangement of the same. This report, made to the House by John Randolph, of Virginia, December 21, 1801, 254 Public Libraries in the United States. fomied the basis of "An act concerning the library for the use of both Houses of Congress," which was the first systematic statute organizing the Library of Congress, and which still continues substantially in force. This act of organization, approved January 26, 1802, located the Li- brary of Congress in the room which had been occupied by the House of Representatives. It empowered the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to establish regulations for the library. It created the office of Librarian, and vested his appointment in the President of the United States, requiring him to give bond for the safe keeping of the library and the faithful discharge of his trust. It further restricted the taking of books from the Library of Congress to the members of the Senate and the House of liepresentatives, together with the President and Vice-President of the LTnited States. This regulation was subse- quently extended so as to invest with the privilege of drawing books from the Library of Congress the heads of Departments, tlie judges,' reporter, and clerk of the Supreme (yourt and of the Court of Claims; the Solicitor of the Treasury ; the disbursing agent of the library ; the Solicitor-General and Assistant Attorne^^s-General ; the Secretary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Eepresentatives; the Chap- lains of both Houses of Congress, the members of the Diplomatic Corps, and the Secretary and Eegents of the Smithsonian Institution resident in Washington. The disbursement of fnnds for the purchase of books is under the direction of a joint committee of both Houses of Congress on the Li- brary, consisting of three Senators and three representatives, who also have power to make all regulations uot inconsistent with law in rela- tion to the Library of Congress, or either of its departments. In the early years of the library there was little occasion for official work with a view to its wider usefulness ; and the care of the few books accumulated (which amounted only to 3,000 volumes up to the year 1814) involved but little time or trouble. Hence, the earliest libra- rian placed in charge of the books was, in the case of each Congress, the Clerk of the House of Eepresentatives for the time being, who employed an assistant to take the immediate care of the books. The an- nual appropriation for the purchase of books during these early years was only $1,000. On the 25th of August, 1814, the Capitol was burned by the British arm}', which invaded and held possession of Washington for a single day, and the Library of Congress was entirely consumed with it. During the following month, Ex-President Jeflferson, then living in retirement at Monticello, and overtaken by pecuniary embarrassment, tendered to Congress, through the Committee on the Library, his private collection of books, as the basis for a new Congressional Library. The otter was to furnish the books (numbering about 6,700 volumes, of which a manu- script catalogue was submitted) at cost, and to receive in payment the bonds of the United States, or such payment as might be " made con- Libraries of the General Government. 255 veuient to tlie public." This proposition was favorably reported from the committees in both Houses of Cougress, but excited earnest debate and opposition. The final vote in the House upon the passage of the bill authorizing the purchase, at the price of $23,950, was 81 yeas and 71 nays. On the 21st of ^March, 1815, Mr. George Watterston was appointed Librarian of Congress by President Madison, and a room in the building temporarily occupied by Congress was appropriated for the reception of the Jefferson library. A catalogue of the collection was printed the same year (1815), in a thin quarto of 210 pages, which is little more than a rough finding-list of an imperfect character. It is noteworthy that on the title page of this volume the collection is styled "The Library of the United States," instead of the Library of Congress, which lat- ter designation has since been generally employed. At the next session of Congress, the library was removed from this temporary building (which was the Post-Ofhce Department of that day) to the brick edifice on Capitol Hill which had been erected as a tem- porary home for Congress, until the Capitol should be rebuilt upon the old site. The annual appropriation for the purchase of books was raised to $2,000 a j^ear in 1818. This continued until 1824, when the sum of $5,000 was appropriated; and the same amount continued the average annual appropriation for twenty or thirty years thereafter. The annual accessions of books under this modest appropriation were not great, al- though the selections were generally judicious, and resulted in bringing together a library formed with a view to the highest utility, and with some general unity of plan. In the year 1824, the library was finally removed to the central Capitol building, which had been completed, where an apartment 92 feet in length by 32 feet in width (still occupied as the central library hall) was fitted up to receive the books. There the library continued to grow, slowly but surely, until it had accumulated, by the year 1851, 55,000 volumes of books. On the 24th of December of that year the calamity of a second fire overtook the Library of Congress. A defective flue, which had been neglected, and was surrounded with wooden material, communicated the fiames to the adjoining shelving, and the entire library, then, as now, occupying the western front of the Capitol, was soon wrapped in flames. The fire occurring in the night, its extinction was attended with great delay, so that only 20,000 volumes were saved from the flames. These, however, embraced the more valuable portion of the library at that time, includ- ing the whole of the department of jurisprudence, American history and biography, and political science. But the important divisions of geography, voyages and travels, English and European history, fine arts, natural history, poetry, the drama, &c., were entirely destroyed. Starting anew in 1852 with the little nucleus of 20,000 volumes, the Library of Congress soon arose from its ashes, and has since continued to grow in a greatly accelerated ratio. The Cougress of that day took 25 G Piiblic Libraries in the United States. a wise and liberal view of the situation, and appropriated at the same session the sum of $72,500 for the recon struction of the library rooms, and $75,000 additional for the immediate purchase of books. The library hall, under the superin tendence of Thomas U. Walter, esq., Architect of the Oapitol, was rebuilt in fire proof Material, the wails, ceiling-, and shelves being- constructed of solid iron finished in a highly decorated style. The Library of Congress thus furnished the first example of an ii\tn». rior constructed wholly of iron in any public building in America. The liberal appropriation made by Congress for books soon began to show its fruits in the acquisition of multitudes of volumes of the best literature in all departments ; and many expensive art publications, sets of periodicals, and valuable and costly works in natural history, archi- tecture, and other sciences were added to its stores. By the year 18G0 the library had grown to about 75,000 volumes. Soon after the outbreak of the civil war in 18H1 the regular appropria- tion for the purchase of books was increased from $7,000 to $10,000 per annum, the great cost of imported books rendering it very difficult to keep up with the current literature of value and to continue to supplement the deficiencies of the collection within the limits of the former meagre appropriation. THE SMITHSONIAN LIBRARY. In the year 18GG, the Library of Congress received a most important accession in the transfer to its shelves of the whole collection of books gathered by the Smithsonian Institution, and representing twenty years' accumulation since its establishment. This collection was a most valu- able complement to the library already gathered at the Capitol, being well supplied with books in the natural and exact sciences, and quite unique in the multitude of publications of learned societies in all parts of the world and in nearly all of the modern languages. With this large addition (numbering nearly 40,000 volumes) the Library of Con- gress became at once the most extensive and valuable repository of ma- terial for the wants of scholars which was to be found in the United States. By the terras of transfer of the Smithsonian Library, (Congress became its custodian during such time as the Regents of the Smith- sonian Institution should continue the deposit, it being stipulated that the expense of binding and cataloguing of all books should be defrayed by Congress in return for this valuable and annually increasing addi- tion to its stores. This arrangement, while it relieves the funds of the Smithsonian Institution from an annual charge in maintaining a library, secures to the National Library an invaluable scientific department with- out material cost ; and the deposit, supplying as it does a much larger library of use and reference to the scholars of the country than is to be found in any one body elsewhere, is likely to be a permanent one. Libraries of the General Government 257 THE FORCE LIBRARY. In the following year (IS07) Congress became the purchaser of a very extensive historical library, formed by the late Peter Force, of Wash- ington. This collection represented nearly fifty years of assiduous accumulation by a specialist devoted to the collection of books, pam- phlets, periodicals, maps, mauuscriptvS, &c., relating to the colonization and histor}' of the United States. This purchase, which was effected at the price of $L00,000, included, besides nearly 60,000 articles (or titles) in books, pamphlets, and manuscripts, the entire unpublished materials of the Documentary History of the United States, a work to which Mr. Force had dedicated his life, and nine folio volumes of which, embrac- ing a portion only of the history of the revolutionary period, had been published. This wise and timely purchase saved from dispersion one of the most valuable private libraries ever gathered by a single hand, and has treasured up in a national fire proof repository multitudes of orig- inal political and military papers, and historical documents, which are unique, and throw much light upon our revolutionary history, as well as upon that of subsequent periods. By the accessions of succeeding years, the department of American history has been still further enriched by assiduous care in selecting from catalogues at home and abroad, and-purchasing at every important auction sale whatever works were not already in the Library of Congress illustrative of the discovery, settlement, history, topography, natural history, and politics of America. THE LAW LIBRARY. The law department of the Library of Congress was constituted by act of July 14, 1832. Prior to that timethe whole collection bad been kept together ; but the wants and convenience of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States would, it was found, be greatly promoted by removing the department of jurisprudence into a separate room more conveniently accessible to the court and conference rooms of that tribunal. By the same act the Librarian of Congress was required to take charge of the law library, which was made a part of the Library of Congress, subject to the same regulations as the general library, except that the justices of the Supreme Court were empowered to make such rules for the use of the same by themselves and the attorneys and counsellors of said court during its sessions as they should deem proper. The an- nual appropriation for the purchase of law books was fixed at $1,000, and a special sum of $5, ODD was twice appropriated to enrich the law department, which, at the time it was set apart, consisted of only 2,011 volumes. From 1850 to the present time the annual sum approi)riated for law books has been $J,000. The law library was first placid in a room adjacent to the main collection, on the same floor. Eemoved in 1848 to the floor underneath, near what was then the Supreme Court 17 E 258 PuhUc Libraries in the United States. room, it was finally lodjjed in the Supreme Court room itself in De- cember, ISGO, the court having been transferred to the former Senate chamber on flie upper floor. The Law Library of Congress is rich in the English and American re- l)orts, of which it possesses full sets, many of them being in duplicate. \n civil law it contains all the leading works, and many of the more obscure collateral treatises. In the statute law of the several States, and of the chief foreign nations of the globe, it is well equipped; its collection of treatises in every depirtment of ttie cominou law and miscellaneous law literature, both in English and Fiencti, is large, though far from com- ])lete; while its collection of sets of all important law periodicals, whether English, French, or American, surpasses that of any other library in the United States. It now numbers upwards of 35,000 vol- umes, exclusive of works on the law of nations and nature, and the journals and documents of legislative bodies, Avhich form a part of the general Library of Congress. EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF THE COLLECTIONS. It may be said that the central idea of a library for the use of a legis- lative body should be completeness in the two dei)artments of jurispru- dence and political science. Yet a library adequately contributing to the enlightenment of the legislators of a nation must necessarily em- brace much more than this. There is, in fact, no department of science or literature which may not require at any moment to be drawn upon to lend its aid. Further than this, as the Library of Congress is also freely open for the use and reference of the much larger public, resident or temporarily sojourning at the seat of Government, it must inevitably, by the mere law of growth, become sooner or later a universal library, in which no department shall be neglected. While, therefore, the im- portance of rendering it approximately complete in books relating to law and government has been kei)t steadily in view, it has also been assiduously enriched in other directions. Its accumulation of authori- ties in English and Earoi)ean history and biograpliy is especially exten- sive. Its collection of peiiodicals is very rich, and there are \esv Eng- lish or American reviews or magazines of any note of which com- ]>lete sets are not to be found upon its shelves. An adujirable selection of the more important literary and scientific periodicals published in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and other countries of Europe, is also to be found here. As the library of the American people, supported and constantly en- larged by taxation, it is eminently fitting that this library should not only be freely accessible to the whole people, but t!iat it should furnish the fullest possible storcis of information in every department of human knowledge. While, therefore, more particular attention has been de- voted to rendering the library complete in jurisprudence, history, and Americana, there is no department which has been neglected in its Libraries of the General Government. 259 formation ; atid it is, accordingly, beconiinf? measurably coini)Iete in many directions which, were it merely the Library of Congress and for the sole use of a legislative body, would not receive special attention. As one example, it may be stat'ed that this library contains much the largest collection of the countj^ and town histories of Great Britain and of genealogical works, to be found in America. The present numerical extent of the Library of Congress may be summed up in saying that it contains30D,000 volumes, besides about GO,00(J pam- phlets. Bat this estimate by enumeration, although commonly the first item asked for, is very far from constituting a practical test of the value of any library. Non multa, sed multiim applies with strict pertinence to the intellectual wealth stored within the alcoves of a great library. And with regard to the careful selection and winnowing of books, so that we may be sure to have the best on any given subject, no matter what other collection contains the most, it may be said that it has been the steady aim to secure for the Library of Congress the most compre- hensive materials which can be contributed to the enlightment of read- ers upon every theme that interests men. Further than this, sugges- tions of books wanting in the collection have been welcomed from all quarters, and whenever found worthy of incori^oration in the library, they have been procured. THE CATALOGUE. The catalogue system of the Library of Congress is substantially that adopted in most great and ra[)idly growing public libraries. The card catalogue is kept constantly complete to date by incorporating daily the titles of works added to the collection. The printed catalogues, how- ever, comprise two divisions — an alphabetical catalogue by authors' names, and a classed catalogue by subjects. The annual catalogues of accessions to the library, which were published in a series of bulky volumes from 1867 to 1872, have been discontinued, on account of the great cost of producing them in comparison to their utility, and will be replaced by a more frequent issue of the general catalogue, embracing the whole contents of the library, pamphlets included, which latter were omitted from the annual catalogues for economical reasons. The next general catalogue, com[)lete to the year 187G, will fill four or more royal octavo volumes, and in it will be embraced the feature of record- ing full collations of every book and pami^hlet, including publishers' names, first introduced in the catalogues of this library in 18G7. A cata- logue of the more important accessions of the last three years 1873-1875, accompanied by an index to subjects and titles, was recently issued. A labor recently undertaken in connection with the catalogue system of the library, and by autliority of Congress, is the preparation of a complete index of topics to the documents and debates of Congress. This is a work of vast extent, euibracing the contents of about 1,600 volumes, including the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, the 260 Public Libraries in the United States. Congressioual Globe and Eecord, the journals of the Continental Con- gress, the complete set of congressioual documents, (including the par- tial reprints in the American State Papers,) the Statutes at Large, &c. Considering the great extent and rich material of the documentary his- tory of the Republic, the most of which has been completely buried from view by the want of any index or other key to unlock its stores, this task, when completed, may be expected to yield valuable fruit in bring- ing to light the sources of our political history, as well as furnishing an important aid to the legislative, executive, and judicial officers of the United States. THE COPYEIGHT DEPARTMENT. It remains to consider, briefly, one distiuctiv^e tield of the operations of the Library of Congress, namely, its copyright accessions. By an act of Congress approved July 8, 3870, the entire registry of copyrights within the United States, which was previously scattered all over the country in the offices of the clerks of the United States district courts, has been transferred to the office of the Librarian of Congress. The reasons for this step were threefold : 1. To secure the advantage of one central office at the seat of Government for keeping all the records re- lating to copyrights, so that any fact regarding literary property can be learned by a single inquiry at Washington. 2. This transfer of copyright business to the office of the Librarian of Congress adds to the registration of all original publications the requirement of a deposit of each publication entered, in order to perfect the copyright. This secures to the library of the Government an approximately complete representa- tion of the product of the American mind in every department of printed matter. The resulting advantage to authors aud students of being cer- tain of finding all the books which the country has produced in any given department is incalculable. 3. The pecuniary fees for the record of copyrights are now paid directly into the Treasury, instead of being- absorbed, as formerly, by the clerical expenses in the offices of the dis- trict clerks. The average number of copyright entries is not far from 12,000 per annum. As two copies of each publication are required to be deposited in the library as a condition of perfecting copyright, the annual receipts under this head amount to nearly 25,000 articles. Of this large number, however, one-half are duplicates, while a very large share are not books, but musical compositions, engravings, chromos, photographs, prints, maps, dramatic compositions, and periodicals. Yet there is, even in the accumulation of what some critics might pronounce trash, an element of value which will receive increasing illustration in the future. By the constant deposit of copyright engravings, photographs, wood-cuts, chromos, and other objects of art, the library must iu time accumulate a large and attractive gallery of the fine arts, richly worthy of attention as representing the condition and progress of the arts of design at difterent periods in the United States. Libraries of the General Government. 261 By the required deposit, also, as a conditioii of the copyright, of every book aud periodical on which an exclusive privilege is claimed, there will be gathered in a permanent fire proof repository the means of tracing the history and progress of each department of science or literature in this country. As a single example of this, consider how great a beneBt it must be for those who are interested in the profession of education to be secure of finding in a national library a complete series of school books produced in all parts of the United States for the period of half a century. What seems trash to us to-day may come to morrow to liave a wholly unsuspected value ; while that which is worthless to one reader may contribute a very solid satisfaction to another. There should be in every nation one great library, and that the prop- erty of the whole people, which shall be inclusive, not exclusive, in its character; which shall include not a selection merely, but all the pro- ductions of the intellect of the country, year by year, as 'they appear from the press. Thus only will our National Library be htly repre- sentative of the country ; thus only will it discharge its function as the custodian and transmitter to future generations of the whole product of the American press. No one who is familiar with the tendency to disappear, or the rapid consumption, so to speak, w^hich overtakes so large a [)ortion of the books that are issued ; no one who has sought in vain for a coveted volume, which has become almost lost to the world from the small number of copies printed, and the swift de- struction through the accidents of time, can fail to appreciate the value of a collection thus truly complete and national. HOUSE OF REPEESENTATIVES LIBRARY. This library is attached to the Clerk's office of the House. There was a collection of public documents as early as 1789, which formed the nucleus of the present library. The books are altnost exclusively of a legislative and executive character, and are particularly for the use of the members of the House. They are subject to the order of the mem- bers, but are not to be taken from the city. The library is in charge of a librarian appointed by the House. Including duplicates, the library numbers 100,000 volumes. UNITED STATES SENATE LIBRARY. The library of the United States Senate was begun as a regular library in 1852, though it was established as a repository of public documents and State papers in 1789. It was at first attached to the office of the Secre- tary of the Senate. The collection consists entirely of public documents. It contains a complete set of State papers, beginning with the first pub- lished by Gales & Seaton, and the manuscript journals of the Senate, from the first session, held at New York, beginning March 4, 1789. The library numbers 15,000 volumes. 262 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. EXECUTIVE MANSION LIBEARY. TLe library of the Executive Mausion dates back to the administra- tion of President Madison, and is simply a miscellaneous family library, containing, however, in addition to miscellany, a number of executive documents for special reference for the use of employes. Small addi- tions are made from time to time from the contingent fund. The number of volumes in the library is 1,453. The first appropria- tion for its increase was made in 1850, and amounted to $2,000. THE LIBEAKY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. BY T. F. DWIGHT, Librarian of the State Departments This library has been growing- from the time of the organization of the Government; its foundation maybe dated from the resolution of Congress of September 23, 1780, which made it the "duty of the Secre- tary of State to procure, from time to time, such of the statutes of the several States as may not be in his oflSce." Although it cannot be said that tlie idea of fornung a miscellaneous library was contemplated, yet tlie fact possesses considerable interest that this resolution was the first authorization of a collection of books by the Congress of the United States. The real character of the library was determined by the necessities of the service. After tlie organization of the Departnjent of State, a demand was created for works on the law of nations, diplomatic hi.s- tory, and cognate topics, which led to the gradual accumulation of American and foreign histories, voyages, treatises on political science, l)olitical economy, and works affording liberal information on the sub- jects of investigation of the Department. Few data have been preserved respecting the growth of the collection. Two subject catalogues, issued in 1825 and 1830, furnish the only records of its early history. The first, a small octavo, covers sixty-eight pages, and accounts for eight hundred and seventy-five titles in three thousand volumes. The second, of one hundred and fifty pages, small octavo, shows an increase within five years to about thirteen hun- dred titles in four thousand six hundred volumes. Since the date of the latter, an accurate statement of the increase cannot now be furnished. It is estimated that there are at present about six thousand titles iu twenty-three thousand volumes. Of these, there are, in English titles, five thousand; in French, Italian, and Spanish, one thousand. This estimate, of course, does not include the large and valuable col- lection of news])apers nor the publications of Congress. Of the former there are four thousand seven hundred and fifty bound volumes, com- l)rising files of the princii)al journals of the United States and Europe, preserved from an early date by the Department. There are of English Libraries of the General Government. 263 pnpers alone seven huntlred volnmes ; the files of South American and West Indian journals could hardly be duplicated. The library possesses, also, complete sets of the most important reviews and majjazines. Of congressional publications, it has a quite full, though not complete, collection. In documents relating to foreign affairs, it is naturally rich. In the peculiar province of the library may be noted, briefly, works on the law of nations, commentaries and dissertations, diplomatic usages and formularies, collections of treaties and negotiations, foreign statutes and digests, reports of cases of common, civil, and municipal law at home and abroad, state papers, and treatises on the princi|)les of law. Here are Rymer's Fcedera, Damon t's Corps universel diplo- matique and Xegociations touchant la paix de Munster, etc. The resolution of Congress of 1789, before referred to, is still in force, and the library duly obtains the published acts of the legislatures of the States and Territories. This collection is one of great importance, numbering six thousand seven hundred volumes. Although the purchases have been mainly regulated by necessity, the library has accumulated through long years of slow but steady growth many works of miscellaneous literature, embracing the standard English and Continental writers in the best editions and in appropriate bindings. Among them are many rarities to attract the bibliophile in the shape of tdltioncs princlpes and specimens from celebrated pres^ses, such as Basker- ville, Elzevir, and Pickering. Foremost among the works rehiting to the early history of the Auierican continent is a copy of tlie first eight parts of De Bry's Great Voyages, the Latin versions, mostly of the' first impressions, in excellent condition. Here are also copies of Gar- cia, Barcia, Herrera, and Torquemada. Of collections of voyages, the library possesses Hakluyt, jSTavarrette, Churchill, Burney, and Pinker- ton ; and of special travels by sea and land, the relations of tlic most notable from the time of Xearchus to the [)reseut day. In biograi)hy and history, the library is even more full; in these classes its real strength lies. Among them may be found the first French and second English editions of Bayle, the first edition of the Biographia Biitannica, the quarto series of old chronicles edited by Douce, Ellis, and others, and Petitot's collection of French historical memoirs. These neces- sarily brief references afford but little information of the extensive his- torical material the library contains, not only of systematic histories of the principal nations of the world, but of rarer works, memoirs of special periods and princely houses, the secret histories of courts that have more or less relation to diplomatic affairs, collections of tracts and pub- lic documents and of historical dissertations. The departments of lexicograi)hical and statistical works are very full, to meet the requirements of the general work of the Department. Tiie library possesses large stores of pamphlets, made up for the most part of the publications of foreign g'overnments relating to the intercourse of nations, commerce, and finance. 264 Public Libraries in the United States. The preparation of a complete catalogue has been for some time l)a!st iu couteuiplation ; but tor various reasons the work has been delayed. Since the removal of the books to the new building occu- pied by the* Department of State, a card catalogue has been under- taken, on a very comprehensive phin, to supply the need of a thorough analytical index to the working material of the library ; and good progress has been made. The work is of considerable importance, as the beginning of a systematic bibliography of international law and diplomacy. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. A small reference library was begun in this Department as early as 1803, but not till 18G7 was any considerable collection of general litera- ture acquired and made accessible to the employes of the Dei)artnjent. The library now numbers 8,450 volumes, a large part of which is com- posed of works on biography, history, and fiction. Books can be drawn daily, except Sundays, by employes. BUREAU OF STATISTICS. This library was begun in 1866, when the Bureau was established. A few works, chietly annual publications of a statistical character, have, from time- to time, been purchased for the Bureau ; but the additions to its librftry consist chiefly of the statistical publications of foreign governments, official documents of the United States and of various State and municipal governments thereof, and reports of cham- bers of commerce and other associations. The librar}' now contains about 6,000 volumes, of which upwards of 1,100 are in foreign languriges, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Scan- dinavian, Bohemian, Hungarian, and Russian. There are also about 2,500 unbound pamphlets. The library is used chietly by the officers and clerks of the Bureau iu compiling statistics. FIRST AUDITOR'S OFFICE. The nucleus of this library was formed in 1789. It is composed almost exclusively of legal works and public documents. It is only for the use of employes, for reference, and contains 2,000 volumes. LIGHT-HOUSE BOARD. Tlie library of the Light- House Board was begun in 1852, and consists mainly of scientific treatises needed for reference by the employes of the office. For a small library it possesses an unusually Llrge number of valuable books, among which are Annales deChimie and Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 201 volumes, from 1789 to 1872, early copies of which are not known to be in any other library in the country ; Peclet's Traite de la Olialeur; Bulidor's Science des Ingenieurs, printed 1729; Stephenson's Bell Rock Light-House ; and Smeaton's Eddystone Light-House, 1793. The library numbers 1,500 volumes. Libraries of the General Government. 265 OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISING ARCHITECT. This small library was began in 185S, and consists almost entirely of technological works required for purposes of reference in the duties of the office to which it belongs. It numbers 250 volumes. UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY. The library of the United States Coast-Survey Office contains about 3,01)0 volumes. The collection is the growth of years, receiving its ac- cretions from donations, exchanges, and purchase. It is restricted mainly to such scientific works, journals, and periodicals as are neces- sary and useful in the prosecution of the work committed to the officers and other employes of the Coast-Survey. The library contains works on mathematics, astronomy, and geodesy, topography and hydrography, navigation and engineering, chemistrj', physics and mechanics, geology, meteorology, electricity and magnet- ism; also scientific journals, and the proceedings of societies, astro- nomical and philosophical, both at home and abroad. Among the foreign periodicals may be found PoggendorffsAnnalender Physik,Dingler's Polytechnic Journal, ComptesKeudus, Peters's Astron- oinischeN"achrichten, Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie, Petermaun's Mittheilungen, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. Among the American periodicals are the American Journal of Science and Arts, Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Reports of the Smithsonian Institution, and Journal of the Franklin Institute. DEPARTMENT OF WAR. This library was begun when Lewis Cass was Secretary of War, in 1832. It consists largely of works on military science, though it likewise possesses valuable collections on law, history, and' biography, together with public documents. It also contains all the Government medals, and is well supplied with valuable maps and charts showing the seiges and plans of battles of many European wars, and also of our own wars. Books may be drawn only by officers and employes of the Department aid officers of the xlrmy when in Washington. It is open once a week for delivery of books. The library contains 13,000 volumes. ARTILLERY SCHOOL. The library of the artillery school at Fort Monroe, Va., for the instruc- tion of officers of that arm of the military service, was begun in 1824. It had its origin in a gifi of 300 volumes of professional works by Colonel B. S. Archer, inspector-general. United States Army. The library has been increased from time to time by presentation of duplicates from the library of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and by purchase. It contains upwards of 2,500 volumes. 266 Public Libraries in the United States. BUREAU OF ORDNANCE. This library was beguD in 1S38, and consists of vakiable works on military tactics, engineering, pyrotecbuy, military and civil law. It contains 2,200 volumes. OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. The library of this Office is made up almost entirely of puMic docu- ments. It has, however, a full and complete collection of matmscript reports of the military history of the late civil war, from IS'5!) to 18i>3, including those of the late confederate government, and all official cor- respondence relative to the war, which is now in progress of publica- tion. It numbers 1,700 bound volumes. OFFICE OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL. A full description of this library, wliichnow numbers 40,000 volumes and 40,000 pamphlets, will be foitnd in Chapter VI of this report. SIGNAL OFFICE. The library of the United States Signal Office was begun in 1S71. The books are entirely of a scientific character, consisting of works on meteorology, telegraphy, cipher and military signaling, and examples of messages in different ciphers. Exclusive of maps, charts, and pam- phlets, the library contains 2,900 volumes. It exchanges with twenty- one different institutions. More than 500 tri-daily maps and bulletins have been sent out to foreign societies since 1874. UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY. The library of the United States Military Academy was begun in ISI2. Its growth from its establishment cannot be ascertained, the records and many books having been destroyed by the fire of* February 10, 1838. The additions by decades have been : Vols. 1838-1847 2,494 1848-1857 3,895 1858-1867 4,000 18G8-1875 4,645 Present number of volumes, 25,000; of pamphlets, about 800 ; manu- scripts, 28. There is a printed catalogue. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY. The library of this Department comprises historical, legal, and scien- tific works, especially those which relate to naval affairs. It is used for reference, and is accessible to employes and officers of the Navy. Books are purchased from the contingent fund. This library receives works occasionally, on nautical affairs, from officers at foreign stations. It numbers 4,000 volumes. Libraries of the General Government 267 BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. This library coDsists chiefly of medical and scientific works ; is used only for reference in performing the duties of the Office ; and numbers 1,000 volumes. BUREAU OF NAVIGATION. The library of the Bureau of Navigation is made up cliiefly of scien- tific works on navigation and nautical astronomy ; is used only for refer- ence; and numbers 1,250 volumes. HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE. This librarj^ numbering 7,000 volumes, was begun in 18G7. It con- sists largely of hydrographic, meteorologic, and nautical works, together with numerous maps and plates. Th0 collection is chiefly for refereuce. It supplies public libraries at home with its publications, and exchanges Avith hydrographic oflices, geographical and other scientific societies. NAVAL OBSERVATORY. BY PROF. J. H. KOUllSE, U. S. X., Librarian United States Xaval Observatory. On the founding of the Observatory, 1843, Lieut. James M. Gilliss,U. S. K, visited the chief observatories in Europe in reference to the con- struction of the buildings and the purchase of the instruments to be used in makiug astronomical and meteorological observations. To the proper success of the institution Lieutenant Gilliss judged the formation of a scientific library also to be essential ; he there- fore submitted for the approval of the Navy Department the selection and purchase of such standard works directly related to astronomical operations as should form the basis of an adequate collection. He consulted the eminent astronomers, Airy, Schumacher, Eucke, and La- ment, in reference to this object; being guided also by t he catalogue of the library of the High School Observatory of Philadelphia, at that date almost the only observatory existing in the United States. LieutenantGilliss'sselectionsembraced 700 volumesof EuglishjErench, and German standard publications which he purchased at London, Paris, and Leipzig. He reported to the Secretary of the Navy "that much interest had been evinced in the success of the Naval Observatory by the distinguished savants whom he had the honor to meet ; that in token of their gratification at the establishment of an institution by the United States where science would be prosecuted, contributions had been made by the Eoyal Society, Royal Astronomical Societ}', the Astronomers lloyal at Greenwich, Berlin, Brussels, and Munich, and the Astronomers at Cambridge, Dorpat, Prague, and Oxford ; by the English Admiralty, the Honorable East India Company, the Hydrographer of the lioyal Navy, and by various autliors of repute, and that the Observatory had been placed on the list of correspondents to receive from that date the following publications : The Philosophical Transactions, the Memoirs of 268 Piihlic Libraries in the United States. the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Astronomical Observations of Greenwich, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Dorpat, Munich, Prague, Brussels, Hamburg, Madras, and Berlin." The basis of a library adapted to the legitimate purposes of an astro- nomical institution having been thus secured, accessions have been received from the date of its founding, to a very limited extent, by pur- chase, but largely by exchanges with the most noted institutions at home and abroad. These exchanges are effected through the offices, chietiy, of the Smithsonian Institution. The resident legations respond very cordially, also, in forwarding volumes to foreign public institutions. It i-s worthy of note that the expenses of preparing and publishing the an- nual volumes of the Observatory are largely returned by the exchanges received, which are here building up a scientific treasury of an astro- nomical, mathematical, and geodetic character for public use. The collection, which is approaching 7,000 volumes, while directly promoting the daily work of the institution, has always been, and re- mains, available for use by the superintendent of the Nautical Almanac and by officers of the different branches of the Government, when em- ployed on astronomical or geodetic duty, such as surveys of our boun- dary lines or of our lake or sea coasts which involve astronomical observations, the determination of differences of longitude by telegraph lines, etc. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to add that the library has always been available for the work of individual astronomers and scientists, also, from whom frequent calls continue to be made for information from its archives. A copy of its' annual publication is forwarded to the libra- ries of the separate bureaus of the Government, as well as to our own observatories and scientific institutions, including each State library, and the libraries of our chief colleges. A copy is also sent to such individuals as furnish evidence of their ability to appreciate, or of their being themselves engaged in, practical astronomical work. UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY. BV PROF. THOMAS KARXEY, Librarian of the United States Naval Academy. A short time after the establishment of the Naval School at Annapo- lis, Md., in 1845, the Navy Department transferred to it a number of volumes which had been in use in United States ships of war for purposes of instruction and in navy yards ; which collection, with small additions made to it from time to time between 1815 and 1851, constitutes the nu- cleus of the present library. A board of officers was detailed by the N.ivy Department in October, 184:9,toframeacodeof regulations for the reorganization of the institution. On the 1st of July, 1850, these regulations went into operation, the name of the institution having thereby become the United States Naval Academy. Beginning with 1851, and onward thereafter, important additions were made to this inconsiderable collection, so that in 1855 it contained Libraries of the General Government. 269 4,751 volumes, in I860, 9,598 volumes, and in 1875, 17,678 volumes; in addition to which it possesses 26 manuscripts, 705 pamphlets, a set of the United States Coast Survey Charts, a set of the British Admiralty Charts, and others. In making additions to the library, the chief aim has always been to render the largest possible aid to the several departments of instruc- tion, and especially to make the professional collection equal to all exi- gencies. The library possesses a, very large number of the most ap- l)roved treatises on all naval subjects published here, in Great Britain, or in Continental Europe. Every new publication of this sort, when of merit, is si)eedi]y added to the collection. The total amount of money applied to the increase of the library is estimated at $35,180. In the summer of 1800 a catalogue was printed and published, in- dicating the possession, on the 30th of June of that year, of 8,548 volumes. POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. The library of this Department was begun in 1862, and consists chiefly of public documents, but a small portion of it being general literature. It is used only for reference by the employes of the Department. The number of volumes is 6,000. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. The library of the Interior Department was begun in 1850. It has been increased from year to year by means of the contingent fund. In 1874, 1,027 volumes were added. It is a library of miscellaneous litera- ture, and open to the employes of the Department. The collection em- braces many works of value and interest. The number of volumes is 5,580. There is a printed catalogue of the library. Since January, 1875, statistics of the circulation have been carefully kept, and an abstract of the result will be found elsewhere in this report BUREAU OF EDUCATION. The formation of this library was begun in 1870. It contains about 5,000 bound volumes, consisting mainly of works relating to education, and nearly 15,000 educational journals and pamphlets. The depart- ments of American, State, and city reports on public education, and of catalogues and reports of American colleges, schools of science, and pro- fessional schools and academies, are very complete. The library also l)0ssesses a large collection of reports of reformatory and charitable institutions in which schools are maintained. There are full sets of reports on education from Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden and Norway, the British Colonies, Brazil, and the Ar- gentine Republic ; and pretty full, though not complete, sets from Den- 270 Piihlic Libraries in the United States. mark, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Egypt, Chili, Mexico, Ecuador, aiul the United States of Colombia. Recently a large acquisi- tion has been made of the catalogues and reports of Auierican public libraries, comprising some 500 of tiie former and 700 of the latter. The library also contains probably the largest and best collection of current American periodical literature relating to education to be found in tho United States, and regularly receives the more important foreign edu- cational periodicals. ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE. The hospital possesses two libraries : the first, a sm ill msdical library of 200 volumes for tiie use of the medical officers ; the second, a general library of 1,200 volumes for the use of the patients. Bath were begun iit the opening of the hospital iu 1855. About one-fourth of the patients use the generiil library. The library is sustained partly by the General Government and partly by contributions. GENERAL LAND-OFFICE. The library contains 500 volumes, composed entirely of l^w books and documents relating to public lands. Charts and maps of all the surveys in the country' may also be found in this librar3^ NATIONAL DEAF MUTE COLLEGE. BY TROF. E. M. GALLAUDF.T, PH. D., LL.D., President of the National Dea/Mute College. The nearness of the great libraries of the Government makes it unnecessary for this library to emulate those of other colleges. About 1,200 volumes have been collected, on miscellaneous subjects, mainly such as would be often consulted as books of reference by protessors and students. The college has, however, recently secured a very important collection of works relating to the instruction and treatment of the deaf and dumb, surpassed in extent and value, it is believed, only by the library of the brothers Guyot, eminent teachers of the deaf and dumb iu Holland. This collection was gathered by the late Charles Baker, Ph. D., who was for the period of forty- five years head master of the Yorkshire Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, at Doncaster, England. Dr. Baker lias for many years been recognized as one of the ablest teachers of deaf-mutes in the world. He has published many educational works of value, and was eminently successful in his management of one of the most flourishing of the British institutions for deaf-mutes. In the course of a life full of engrossing official labors. Dr. Baker found time to col- lect more than 000 volumes concerning the deaf and dumb. Among these are found works in Latin, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Dutch; besides very many iu English. From the sixteenth century on through the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth, these volumes Libraries of the General Government. 271 were published; among the earlier being fonnd works of Jerome Car- dan, Juan Pablo Bouet, John Bulwer, William Holder, Joim Wallis, Kenelui Digby, George Sibscota, George Dalgarno, and Jolin Conrad Amman. Those who may be desirous of cousultii^g the Baker Library, will be interested to know that in the annual report of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, lor the year ending June 30, 1875, a complete list of titles may be found. It is the purpose of the officers of the institution to publish hereafter a full descriptive catalogue of the collection. PATENT- OFFICE LlBFvARY. BY AV. P. TAYL()1{, Librarian of the Patent-Office Library. This library may be said to have been founded by the act of Congress of March 3, 1830, approjiriating $1,000 from the patent fund for the pur- chase of " necessary books " for the use of the Patent-Office. Designed as a colle'ction for reference in the examination of applications for pat- ents, in order to determine the question of novelty of invention, as re- quired by law, it has grown mainly in the direction of technological publications, including full sets of many of the periodicals devoted to special industrial arts, and all the more important treatises on machines, arts, processes, and products in the English, French, and German lan- guages. Prominent among such works, the library contains a series of tlie English patents from their beginning, continuing to date, numbering upwards of 2, GOO volumes, text and plates: a series of the French patents, as published, numbering some 180 volumes of text, and as many of plates ; and others less voluminous, as the patents of Bel- gium, Austria, Italy, etc. The library contains also a large number of encyclopedias of every description, while the transactions of engineer- ing and other societies, a few of the best reviews, scientific periodicals, and works on science of a somewhat general character, have considera- bly extended the scope as well as the size of the collection. It now contains about 23^000 volumes, and still adhering to its orig- inal purpose is believed to preserve the character of the best technolog- ical library in the country. It is a useful resort for the study of the applications of science to art in every department and in all kinds of practical or utilitarian investigation. It labors under the great disad- vantage of want of room, which restricts convenient display, and which must very soon arrest either its growth or its availability unless relieved by sou^e extension. The books are freely open to consultation in the library hall by all persons, but can be taken out only by employes in the discharge of their official duties. The library is largely used by inventors, their at- torneys, and all interested in patent business, as well as by men of 272 Puhllc Libraries in the United States. science in pursuit of special information. The number of persons using it annually cannot be accurately stated, but must amount to several thou- sand. No special appropriations for the increase of. the library have been made for many years, but it has been sustained by the precarious sup- ply deriv^ed from the general contingent fund of the Office. In regard to the distribution of the published patents: By joint reso- lution of January 11, 1871, 150 co[)ies of the specifications and drawings are authorized to be gratuitously supplied to the capitol of every State and Territory freely open to the public, and to the clerk's office of the district court of each judicial district of the United States. The Com- missioner is further authorized to supply at cost a copy of the same to any public library which will pay the expenses of transportation and binding and preserv^e the volumes under proper custody for convenient access to public inspection. The Official Gazette is published and sold at the price of $6 per annum, each member of Congress being entitled to one copy for himself and to eight copies for distribution to public libraries only. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Although a small collection of law books had been made in the Office of the Attorney General as early as 1831, it may said that the library of the Office owes its origin to the efforts of Mr. Caleb Gushing, who, while Attorney-General, in 1853, made extensive additions of standard treatises on American and foreign law. It has since steadily increased, and now forms an excellent collection of American, English, and Span- ish-American law books, including valuable works on Roman law. Con- gress appropriates $3,000 yearly for the purchase of books. The library numbers 12,000 volumes. OFFICE OF SOLICITOR OF THE TREASURY. This library was begun in 1843 by the appropriation therefor of $250 by Congress. It consists almost wholly of law books and official docu- ments for reference, and numbers 6,000 volumes. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BY J. B. liUSSELT., Librarian of the Department (f Agriculture. The library of the Department of Agriculture contains about 7,000 volumes, and is annually increased by an appropriation of $1,500 by Congress, and by the exchange of its annual and monthly reports with various agricultural and philosophic il societies in Enrojie. In the sub- jects of agriculture and natural history, and their kindred branches of botany, geology, entomology, and chemistry, this library is undoubtedly the most complete on the continent. Libraries of the General Government. 273 The library contains nearly complete sets of the annual reports on aigriculture and geology of the difterent State boards of agriculture in all the principal States for the last twenty years; also the transac- tions of the Linuaean and Royal Societies of London ; Curtis and Hooker's Journal of Botany, from 1787 to the present time ; Sowerby's English Botany, in 9 volusnes; the splendid work of Ettingshausen and Pokany, Der Naturselbstdruck, in 7 volumas folio, a present from the Emperor of Austria; the reports of the chief agricultural and horti- cultural societies of Earope and Australia, aud the principal scientific journals of Europe. Of the annual reports of this Dapartment 230,000 copies were printed annually for ten years for distribution through members of Congress and otherwise to agricultural societies; for 1872 and 1873, 125,000 copies only. Of the monthly reports, respecting the prospect for the crops of the current season, 25,000 copies are published and distributed through- out this country and Europe. SUMMAEY. The foregoing libraries of the General Government number, according to the latest reports, in the aggregate, 656,070 volumes and 116,505 pamphlets; the latter but imperfectly reported. Following will be found notices of libraries for the use of soldiers aad seamen, which are encouraged and aided by the General Government, l)ut are mainly supported by their beneficiaries and by the benevolence of societies and individuals. LIBRARIES FOR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. SOLDIERS' HOME. This library was begun in 1850, and contains 2,500 volumes. It re- ceived some accessions from hospitals at the end of the war, in 1865, but has been chiefly maintained from the soldiers' fund. Attached to it is a reading room furnished with the leading newspapers and peri- odicals. LIBRARIES OP MILITARY POSTS. By a wise provision of the Army Regulations, libraries have been in- stituted and are maintained at each military post. Some of these are of very considerable value. Being purchased from savings accruing from rations, and each company of a regiment owning a pro rata share, the library of a post is dispersed as the companies go to different stations. As the Army was suddenly increased in 1831, the attention of phi- lanthropic men was newly awakened to the intellectual needs of the soldier, and the United States Military Post Library Association, of New York, was organized in that year to supply reading for him The aims of this association have met with a great degree of success. The soldier on our most remote frontier is now, through this agency, regularly supplied with the best reading. 18 E 274 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. The rei^ort of the association for the year 1875 presents the following facts : Number of books of history, travel, fiction, etc., forwarded to Array posts, 4,672 ; nnin- ber of religious papers to Army posts, 80,000 ; secular papers to Army posts, 178,000 magazines, 9,875 ; ISmo publications of the association, 7,000 ; pamphlets forwarded, 2,625 ; number of literary commissions transacted for Army posts, officers, chaplains, and soldiers, 2,750 ; value of transportation furnished by United States Government, $2,500; value of books purchased for Uiiited States military posts, $2,900; value of books donated to United States military posts, $2,000; value of periodicals purchased ior United States military posts, $10,000 ; value of periodicals donated to United States military posts, $4,200. Of our receipts during the year, about $15,000 have come from the Army itself, largely from the reading associations of tlie enlisted men. At the kind suggestion of Mr. William Libbey, of this city, a plan was matured dur- ing the year, similar to the loan library system of the American Seamen's Friend So- ciety, for the collection of about 75 volumes of special books, in a neat library case, to meet the wauts of such men as were disposed to make use of them. The books are of a very readable character, comprising some of the best works in our larguage, and including selections froiu the best authors in prose and poetry. There is a sufficient admixture of religious and temperance books ; also, some works of his- toiy, popular science, travel, fiction, etc., purely secular. Mr. Libbey sent, in his own name, and paid for, the first ten of these libraries, at a cost of $500. Twenty-two libraries have thus far been sent to various statious, and are now in service. Libraries are found at nearly every post and garrison, from the most remote, at Sitka, in Alaska, to the oldest military post iu the United States. The one first named, the oiily library in Alaska, contains about 600 volumes. The largest miscellaneous military library is that at Fort Columbus, K Y., which contains over 2,500 volumes; that at Willel's Point, N. Y., has an aggregate of 2,300 volumes; that at Fort Warren, Mass., contains nearly 1,500 volumes ; those at Fort Wayne, Detroit, and at Omaha Barracks, Nebr., number about 1,200 volumes each. Reports have been received from 78 garrison and regimental libra- ries, which contain in the aggregate 32,30(3 volumes. Of these libra- ries, 30 contained from 300 to 2,550 volun»es each. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY. At the headquarters of the Army at Washington, D. C, there is a library of considerable value, the formation of which was begun by General Grant when General-in-Chief of the Army, and to which im- portant additions have been made by General Sherman. It contains 1,300 volumes. The books have been selected with careful attention to the purposes for which such a collection is needed. NATIONAL HOME FOR DISABLED VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS. The four branches of this Home, situated at Togus, Me., Hampton, Ya., Dayton, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wis., contain about 17,000 volumes, mostly contributed by individuals. The expenses of administration are paid from the general funds, from which, iu some instances, purchases of books have also been made. At the Milwaukee branch, a catalogue of Libraries of the General Government. 275 the library was prepared and printed in 1875. At the central branch, Dayton, a history of the home and of Gnepin of Nantes have been pnblished by the Historical and Monumental Society, the members of which, 1,500 in niiraber, are inmates of the Home. At the central branch are two libraries, described by the chaplain as follows : The Putnam Library was established July 4, 1S3S, and contains 3,000 volumes, com- prising history, biography, travels, and many valuable works ou art ; also a tine collec- tion of books on arciitecture, ancient and modern, complete works of the best novel- ists of America and foreign lauds. The library, though small, is one of the most select and valuable anywhere to be found, and is entirely the gift of Mrs. Mary Lowell Put- nam, of Boston, Mass. This library is valued at $12,000. Mrs. Putnam has also presented about 200 paintings, chromos, lithographs, and other pictures, which adorn the walls of the library iiall. The Thomas Library, which occupies the smna hill, was established in October, 1869, and contains 5,100 volumes, priucii>aliy made up of history, travels, biography, and the better class of light literature; it is valued at .'$r,r)00. With very few exceptions these books have beau given by the sohliers who serve! under M:ij. Gen. George H. Thomas, in whose honor the library is named. About two hundred of the best news- papers of the land, secular and religious, come regularly to the reading room ; also the leading magazines and pictorials are regularly received. The annual report of the secretary of the board of managers of the Home for the jear 1875, presents the following information: The libraries of the several Homes have steadily increased, both in size and value, during the year. The central branch reports the largest increase, owing mainly to the continued thoughtfulness of its kind patron, Mrs. Mary Lowell Putnam, of Boston. The use made of these libraries is evidenced by the fact that .^0,426 volumes were taken out and read duringthe past year, not including the hundreds of valuable works of reference, etc., daily consulted, but which, by the rules, cannot be taken from the library rooms. The reading rooms, which are large, well furnished, and beautiful halls, are supplied with all the leading newspapers and magazines of this country (mostly presented by the publishers) and some of the more prominent ones of England, France, aud Germany. The rooms are always crowded, both day and evening, and the papers read until they are sometimes Hterallj'^ worn out in the handling. The following table will show the number of volumes in each library; the increase during the year; the number of papers and magazines received ; and the number of books taken out and read at each branch during the year: Number of volumes in library Increase during year Number daily papers received Number weekly papers received Number magazines and periodicals received.. N umber books takenout and read duri ngthe year e,756 : 486 I :}0 j 216 ' 27! 34, 130 i 3, 028 67 16 78 24 6,379 W 3,865 93 22 120 17 9,917 !» 1,220 87 27 74 12 16, 869 733 95 488 80 50, 426 The number of inmates November 30, 1675, was 4,040, of whom 3,694 were able to read and write. 276 Piiblic Libraries in the United States. LIBRAEIES ON NAVAL AND MERCHANT VESSELS. The wants of our sailors as well as of our soldiers in respect to libra- ries are also provided for, partly by Govern ment, but mainly by volun- tary effort. Each of the navy yards and several of the marine hos- pitals have a library, the largest, that at the Brooklyn navy yard, containing about 4,500 volumes. Seven libraries of this class reported contain an aggregate of 11,506 volumes, the number ranging from 400 to 4,500 in each. Afloat, the sailor is also furnished with suitable reading. The subjoined statement by Commodore Ammen, U. S. N., will indicate what is done in this way by the General Government; the interesting sketch of the operations of the American Seamen's Friend Society of 'Sew York, by Eev. H. H. McFarland, and the notice of the work of the Pennsylvania Seamen's Friend Society of Philadel- phia, will indicate what is done by those societies. The Protestant Epis- copal Church Mission Society for Seamen, of New York, expends |500 annually for books which are donated to sailors and ships. LIBRARIES ON SHIPS OF WAR. Three thousand dollars are annually appropriated to purchase and maintain ships' libraries. All vessels of war in commission, about forty at this time, as well as the difl'erent shore stations, eight in number, are furnished with libraries. The number of volumes contained in ships' libraries varies with the rate of the vessel, flag-ships having additional books. In general they number as follows: For flag-ships, 124 volumes; second rate, 85; third rate, 48 ; fourth rate, 36. The books are all either professional or necessary adjuncts to enable the commanding and other officers to perform their duties intelligently. Sailing directions, nautical and astronomical works, charts, and other information necessary to the practical work of navigation, are not included in the library. Vessels of war of all sizes usually makfr an assessment on officers and men, scaled on relative pay, and purchase the current literature of the day, embracing, iu large vessels, several hundred volumes, which are issued and turned in, and, upon the expiration of the cruise, divided among the subscribers. LIBRARIES OF THE AMERICAN SEAMEN'S FRIEND SOCIETY. BY KEY. H. H. MCFARLAND. It is impossible to determine the beginnings or trace the early results of furnishing books, for use by their crews, to sea- going vessels iu the ports of the United States. Probably a few ship owners, from philan- thropic or other motives, had long done this to some extent, but no sys- tematic work had been attempted in this country until the year 1859, Libraries of the General Government 277 when the American Seamen's Friend Society began to place its loan libraries for seamen upon American and provincial vessels sailing from New York and Bjston. It is a distinctive feature of this system that the books are loaned, not given, to the crews, and that pains are taken to secure from some person in charge of each library, either upon the vessel's return to port or through prior correspandence, a record of its reading and usefulness. Effort to secure this is in large measure suc- cessful. These libraries are put up in portable wooden cases, 23 by 13 inches in size, consecutively numbered, at a total expense of $20 eacli — the funds being provided by voluntary contributions to the society's treasury for this specific purpose, — and contain, on the average, thirty-five vol- umes, always including the Sacred Scriptures, unless it is ascertained by inquiry that the vessel is already supplied therewith. Accompanying the Scriptures are five or six carefully chosen religious books and a selection of miscellaneous volumes. Contributions for these libraries are received from Sabbath schools, churches, and individuals from a wide area of country. The growth in this department of the society's operations has been continuous. In 1859-'60, 10 libraries were sent out; in 1874-'75, 454; a total to May 1, 1875, of 5,233. Reshipments of these libraries to the same date amount to 3,773, the books in all cases being inspected and refitted before such reshipment. The number of volumes issued has been 228,256, and the number of seamen to whom they have been avail- able, so far as known, is 212,726. They are placed upon vessels (mainly upon sailing vessels) voyaging to all parts of the globe. The whole number furnished to United States naval vessels and hospitals to May 1, 1875, is 846, containing 30,156 volumes ; and the total number of men on these vessels, to whom they have been accessible, is 96,102. These books are now widely and earnestly sought for by seamen. Ex- perience enables the society to adapt its selections to their tastes and requirements with judgment, and every year adds testimony that they are carefully rea«l and thoroughly appreciated. It would be difficult to overstate the results of this enterprise from an educational, a reformatory, or a religious point of view. The libraries are co:nposed, for the most part, of books in the English lan- guage, but visitation by the agents of the society, and the inclusion, in each, of one or more books in German, Spanish, Swedish, French, Italian, Danish, or other European tongues, secures some fitness in read- ing matter to the respective nationality of every crew. And among certain classes of seamen, the whole tone of sailor life has been im- proved, as shown by the lessening of profanity and intemperance ; the awakening and culture of a sense of manhood; as well as by the begin- ning and growth of Christian faith. It will not be doubted, moreover, that among these classes there has been a general elevation of the stand - ard of discipline, with benefit to all interested. 278 PuUic Libraries in the United States. Such results, though as yet partial, can ouly be comprehended by a knowledge of the condition and surroundings of the common sailor in the past. In the United States, as in other countries, these have been such that the sailor, in maritime cities, has been dreaded by all other classes like a pestilence. Habitually dissipated and often riotous when on shore, abusing his physique to such a degree that a generation of common seamen has ordinarily passed out of existence in each twelve to fifteen years, it was the exception and not the rule, two generations since, when one of them could read or write. Thus, with both mental and moral powers unexercised, his position among his fellow men was, practically, that of an outcast. Satisfying evidence affords ground for belief that a change is taking place among these men, under the force of enlightened Christian effort, and in it these loan libraries are performing a most. salutary and important part. The interest felt in the society's work in other countries is shown by the gift to it in 1874 of £300 in gold, ($1,62G,) by the Countess of Ab- erdeen, in Scotland. This sum was forwarded to send out and to keep afloat, through the society, one hundred libraries in memory of her son, George, sixth Earl of Aberdeen, for more than three years a sailor on American vessels, and lost at sea, six days out from Boston, Mass., January 27, 1870, while first mate of the schooner Hera of that port. PENNSYLVANIA SEAMEN'S FRIEND SOCIETY. This society began its operations in the year 1861. Its work is akin to that of the sister society of New York, but with more reference, per- haps, to the supplying of vessels entirely manned by foreign sailors. It has, during the fifteen years of its existence, supplied sailors with more than 50,000 volumes of suitable books. Many entire libraries in the Danish, Swedish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Norwegian, and Russian languages have been sent out. In addition to this, ninety-four United States vessels, one naval asylum, and one naval hospital have been furnished with libraries by the society. CHAPTER XL COPYRIGHT, DISTRIBUTION, EXCHANGES, AND DUTIES. BY THE EDITORS. LkGISLATIOX respecting COPYIIIGHTS — DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMEXTS AT HOME — Exchange with foreigx goverxments — The Smithsoxian svstem of EXCHANGE — Legislation uespectixg duties on books lmpokted for public use. LEGISLATION RESPECTING COPYRIGHT. The first formal acknowledgment of copyright by law in America was an act of the State of Connecticut in January, 1783, followed, in March, 1783, by a law passed by Massachusetts for "securing to authors the exclusive right and benefit of publishing their literary pro- ductions for twenty-one years." These were local acts, confined to State limits. Tue Congress of the Confederation, May 27, 1783, recommended to the several States to secure to authors or publishers of new books the copyright of such books for not less than fourteen years. Virginia, in 1765, anil New York, in 1786, passed laws securing exclusive rights to authors. These rights were, of course, limited to the State within which the author resided. But when the Constitution which consolidated the States into a nation came to be formed, its fiamers incorporated into it a cause which forms the foundation of all the legislation of Congress on the subject and of all exclusive rights to literary property. This provision of the Constitution (art. I, sec. 8) confers upon Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their inventions and discoveries." The tirst legislation under this power was the act approved May 31, 1790, "An act for the encouragement of learn- ing, by securing the copies ot maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." The act of May 31, 1790, gave to the author (being a citizen of the Uu.ted States) of any book, map, or chart the sole right to print or sell his copyriglit work tor the tei ni of fourteen years. At the expiration of that time, the author, or his heirs, might extend the copyright four- teen years longer. Certain conditions were required for securing coi)y- rights, and penalties attached to their infringement. 279 280 Public Libraries in the United States. An act supplementary to this act to secure copyrights, approved April 29, 1802, extended the privilege of copyright to persons who should in- vent, design, etch, etc., any historical print or prints. The penalties for infringing on copyrights were increased, and persons professing to have secured a legal copyright but failing to comply with the required tiTms were subject to a fine of $100. The foregoing acts were repealed February 3, 1831, and by the act then passed the term of copyright was extended to twenty-eight years, with the privilege of renewal for the further term of fourteen years, on condition that the author, or his widow or children, should, within two months from the date of renewal, publish a copy of the record in one or more newspapers for the space of four weeks. Information must also be given of the copyright secured, by inserting in each copy of the book, niap, chart, etc., on the title-page or page following : " Entered according to act of Congress," etc. By act of August 10, 1816, it was directed that the author of any book, map, print, etc., for which a copyright was secured, should for- ward, within three months after publication, one copy each to the libra- rians of the Smithsonian Institution and Congressional Library, for the use of said libraries. By act of xVIarch 3, 1853, all book s, maps, charts, and other publica- tions entered for cop yright and required to be deposited in the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution were allowed to be sent through the mails free. The act of August 18, 1856, gave to the proprietor of any dramatic composition (coi)yrighted) -the exclusive right to print or ])erform it upon the stage during the whole period for ^hich the copyright was ob- tained ; the penalty for violation to be, for the first peiformance, $100, and for every subsequent performance, $50. By act of February 18, 18G1, appeals or writs of error are allowed from decisions of circuit couits in copyright cases to the Supreme Court of the United States, without regard to the amount in contro- versy. By act of March 3, 1805, photographs may be copyrighted upon the same conditions and to the same extent as prints and engravings. By act of July 8, 1870, all records and other things relating to copy- rights, and required to be preserved by law, were placed under the con. trol of the Librarian of Congress, to be kept and preserved in the Con. gressioiial Library, and the librarian is charged with the immediate care and supervision of copyright matter, and is required to perform all acts and duties touching copyrights which had previously been in charge of the clerks of the district courts of the United States. And further, no person is entitled to a copyright, unless he shall, before publication, deposit in the mail or deliver to the Librarian of Congress a printed copy of the title of the book or description of the article for which he desires a copyright, and within ten days of the publication Copyright, Distribution, Exchanges, and Duties. 281 thereof forward two copies of such copyright book or other article, addressed to the Librarian of Cougress ; and a copy of every subsequent edition wherein any substantial changes are mide. In default of such deposit in the Library of Congress, said proprietor is liable to a penalty of $25, to be collected by the Librarian of Congress in the name of the United States. No right of action for infringement of copyright can be maintained, unless the author shill have given notice, in the several copies of every edition of his copyright, by inserting the words "Entered according to act of Cougress," etc., or, at his option, the word " Copyright," to- gether with the year the co])y right was entered, and the name of the party by whom it was taken out. DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. In December, 1813, Congress ordered that a copy of the public jour- nals and documents of that and every succeeding Congress should be sent to each college, university, and historical society in the United States ; in 1814, the American Antiquarian Society, at Worcester, Mass., was added to the list ; in 1817, one set of State Papers was directed to be sent to each college and univers ity ; in 1819, a copy of Seybert's Sta- tistical Annals was to be sent to each university and college; in 1820, a copy of the journal of proceedings of the Convention which formed the Federal Constitution was directed to be sent to each college and university' ; in 1822, the returns of the fourth census were distributed to the same institutions; in 1828, a copy of the secret journals of the old Congress, of Pitkin's Statistics, and Seybert's Statistical Annals, to each State library, and to one incorporated athenfeum in each State; in 1830, a copy of the Diplomatic Correspondence of the Revolution to each institution and library before mentioned; in 1832, the returns of the fifth census and compilation of congressional documents, as before mentioned ; in 1833, Van Zandt's Statistical Tables, and Documentary History of the Revolution, were ordered distributed ; in 1834, similar distribution of the diplomatic correspondence from 1783 to 1789 was made; in 1841, a Catalogue of the Library of Congress, and the returns of the sixth census were distributed ; in 1844, maps and charts of the Survey of tlie Coast of the United States, as before mentioned, and to foreign governments; in 1815, the History of Oregon, California, and other Pacific Territories, as before mentioned ; in 1840, Little & Brown's edition of the Laws and Treaties of the United States, as before men- tioned, and to each navy yard ; in 1849, the Official Register for each year to each State and Territory; in 1845 and 1850, a copy of the Re- port of the Wilkes Exploring Expedition to each State and Territory then or thereafter to be organized ; in 1850, 300 copies of the Annals of Congress tp literary institutions and public libraries; in 1851, the works of Alexander Hamilton and of John Adams, a copy to each Department library, library of each State and Territory, and one copy each to 120 282 Public Libraries in the United States. colleges and literary institutions designated by the Committee on Li- brary; in 1834, a similar tlistribation of the works of Thomas Jefferson was ordered, 300 copies to colleges and literary institutions. Ill March, 1857, the Clerk of the House of Representatives was directed to furnish such pulilic library in the district of each Member and Delegate as be may designate, with the following works, to wit: Gales & Seaton's Register of Debates, Congressional Globe and Appen- dix, Public Land Laws, Instructions and Opinions, Elliott's Debates, Diplomatic Correspondence, O,)iuioiis of the Attorneys-General, in five volumes, Finance Reports, Gales & Seaton's Annals of Congress, John Adams's Works, Jefferson's Works, Hickey's Constitution, and Mayo & Moul ton's Pension and Bounty Laud Laws. In June, 1858, the compilation of congressional documents was ordered, under the head of American State Papers, to be continued to March 4, 1859, . . . TOO'copies to be placed in the Department of the Interior, for distribution to public libraries in the several States and Territories. Iq March, 18GI, one set of the Works of John Adams and four sets of the American State Papers were directed to be distributed to the insti- tutions described by law, on designation of the Members of Congress; it was also ordered that, of the American State Papers, . . . one copy be deposited and kept iu the State and territorial library of each State and Territory. In February, 18.G3, the Joint Comiliittee on Library was directed to distribute copies of the Writi ngs of James Madison, published by author- ity of Congress, . . . to libraries of the several States and Territories of the Union, and to such colleges and public libraries as the Committee on Library might desiguate. In June, 18Gl>, the Secretary of the Interior was directed to distribute the surplus copies of the American State Papers as follows: One copy of each of the seventeen volumes to such i)ublic and college libraries as the Joint Committee on Library may designate. la January, 1871, the Commissioner of Patents was directed to fur- nish a complete set of the specifications and drawings of the Patent Office to any public library which will pay for binding the same into vol- umes, to correspond with those in the Patent-Office, and will provide proper custody for the same, with convenient access to the public. In February, 1871, the Secretary of the Interior was directed to dis- tribute surplus public documents ou hand, to supply any loss or defi- ciency there may happen to be iu . . . State or territorial libraries. In May, 1872, copies of plates of the Official Gazette, of PateutOffico abstracts, of drawings of patents, etc., were diiected to be sent, one copy each, to eight such public libraries as each Senator, Member, and Delegate of Congress shall desiguate. In June, 1874, the Secretary of State was directed, at the close of every session, to distribute pamphlet copies of the acts and resolves of ^hat Congress, and afterwards copies bound, as follows : To all the Copyriglit, Distribution, Exchanges, and Duties. 283 Department libraries, . . . Military Academy, Naval Academy, Brook- lyn Naval Lyceum, Naval Institute at Charlestowu, Mass., and Smith- sonian Institution. In addition to the above, ten thousand pamphlet copies are to be distributed among the States and Territories, la pro- portion to the number of Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in Congress to which they are at the time entitled. There are 372 Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in the Forty- fourth Congres,«<. The number of institutions that have been designated under the law to receive regularly the public documents is 239, of which 111 are public libraries, lOS are those of colleges and academies, and 10 those of historical societies, as shown by the records of the Dcipart- ment of the Interior. There should be, therefore, 143 additional deposi- tories designated. One State and three Territories have each a greater number of depositories than the aggregate number of Senators, Repre- sentatives, and Delegates. New Hampshire has an equal number; Louisiana, with eight Senators and Representatives, has but one desig- nated depository, namely, the State University at Baton Rouge. In view of the fact that, so far as known, no library in the United States, neither the Library of Congress, that of any State or Territory, nor any other public library, contains a coihplete set of the public doc- uments of the General Government, it may be regarded as unfortunate thrit the provisions of the law are not availed of to the fullest extent. Fifty years hence it should not be as difficult for the student to find all the public documents of th6 present as it is for an investigator to-day to discover the recoids of a half century ago. The following are the provisions of law at present regulating the dis- tribution of public documents: The Secretary of the Interior is charojerl with receiving, arranging, and safe keeping for distribntion, and of distributing to the persons entitled by law to receive the same, all printed journals of the two Houses of Congress, and all other books and docu- uients of every nature whatever, already or hereafter directed by law to be printed or purchased for the use of the Jlovernment, except such as are directed to be printed or purchased for the particular use of Congress or of either House thereof, or for the par- ticular use* of the Executive or of any of the Departments, and any person whose duty it shall be by law to deliver any of the same, shall deliver them at the rooms assigned by the Secretary of the Interior therefor. The. publications received by the Secretary of the Interior for distribution shall be delivered out only on the written requisition of the heads of Departments, Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the House of Represeutatives, Librarian of Congress, and other officers and persons who are by law authorized to receive the same, except where by law the Secretary of the Interior is required, without such requisition, to cause the same to be sent and delivered ; and in either of such cases it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to cause the same to be sent and delivered, the expenses thereof, except when otherwise directed, to be charged on the contingent fund of the Department. The copies of journals, books, and public documents which are or may be authorized to be distributed to incorporated bodies, institutions, and associations within the States and Territories, shall be distributed to such bodies as shall be designated to the Secre- tary of the Interior by each of the Senators from the several States respectively, and by the Representatives in Congress from each congressional district, and by the Delo- 284 Public Libraries in the United States. gate from eaeh Territory. The distribution shall be made ia such manner that the quantity distributed to each congressional diatrict and Territory shall be equal; except that whenever the number of copies of any publication is lnsut3Qcieut to supply there- with one institution, upon "the designation of each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, the copies at the disposal of the Secretary may be distributed to such incorporated colleges, public libraries, atheu seums, literary and scientific insti- tutions, boards of trade, or public associations, as he may select. The selection of an institntion to receive the documents ordered to be published or procured at the first session of any Congress shall control the documents of the entire Congress, unless another designation be made before any distribution has taken place under the selection first made. Where the same v/ork is printed by order both of the Senate and House of Representatives, the duplicates may be sent to different institu- tions, if so desired, by the member whose right it is to direct the distribution. And the public documents to be distributed by the Secretary of the Interior shall be sent to the institutions already designated, unless he shall be satisfied that any such insti- tution is no longer a suitable depository of the same. Congressional jonruals and pub- lic documents, authorized to be distributed to institutions on the designation of mem- bers of Congress, shall be sent to such libraries and institutions only as shall signify a willingness to pay the cost of their transportation. So many copies of the public Journals of the Sauate and of the H )use of Represent- atives shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Interior to the executives of the several States and Territories as shall be sufficient to furnish one copy to each execu- tive, one copy to each branch of every State and territorial legislature, one copy to each university and college in each State, and one copy to the historical society incor- porated, or which shall be incorporated, in each State. Fifty copies of the documents ordered by Congress to be printed shall be used for the purpose of exchange in foreign countries; the residue of the copies shall be deposited in the Library of the United States, subject to the future disposition of Congress. Whenever there are in the custody of the D.epartment of the Interior any sets of the documents of any session of Congress, or other documents or odd volumes, not necessary to supply deficiencies or losses that may happen in the Library of Congress, or in that of either of the Executive Departments, or in State or territorial libraries, the Secretary of the Interior shall distribute the same as equally as practicable to the several Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in Congress for'diatributiou to public libraries and other literary institutions in their respective districts. All such books and documents, when received at the proper offices, libraries, and other depositories, as provided by law, shall be kept there and not removed from such places.i EXCHANGE VTLTK FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. By an act of July 20, 1840, the Librarian of Congress was authorized to exchange dapUcates in the library for other books or works ; and in the same manner to exchange documents. It was also ordered that thereafter 50 additional copies of documents printed by order of either house of Congress be printed and bound for the purpose of exchange with foreign countries. An act of March 4, 1840, directed the Librarian of Congress to pro- cure a complete series of reports of the United States courts and of the laws of tlie United States, and transmit them to the minister of justice of France, in exchange for works of French law presented to the United States Supreme Court. June 26, 1848, the Joint Committee on the Library was authorized to ' Revised Statutes of the United States, lfi7'6-'7i, pp. ti2, S3. Cojjy rigid, Distribution, Exchanges, and Duties. 285 appoint agents for exchange of books and public documents. All books transmitted through these agents of exchange, for use of the United States, for any single State, or for the Academy at West Point, or the National Institute, to be admitted free. A resolution of June 30, 1848, ordered that the Joint Committee on the Library be furnished with 25 copies of the Revolutionary Archives ; 25 copies of Little & Brown's edition of the Laws of the United States; 7 copies of the Exploring Expedition then published, and an equal number of subsequent publications on the same subject, for the purpose of international exchange. A joint resolution of March 2, 1849, directed that two copies of certain volumes of the Exploring Expedition be sent to the government of Rus- sia, in lieu of those which were lost at sea on their passage to that country. The Secretary of State was also directed to present a copy of the Exploring Expedition, as soon as completed, to the government of Ecuador. By the act of August 31, 1852, the act of 1848 regulating exchanges was repealed. August 18, 1856, the Secretary of State was authorized to purchase 100 copies each of Audubon's Birds of America and Quadrupeds of North America, for exchange with foreign governments for valuable works. March 2, 1867, it was ordered that 50 copies of all documents printed by either house of Congress, or by any Department or Bureau of the Government, be placed with the Joint Committee on the Library, to be exchanged for foreign works, which shall be deposited in the Library of Congress. In each succeeding year an appropriation has been made for the pur- pose of international exchange. THE SMITHSONIAN SYSTEM OF EXCHANGES. BY PROF. THEODORE GILL, M. D., PH. D. The want of some system of intercommunication between the socie- ties of this and other countries had long been felt, on account of the difficulty, as well as expense, attending the transmission of articles between them, and the scientific literature of neither was well repre- sented in any one place. The consequence was that discoveries were heralded as new, and species of animals, plants, and minerals described as previously unknown, when in fact they had been treated of years before. Attempts had been made from time to time to supply the want, and notable was that of M. Alexandre Vattemare, a Frenchman, who, about twenty-five years ago, advocated a system of interchange of publications and works generally between the governments and public institutions of Europe and America., Being adopted, the system was for a time and to 286 Piiblic Libraries in the United States. some extent successful, but it did not meet all the difiSculties. It, bow- ever, proved the feasibility of the task, and kept awake the desire to have in active operation such an interchanj^e. At this juncture, to sup- ply the want thus experienced, the Smithsonian Institution offered its services as a medium of exchange between the societies of America and Europe. Of course, the expense attending such an exchange must necessarily be considerable, and the Institution voluntarily incurred this expense, inasmuch as it thereby became instrumental in the increase and diffusion of knowledge. This expense was chargeable (1) to hire for clerical and laborers' work to be employed in the handling of the exchanges; (2) for the remuneration of agents in the centres of the Old World from which packages should be distributed to provincial parts; and (3) to carriers' charges. The carriers' charges have been, however, greatly diminished by the liberality of the several companies, and especially the great steam lines. In time, almost all of the oceanic steamers, (those between America and Europe, and those between the eastern and western ports of the continent,) extended facilities for transportation, either for a definite number of cubic feet of space or for an unlimited extent. The system adopted by the Smithsonian Institution was begun early in its history, and was in full activity as early as the year 1851; it very soon became the chief means of communication between the learned societies of America and Europe, and other parts of the world. It has gone through practically two phases of execution, one having regard to completeness of invoice and the other to speediness of inter- course. In lS5t and succeeding years, circulars were issued to the different societies and active scientific investigators in the United States ottering its services to them for the transmission of packages to Europe, and advantage was taken of the offer by a large number. The rules then adopted and since adhered to required (1) that all parcels should be delivered free of cost to the Institution in Washing- ton ; (2) that each one should be legibly addressed, and the name of the donor be also iner and diversity of such institu- tions may be dimly conceived when it is known that there are 2,000 out- side of America which are in communication with the Smithsonian In- stitution. By the favor of foreign countries, as well as of the United States, the custom dues are remitted on all exchanges made. through the Institu- tion. By the liberality of the numerous steamship lines, which grant free room for parcels thus forwarded, another large element of expense is eliminated. Thus many institutions in this and in foreign countrie which otherwise could not afltbrd the means of interchange, and co/ 288 Public Libraries in the United States. not overcome the difficulties whi«h would interveue in direct commuuica- tion, are beneficiaries of the system, and receive services which are not only gratuitous, but in part paid for out of the funds of the Institution ; the cost of the system being, of course, chargeable to every package which passes through its agency. The following tables, compiled from the annual reports of the Smith- sonian Institution, will give the data respecting the exports of books, &c., on its own behalf and that of others, to foreign institutions, (Table A,) and the returns from them to American institutions, (Table B.) In considering them, it must be recalled that the boxes are sent to several agents, each box containing packages for several societies, etc., (given under the heads " Addresses " and " Packages.") Some of these pack- ages contain, besides the exchange for the society itself, other pack- ages for its members, etc. ; hence the number of ultimately separable packages is very considerable. The European agent sends his packages as he receives them, and these may likewise severally contain a num- ber of inclosures for different persons ; much the smaller portion of these are for the Smithsonian Institution. The figures indicating the deposits in the library will give some idea of the aggregate. Table k.— Packages sent to foreign countries Tear. ll It -.3 11 -A 1 1 -si 11 Cm. ft. Lhs. 201 362 38-2 375 418 511 505 525 825 525 665 846 783 843 783 827 1,001 1, 129 1,569 1, 425 1, 432 1,544 1,856 500 572 625 526 825 1,251 965 913 2,7::5 1, 692 1,099 1,203 1,426 1,011 1,176 1,170 1,190 1,557 1,734 1,905 1,778 2,561 2,735 40 46 48 38 33 70 40 56 82 61 73 114 61 63 77 83 113 104 112 121 108 179 196 131 240 263 392 358 586 384 672 1,054 767 625 1,006 447 546 557 571 975 1,057 1,033 1,189 772 954 1,476 933 7,920 9,985 12, 230 9,791 10, 481 18, 271 14, 248 22,674 29,480 20, 029 16, 9.58 28, 836 10, 286 20, 500 18, 630 18, 050 22, 523 31, 171 €3, 376 31, 383 28, 950 26, 850 44,236 27, 990 jfj52 8,146 3,854 2,816 2,712 3,510 3,397 4, 425 5,337 3,130 3, 627 1,944 3, 316 3,462 2,563 4,137 6,016 6,054 5,220 6,481 7,730 lg53 $1, 600 00 1, 103 23 1(158 1, 600 00 2, 500 00 1S56 .^ 1, 500 00 1, 500 00 igeo - 2, 141 86 793 07 1,550 32 ]g6j 1,357 76 2, 753 76 1, 453 63 18G6 2, 009 33 1867 3,507 87 2,801 84 4, 860 94 1869 1870 4 165 62 Ir71 4, 201 50 18-a 5, 870 32 1873 ... 6 251 74 1874 5,589 89 Cojjyriffhf, Distrihidion, Exclianges^ and Duties. 280 1851. 1852. 1855. 185C. ia5>2 4, 3i6 470 i 549 j 1,481 1,440 I 926 j 1,037 1,356 I 555 I 723 j 1,022 ! 1,271 i 321 1,611 ; 910 j 823 767 i 1,243 ! 1,557 I 1,770 j 1,234 ; 1,113 I 936 i 1,262 8=9 ' 618 2, 1C6 991 1,468 1,707 1,834 1,067 1,695 2,540 4,180 1, 945 3,369 3.479 2,754 3, 256 4,509 3,946 3, 605 4,089 3,890 3, 579 4, 502 4,354 4. 521 196 ! 454 162 1,094 1,167 5, 336 2, 55() 2, 828 2,770 3, 330 1, 760 2, 540 3,60:? 5, 67t 2, 88i> 5, 03,> 4, 589- 3, 686. 4, 20C- 5, S7:t 5, 83 i 5, 509 5, 55o 5, 182 4,597 5. 962 5, 697 5, 546 Tbe regulations for the preparatiou of excbaages are uow as follows : 1. Every package, svitbont exception, must beeuveloped iu strong paper aud secured so as to bear separate trausportatioa by express or otherwise. 2. The address of tbe institutioii or individual for whom the package is intended must be written legibly on the cover, and the name of the sender on one corner of the same. 3. No single package must exceed the half of a cubic foot in bulk. 4. A detailed list of addresses of all the parcels sent, with their contents, must ac- company them. 5. No letter or other communication can be allowed in the parcel, excepting such as relates exclusively to the contents of the package. 6. All packages must be delivered in Washington free of freight aud other expoQ.ses. 7. Every parcel should contain a blank acknowledgment, to be signed and re- turned, either through the agent of the institution, or, what is still better, through the )nail, to the sender. Should exchanges be desired for what is sent, the fact should be explicitly stated on the list of the contents of the package. Much disappointment is frequently expressed at the absence of any return in kind for transmissions ; but un- less these are specifically asked for they will fail in many instances to be made. It 19 E 290 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. •will facilitate the work very greatly if tbe number corresponding to the several ad- dresses in the Smithsonian printed catalogue ^ be marked on the face of each parcel ; and for this purpose a copy of the catalogue will be forwarded to all who apply for it. Specimens of natural history will not be received for transmission unless with a previous understanding as to their character and bulk. 8. Unless all these conditions are complied with, the parcels will not be forwarded from the Institution ; and, on the failure to comply with the first and second conditions, will be returned to the sender for correction. LEGISLATION RESPECTING DUTIES ON BOOKS IMPORTED FOR PUBLIC USE. By act of July 4, 1789, a duty of 5 i)er cent, was imposed upon all imported books, maps, charts, and philosophical instruments, in common with nearly all other imported articles. August 10, 1790, books owned by persons coming to reside in the United States and philosophical apparatus especially imported for a seminary of learning were exempted from duty. April 27, 1816, all books, maps, charts, philosophical apparatus, statu- ary, paintings, drawings, etc., imported for literary purposes or for any seminary of learning, were declared free of duty. The act of May 22, 1834, imposed a duty on all books printed previous to 1775 ; also on all books printed in other languages than English, four cents per volume, except those printed in Latin and Greek, on which the duty was fixed at 15 cents per pound when bound, and 13 cents when unbound. On all other books, when bound, the duty was fixed at 30 cents per pound ; when in sheets or boards, 26 cents per pound. The act of May 19, 1828, provided that the duty oa imp )rted Greek and Latin books, printed previous to 1775, should not be more than four cents per volume. September 11, 1841, all books, maps, charts, philosophical apparatus, statues, engravings, paintings, drawings, specimens of natural history, etc., imported for the use of the United States, or by order and for use of any institution of learning, were d.'dared exempt from duty. The act of August 30, 1842, imposed a duty on all imported books printed in the English language, when bound, 3D cents i)8r poiini ; in sheets or boards, 20 cents per pound : Provided, that if any such book had been printed or published abroad more than one year and not re- published in this councry, or had baen printed and published abroad more than five years before such importation, the duty should be one- half the above rates. On books printed in other languages than English the duties were fixed as follows : On books printed in Latin and Greek, when bound, 15 cents per pound; unbound, 13 cents per pound ; books printed in flebrew,when bound, 10 cents per pound; unbound, eightcents per pound ; books printed in all other foreign languages, when bound or in boards, five cents per volume; when in sheets or pamphlets, 15 cent< per pound. The editions of works in the Latin, Greek, Bebrevv, or En- glish languagea which were printed forty years prior to the date of ' Miscellaneous Collections, No. 'i\'S. Copyright, Distribution, Exclianges, and Duties. 291 importation, to pay a duty of five cents per volume; all reports of legis- lative committees appointed under foreign governments, five cents per volume; [)olyglot8, lexicons, and dictionaries, five cents per pound; books of engravings, bound or unbound, and mips and charts, 21) {)er cent, ad valorem. Nevertheless books, apparatus, p.iintings, etc., im- ported in good faith for literary purposes and fjr use of institutions of learning, should be admitted free. July 30, 184G, a duty of 10 per cent, ad valorem was imposed on im- ported books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, etc., bound or unbound, and upon maps and charts. Th6 act of March 29, 1.S4S, remitted all duties upon books, maps, and charts, imported by authority of the Joint Library Committee of Con- gress for use of Congressional Library. June 25, 1848, it was enacted that all books transmitted through the agents of exchange for the use of the Gjvermaent of the United Spates, or of any government of a State, or of its legislature, or of any depart- ment of the Government of the United States or of a State, or of the Academy at West Point, or of the National Institute, shall be aduitced duty free. August 12, 184S, it was ordered that thereafter all books, maps and charts, apparatus, etc., imported in good faith for use of colleges, schools, or literary societies, should be free of dut^". The act of January 2G, 184!), provided that after June, 1849, all books, maps, charts, mathematical and nautical instruments, and i)hilo- sophical apparatus, imported for use of ihe United States, should be tree of duty. June 30, 1864, the duty on imported books, periodicals, patoph ets, blank books, bound or unbound, and all printed matter, engravings, illustrated books and papers, and maps and charts, was fixed at 2 ) par cent, ad valorem; and the duty on philosophictl apparatus and instru- ments imported for the use of any institution of learning at 15 per cent ad valorem. The act of July 14, 1870, still in force, oxem|)ts from duty all impDrted books which have been printed and manufactured more than twenty years. June 5, 1872, it was enacted that on and after August 1, 1872, the following imported articles shall be exempt from duty, viz : Bi)oks which shall have been printed more than twenty years from the dace of importation; books, maps, and charts imported by authjiity for the use of the United States or for the Library of Congress ; books, ma{»8, and charts specially imparted (not more than two copies in any oae invoice) in good faith for the use of any society, literary or religii)us, or by order of any college, school, or seminary of learning in the United States; professional books, the property of persons arriving in the United States; books, or libraries, or parts of libraries in use of per- sons or families from foreign countries, if used abroad by them not less than one year, and not intended for other persons, nor for sale. CHAPTER XIL STATE AND TERRITORIAL LIBRARIES. BY HENRY A. HOMES, LL. !>., Librarian New York State Library. OiUGIN AND EARLY HISTORY — GROWTH— StATB GRANTS — AiD BY GENERAL GOVERN- MENT — Exchanges — Present number and condition — Aims. The existence of libraries at the seats of government in ancient and modern times, is a tact so common as to indicate that there are reasons permanently operating which lead to their establishment. Beginning with the libraries of the kings of Assyria, carved on stone or clay, or of the Ptolemies at Alexandria, written on papyrus or parchment, we may trace government libraries forward through Constantinople and Home, till we find them flourishing as one of the chief glories of the capitals of modern Europe. The example of the Old World could not be rapidly followed in the N^ew. Ill America, under the administr5,tion of foreign gov^ernors, ruling over colonies in the spirit of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there was little to favor the growth of libraries in connection with the govern- ment. In the British North American colonies, it was not till after the lievolution, and more than thirty years after the formation of the Constitu- tion of the United States, that any general tendency was manifested to establish libraries as a constituent part of the State system. There were, indeed, in the older States collections of the laws and legislative proceedings of the State, preserved in one or two legislative libraries, for whi<}h librarians were chosen each session, and intended solely for the use of the members of the legislature. There were, moreover, in the offices of the governors and of the heads of departments, books pur- chased on account of temporary official necessities, or which had been presented by sister States or foreign governments or individuals, which, having accumulated, waited for some special care to be exercised to render them available for public use. These collections became most naturally the foundation upon which to organize State libraries ; yet other causes to which we shall presently refer operated to give a definite impulse to the measure. As to the fact that such collections existed, the records of Pennsylvania show that there was a library at its capital as early as 1777, and resolutions respecting it were passed in 1781. New Hampshire also has claims to the posses- sion of one before the Revolution. Probably when the records of the 292 State and Territorial Libraries. 293 older States come to be examined with this point in view, each of them will be able to supply documentary evidence of the early existence of such collections, which were occasionally referred to as the library of the State. That of Pennsylvania was not formally established till 1816, when three libraries at the state-house were by a law incorporated into one ; nor was the libraryofN^ewHampshire organized till L8L8. Tennessee, a compara- tively new State, is reported to have had a library of 8,0(^0 volumes at its capital, without any evidence to show that it had been created by law ; for it was not till 1854 that its legislature voted to establish a State library. Vermont, in providing for a librarian in 1825, required him to take charge of all the books and documents then existing in the state- house. These instances are sufficient to illustrate the fact of the accu- mulations of books at the capitals previous to the definite organization of the State library. The most noticeable of the causes which led to their formation was a resolution of the State of Massachusetts in 1811, requesting its secre- tary of state to correspond with the proper officer of the several States for the purpose of securing an annual exchange of statutes for the use of the executiv^e and legislative departments and to offer three sets to each of the States that should agree to forward their statutes in return. The proposition was favorably received, and then commenced the sys- tem of exchanges now existing between the States which created the foundations of State libraries. Yet it was not till 1826 that even Massachusetts established a State library " for the use of the legisla- ture;" the act required the collection from the public offices into one place, and the purchase of " such books, maps, and charts, works of science and the arts as may tend to illustrate the resources and means of internal improvement of the Commonwealth or of the United States.^' The plan of Massachusetts was forwarded, and a further impetus given by a law of Congress of December 27, 1813, ordering one copy of each of the journals and documents of Congress to be given to the executive department of each State. South Carolina had a legislative library in 1814. New York estab- lished a library in 1818, declaring that its object was to found " a pub- lic library for the use of the government and of the people of the State," and it has since that time continued annually to make appropriations for its enlargement. Ohio owed the creation of its library, in the same year with that of New York, to the action of Governor Worthington, who purchased, in 1817, in Philadelphia, with the money of the contingent fund, a large number of books, and on his recommendation, the next legislature organized a library. The period from 1SI6 to 1819 included the organization of five State libraries, in Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the whole number of States bei\)g twenty-two. Between 1824 and 1829, seven libra- ries were created, — in Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Vermont, and Virginia, — with twenty-four States in the Union From 1836 to 1840, eight State libraries were established. 294 Public Libraries in the United States. No period has been so remarkable for the increase of State libraries, and of the number of books in them, as that of the last twenty-five years. During this time, one State after another has adopted the poli- cy, until at the present moment there is such alibrarj'^ in every State and Territory. The Territories organized within the last thirty years have been provided on their organization with such libraries. Congress ap- propriated $5,000 in 1836, for the purchase of a library for Wisconsin Ter- ritory "for the useof the legislature and the supreme court." The Terri- tory of Oregon had an appropriation from Congress in 1848, of like amount, for the same purpose. In 1850 N^ew Mexico received an appro- priation of $5,000, and in 1854 $500 additional, for her territorial library ; which in 1853 numbered about 2,000 volumes, comprising the standard text books on the various branches of common and civil law and eQuity, the reports of the United States and the State courts and the codes of the several States and Territories, besides a number of congressional docu- ments. The library then contained the manuscript records of the Terri- tory, dating back more than three hundred years. This collection of records is probably the oldest in the United States.^ Indeed it came to be the rule to appropriate in the act organizing a territorial government funds for the purchase of a library. It was a recognition by the most enlightened body in the nation of the value and necessity of a library for the welfcire of new communities, that they might be developed and sustained under wise laws. With the accumulation of books at the capitols and state-houses, as the result of their interchanges of statutes and the journals of the leg- islatures^ the necessity of a library organization for their control was still further impressed upon the minds of the legislators by the resolu- tions of South Carolina in 1844, which were communicated to the States, proposing an additional exchange, that of the reports of the judicial decisions of each State. The proposition has been accepted by all the States. Among the causes operating to stimulate the development of State libraries, the disinteres-ted and zealous exertions of Alexandre Vatte- mare, of France, should not be overlooked. His addresses and appeals, made personally to the legislatures of many of the States, in favor of international exchanges of State publications and duplicate works with the states and cities of Europe, awakened a hopeful readiness to carry out his special plans, aud stimulated measures for the increase of State libraries. Washington Irving declared the scheme to be "worthy of the civilization of the age," especially on account of its teudevncy to ger- minate libraries promptly and without loss. Sixteen States accepted the obligations and expenses of this system of international exchanges, in a greater or less degree. The management was conducted at Paris, by M. Vattemare, until his death, which occurred in 1864. ' El Grin«fo ; ur, New Mexico aud her People. By VV. H. H. DavitJ. New York : Har- per Bros., lHo7. State and Territorial Libraries. 295 Tlie plaa did not coatiaue to be sustained, during the whole of this period, by all of those States that enj?a|7,O0O; a fee of $5 is taxed upon each commission issued by the governor, and $5 is deducted from the compensation of each member of the legislature and paid into the library fund. In Nevada, the library fund is derived in part from fees paid in the public offices and from licenses to attorneys to practice. In some of the States a portion of tlie fund comes from the sale of volumes of the statutes and law- reports. The increase from exchanges consists of the official publications of the 296 Public Libraries in the United States. United States and of the forty-six States and Territories with each other. The provinces of the Dominion of Canada enter into the system of exchange with some of the States in a liberal spirit. These exchanges add several hundred volumes each year, although all of the States are not equally uni- form in sustaining the system. Massachusetts, New York, and Penn- sylvania report that they have exchanges with all the States and Terri- tories. It is the custom of some States to place at the disposal of the authorities of the library an additional number of copies of its publica- tions, for exchanges with societies and individuals at home and abroad. The increase from gifts, irrespective of exchanges, has not as yet been large from any one person, but the aggregate of the donations annually made by the citizens is considerable. It averaged for the last four years for the State of New York 250 volumes a year, exclusive of pam- phlets and gifts from societies. The proportion of the library funds devoted to purchases for the law departments is in most of the States from one-quarter to one-half of the whole amount ; of course varying in successive years according to cir- cumstances. The proportion of books in the law departments is from one sixth to two-thirds of the whole number. When State documents are included in the count with the lawbooks, it of course swells the number in that department, and in the same measure reduces the num- ber counted in the general library. In some States the la w library is recognized as a branch of the State library, and has its separate apart- ment. In Texas and Indiana the law library is the library of the sn. preme court. The proportion of books of law to those of all other classes is gradually changing, and the libraries are becoming more com- prehensive in their character with time and the increase of the States in wealth and population. It was natu rally one of the first objects of a State library to provide works of reference on law, as the courtrooms of the highest courts in the State are at the capitoIs, and both the judges aiyl the advocates being separated from their own libraries derive the greatest advantage from them. In Wisconsin and Iowa the purchases of books are almost entirely for the law libraries, but the legi>rarian of Minnesota reported, in 1S60, that out of a large number of volumes which had been regarded as lost, two hundred of them had been recovered in a single jear by faithful exertions. They had disappeared under the "order system-^ chiefly. The librarian's report for Pennsylvania for 1873 refers to a time when the library suffered from that "order system which was iu vogue for a few years, and which of itself would deplete any library in this or any other community." The " order system" relerred to is a custom which not unnaturally springs up in the useof a library, though it may not be provided for in the regulations, by which those who enjoy the exceptional privilege of drawing books give an order to a friend or an acquaintance to draw a book in their name or on their responsibility. On account of frequent loss of books from this usage, Pennsylvania has prohibited the acceptance of such orders by the librarian. Tennessee, for the same reason, in 1871 forbade the librarian to receive any* orders for books to be taken out by others than those legally authorized. In 1857, the commissioner of the Vermont library having reported an " immensely large list of missing volumes," the legislature imme- diately placed the library uoder tlie control of trust ees, and in fourteen years the library had trebled in size. Ohio specifically declares in her laws that whoever, being a privileged person, gives an order to any other person not having such privilege, shall forfeit all right to take books from the library. The number of volumes in all the State and territorial libraries, not including pamphlets, according to the latest returns, is 833,219. Within twenty-five years the number has nearly quadrupled. In the same period in Euroi>e the ten principal libraries have doubled their number of volumes, an increase still greater than in our own libraries if we consider their great size at the beginning of the period. The interest taken in these institutions in our own as well as in foreign lands is illustrative at tbe same time of the intellectual activ- ity and the material enterprise of tbe age. If the number of volumes had simply been doubled instead of being quadrupled in twenty-five years, it would have still constituted a very gratifying increase. Con- sidering how recently they became States, the readiness of some of the Western States to build up strong libraries surpasses the^zeal of others at the East. The libraries are very unequal in size, beginning with the thousand volumes of the librar^-^ of a newly organized Territory, till we reach one of 95,000 — that of the State of New York. Ten of the whole number have over 30,000 volumes each. The size of the library depends in part upon the length of time it has been organized, in part upon the popula« tion and wealth of the State, and in part upon the vicinity of other large libraries. It is esi>ecially worthy of notice that only four of the 300 Public Libraries in the United States. State libraries are iu cities baving a population of over fifty thousand, accordiug to the census of 1870. Of the forty-six State and territorial libraries, therefore, it follows that forty -two of them are iu rela- tively small citi.es. Yet as the State capitals are the most central towns of the State for facility of access to the citizens, and are the towns most frequently visited hy them for purposes of business, institutions of the character which State libraries should aspire to become, can nowhere else be more properly established for their highest utility and security. At the centres of population in the great cities, large and rapidly increasing libraries are already estab- lished. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and. Washfngton, at the East, rival each other in their libraries of reference; while Chicago, Cincin- nati, St. Louis, and San Francisco at the West, give promise of a worthy competition. But their enlargement from the outset is in be- half of all the wants possible to the human mind, and they have not the special aims of a State library; while as our capitals are destined with the lapse of years to become large centres of population, like the capi- tals of Earoi)e, they have the same motives to be also comprehensive in their additions to their libraries as have the cities we have mentioned. Where the capitol is in a city already possessing large libraries, it is feasible to build up its State library in directions suited to its more spe- cific aims. The Massachusetts State library, having already in the vi- cinity of its State-house libraries containing an aggregate of about 800,000 volumes, may wisely leave the purchase of books on science, art, and literature, to those libraries, and limit its own purchases to State history, political economy, and legislation, and thus avoid duplicating the works already collected in those libraries. But where the popula- tion is one which has lately settled, and there is no other library of ref- erence within the State, there is no lin)it to the branches of knowledge from which books may be selected, except the want of funds with which to purchase, or the decision of the authorities. When we reflect upon the late rapid development of the State libra- ries, the character of the books collected, and the interest with which they are cherished by the people, their condition is one of great encour- agement. The deficiencies in the largest of them in every branch of knowledge are recognized by their friends, and they only wait for op- portunities to fill them up. And if in any of the older States there is a backwardness to appreciate their claims and their importance, the ardor manifested by the younger njembers of the family of States to build up the State library will not be without its effect to stimulate them to similar enterprise. AIMS- After this brief view of th« origin and condition of our State libraries, it remains to consider in the remaining observations their aims, com- bining some practiciil reflections on their administration and enlarge- State and Territorial Libraries. 301 ment. There" may be uothing io these remarks which has not beea ex- pressed on different occasions by the ofiScers of State libraries, yet there certainly will be an advantage in grouping these views together. Our State libraries come into view first in order of time prominently as libraries of the statutes, journals of the legislatures, and State docu- ments. As regards the aim of a State library in this branch of its col- lections, it cannot fail to be remembered that these libraries are the only places in each State where it can be supposed that an untiring assiduity will be exercised to secure complete sets of all the publications of the State, and, as far as possible, of the several States. In the apartments called the senate and assembly libraries of s uch States as retain them, only the sta tutes of the State and the later journals and documents of the legislatures are preserved. It is impossible to keep the sets com- plete under a system where the librarian is chosen solely for the actual session of the legislature, and has hardly time to become acquainted with his library, or to learn that a deficiency exists, except from inqui- ries made after an absent volume. It requires the most watchful exer- tions to make the sets of State publications tolerably complete. It has been affirmed that there is not a State in the Union, unless it may be a State lately admitted, which is in possession of a complete set of its own publications. In 1858 Ohio did not possess one, and Vermont did not in 1871. Massachusetts reports that some of the papers known to have been printed by the State are hopelessly lost. No libraries except State libraries will collect with any perseverance the documents of the other States. In view, therefore, of the frequency, even within the short period of our nation al existence, of the destruction of libraries by fire^ and in view of the occasional calain ity of war, it is under a system of exchanges existing between States, more surely than in any other way, that each State has a chance for the complete preser- vation of its official history d uring a succession of centuries. Although forty-six States and Territories maybe co-operating simultaneously in preserving the same documents of each State, the accidents of time will continually be reducing the number of sets existing ; and how few com- plete sets, if any, would remain at the end of three hundred years i Frequently only unique co[)ies are found to exist of works which three centuries since were printed to the extent of thousands of copies. Of ninety-six of the works printed by Caxton four hundred years since, thirty-five of the extant copies are unique. How many of these laws and debates at the end of a similar period would be extant to testify to the facts of the history of each State ? A State library will, of course, make it one of its special aims to col- lect works on American history in general just so far as the means at its disposal will admit. But of all the purposes for which it exists, none responds so directly to the wants of the largest number of the citizens of a State as to aim to collect all the materials accessible to illustrate the history of the State, its counties, its to ns, and its citi- 302 PuhUc Libraries in the United States. zens. The anthorities of the librnry will therefore be attentive to se- cure all local histories and biographies, manuscript collections of the papers of its eminent citizens, the official proceedings of all counties and towns, reports of all societies, charitable, commercial, manufactur- ing, military, and secret, and as many of the newspapers printed in the State as can be obtained, with its almanacs, and business and town di- rectories. To these will naturally be added works in science and the arts which relate more particularly to the productions of the State. An honorable historic consciousness will be promoted by securing works of merit of all kinds written by citizens of the State. Much might be said regarding the value of the different classes of books just mentioned, a value which grows with successive years. We will, however, single out from amongthemfor particular notice the clavSS of newspapers. For many towns and counties they are the only p^rinted record of the earliest facts of local history. Their value in libraries is already recognized in our Western States. The Indiana State Library receives twenty-eight newspapers as an annual gift; Minnesota w'as receiving forty in 18G2, and Ohio receives twenty-eight. The New Jer- sey library invites donations of the same kind. There can be little doubt that the publishers of a large proportion of the newspapers ot any State would preserve and give to the State the file of each year, on the single condition that it should be promptly bound and made accessi- ble to the public. It would be equitable and useful to provide by stat- ute that each publisher sending a newspaper should receive a copy of the laws of the session. It would also be a beneficial measure that the librarians of town and incorporated libraries should be required, by statute, to send a copy of their annual and other printed reports and printed catalogues to the library of the State. The documents would thus be permanently preserved, would give publicity to the existence and character of the libraries, and facilitate the prep.iration of tables of statistics of all the libraries of the State. Town directories and guides, after the lapse of a year, can be obtained at almost no expense, and when a series of a few decades of years has bsen collected, the experience of libraries shows that they are very fre- quently referred to as indispensable iu many historical researches. Unique calleations, such as the minuscript papers of governors antl other State officers, memorials of early set tiers and prominent citizens, are to be souglit for, both for their intrinsic value as records of the past, and also for the distinction the possession of them gives to the library beyond that of its printed volumes. It might be provided by law wilh advantage to the public that the heads of departments could transfer to the custody of the State library manuscripts not wanted in their departments as matters of record, but the preservation of which might be desirable for historical reference. The legislature of Xew York, in 1817, passed a resolution directing the State and Territorial Libraries. 303 secretary of state to deliver to the State library all such docainents of historic interest relative to and connected with the annals of the State "as he might deem desirable and proper to be so transferred." The State librarian, under proper regulations, might become keeper of the rolls and records of the State and of all documents of early dates that should be transferred to the library from any department. It would be a wise undertaking ior eacli library to aim to enrich itself by selectiug one or two subjects, which should not be of too great scope, and making a special collection of books on those subjects. The topics might be such as the writings and memorials of an eminent author, a branch of mining, the telegraph, and the like. Persons interested in such topics would soon learn of the existence of one place where they cjuld depend upon finding everything written upon these subjects. A State library should be abundantly supplied with the means of furnishing teachers of schools, town library committees, and librarians, with information regarding the character of books desirable to be pur- chased. All forms of guides to reading, guides in the selection of books and comprehensive catalogues of select books should be secured, and the librarian should qualify himself to aid in that direction. The de- partment of instruction of Illinois has this year published a very valu- able list of books with ex[)lanatory notes, as a guide in the selection of books for school districts and town libraries.^ It is a good example of a part of the work to be done, and of the kind of aid which may be giveu in connection with each State library. The expense must be incurred afresh and continually of purchasing the latest editions of encyclopedias, annual registers, and statistical works generally, as rapidly as they are published, notwithstanding earlier editions are upon the shelves of the library. In matters con- necte I with legislation and for all researches, the freshest statistics and reports are alone satisfactory to the investigator. The earlier editions do not become useless ; they will always serve to mark the development of thought and the progress of science up to the date when they were published, and they contain information excluded from new encyclope- dias by the pressure of fresh materials. It will be readily conceded that a State library should possess all works pertaining in any way to the history of the State ; for it is e.ideut that the productions of the press of each State illustrate m m iny ways its history, being usually the work, either intellectually or materially, of its own citizens. Any reasonable method of secur- ing one copy of each of such publications for the State library is worth considering. At present two copies of every article for which a copyright is demanded, must, by law, be deposited in the Library of Congress. Might it not as well be provided that one of these two copies should be deposited in the State library of the State in which it 'Ciciiliir No. 31, Department of Public luatiuction, Spriugfield, 111., December 25, 1 :74, p. 13:5. 304 Public Libraries in the United States. is published ? It can hardly bs a necessity that two copies of each publication should be retained in the same library, one for use in the library, and the other for the sole purpose of keeping the material record of copyrights complete. It is probable that at the end of a long period of years, a much larger number of these publications would be in existence as a record of the past if they had been officially preserved in two places than if they had only been preserved in one, thus depend- ing for their safety upon a single contingency. The convenience of access to the public, the reasonable claims of the State in which the work originates, the benefit to authors and publishers, and its advan- tages for the completeness of State history, — all these motives recom- mend the plan as preferable to the existing arrangement. During the last year, 14,000 articles were copyrighted at the Library of Congress, making, at two copies each, 28,000 articles deposited in the Library. The deposit in the library of the State in which the work is ])ublished of one-half of this gross number, by the publishers, or by the Librarian of Congress, would both relieve the National Library of what is now, in many respects, an incumbrance, and work greatly to the advantage of each State. The trustees of the New York State Library made a similar sug- gestion in 1858, asking for the passage of a law requiring " authors who obtain a copyright of their works, to deposit a copy in the State library of the State in which such copyright was entered." This suggestion was made before the late change in the law of the United States. Just so far as it is evident to an observing public that the books and manuscripts in a State library are guarded with a scrupulous care for their safety, it may be expected that it will be preferred by generous citizens before other institutions as the one to which they will be glad to bequeath their libraries, or to give or intrust on deposit manuscripts and works of value. At the da te when the British Museum contained 514,000 volumes, 218,000 of them had either been bequeathed or pre- sented to it. These donors have thus acquired a more enduring and honorable fame for their names than they would have secured by the erection for themselves of costly mausoleums. The disposition of our men of wealth to endow public institutions at their death or during life is so prevalent among us as to be the source of just pride. Trustees of libraries, sensible of the importance of such collections, can hardly avoid directing the attention of citizens to this method of rendering their wealth useful to their country. But in speaking of the condition of our State libraries, we have referred to the fact that in the early stages of organization scrupulous care for the safety of the books was not exercised, atid the libraries suffered frequent and large losses. This evil has, however, been already remedied in most libraries by providing for a more etficieot supervision, and for more stringency in the regulations regarding the loan of books. The relaxation of tliese regulations should not be left to depend upon the discretion or good will of the librarian, but should be controlled for special State and Territorial Libraries. 305 cases by the superior autborities. It seems like an unjustifiable disre- gard of the interests of a library that a book, either unique or of great value, perhaps the gift of a citizen, should be delivered into the hands of a total stranger. Any gentleman, informed by the librarian of the circumstances, would feel the propriety of making himself known to him through an introduction from another person. Of course the public has at all times the freest access to the apart- ments of a State library ; and one evidence which it can give to those who might be disposed to be donors to it of the security of the books deposited there, is that the cases are protected with wire or glass doors and locked. In Ohio the cases have glass doors ; in Xew York they have wire doors ; in Massachusetts the front of the alcoves is closed with glass. The advantage of extending the protection to each case instead of to the alcoves is, that it gives to the visitor the privilege ot access to the alcoves and of reading the titles of the books. It is as important to keep books safely as to purchase good ones. The person in charge of the library of the British Museum has the significant title of " keeper" of the books. State libraries exist for the benefit of the whole State, and the ex- penditure for them is from the treasury of the State. As they are not designed for the special advantage of the cities where they are situated, it is not a part of their object to provide the current literature for the convenience of the citizens. It would be an undesirable result if, by great facilities of this kind, the inhabitants of the capital should be backward in establishing free public libraries for themselves, or if they should be drawn away from sustaining by their contributions ex- isting social and subscription libraries. Works of fiction and light literature will naturally have the smallest place in a State library, unless the means at the disposal of the trustees should be- abundant enough to make a collection of all works by A mericau authors, as part of the history of the country. The function of selecting the books to be purchased is an important one. The relative value for reference purposes of a book proposed, whether ancient or modern, is the prominent point to be considered. It is comparatively easy to select the most obviously indispensable refer- ence books, and those relating to State history. With the present state of things, in a majority of these libraries, modern works, whether in history, science, or general literature, will be inquired for a hundred times where a work of more ancient date will be inquired for once. It is true that the need for works of all classes, periods, and languages is sure to be felt after the usual changes in the character of the popu- lation and the increase of wealth in the State, — already the capitals of at least twenty of the States are the seats of universities, colleges, or professional schools. But wheu the purchases first enumerated ha\ e been made, there may be a very limited fund remaining from the State appropriation ; hence the services of persons capable of making that 20 E 306 Public Libraries in the United States. sslectiou of books which ou the whole, in view of the moderate means at coinmand, will be the most useful, are of great importance. We must recognize that the selection is to be made from a list of works which^ besides including the millions of books printed in past years, is increas- ing in all languages at the rate of more than thirty thousand annually. It is a task of great responsibility, involving many perplexing questions j and as the productions of the press are likely to increase in the same, if not greater, ratio in coming years, and certainly in greater proportion in the United States, the necessity of discriminating judgmeutin making purchases presses with stronger force. A man of education and culture acting as librarian, with an experience of several years, ought to be com- petent to suggest to his trustees the books w4iich it would be most desir- able to place on the shelves of the library. Receiving from them general principles to guide him in his selections, he should make to them regular reports of his proceedings, and thereupon may receive special instruc- tions. With this mode of co-operative support, he could not fail to make satisfactory purchases from the various sources of supply. This remark does not apply to a purchase involving a large sum. The trustees and librarians are in a very favorable position for obtaining the aid of the best minds in the State to furnish lists of books desirable to be pur- chased in special departments. Experience in his profession, a protracted connection with the library^ and a genuine love of books, enhance the value of a librarian's services ; and make it essential for the best interests of the library, that his rela- tions to it should not be interrupted for mere political considerations. Practically the long continuance of a librarian in his office in the serv- ice of the State is more likely to be cut short by his withdrawal on account of an insufficient salary. In all that we have hitherto said of the aims of State libraries, the pur- pose has been to specify such as relate to them peculiarly, as compared with other libraries, and in their comparatively incipient and undevel- oped state. We have not and could not overlook their higher and more general object, which can be no less than to collect and preserve for the present and future use of their communities whatever can be obtained of the printed or manuscript record of what man has thought and done in past ages, and of what he is now doing. Books are the chief monu- ments of the operations of the human intellect. In the language of Milton, " Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them, to be as active as that soul was whoss progeny they are< ... A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit^ embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life." In the spirit of this thought, we affirm that the general aim of a State library should be regarded as being as comprehensive as the whole range of human knowledge, and should therefore include collections as complete as may be in all history, pbilosophy, science, and art. It is not going bej'oml what we have a right to hope for, that State State and Territorial Libraries. 307 libraries sbould also have, in a separate department, museums of history, natural history, and archfe3logy, embracing medals, coins, scul[)ture, armor, models of inventions, and i)ortraits. That which has been an exceptional incident in the history of some of these libraries might well become the rule for all of them. The cost of the library and of its museums, gradually enlarged during a long succession of years, is as nothing compared to their utility. The impressions received in studying such collections may frequently determine a citizen upon a course of study and investigation that shall benefit the world and redound to the honor of the State. It is too true that the great majority among us are at present chiefly engrossed by the necessities or the temptations of material industry. But it will not always be so. With the progress in mechanical inventions and in scientific appliances, the accumulations of wealth will be rapid. There will soon be a population of millions in most of the States. Fam- ilies will enter upon life in the enjoyment of the rewards of industry, having an abundance of leisure. There will be an ever increasing number, eager to compare the wisdom of the past with that of their own times, eager to trace the steps by which their State has risen to its eminence, and to seek truth and knowledge for their own sakes. It should not be regarded as a mere dream of the future to expect that the hundreds of millions who will be living one day under the protection of our institutions may surpass in intellectual character and culture the highest forms of Athenian life, and that this culture will be l);irticipated in, not merely by an aristocracy, but by the whole mass. Even within a few score years a people will inhabit our plains who will judge of us and of the degree of our civilization by the provision we had made for them in laying broad and deep the foundations of both libraries and museums. If in monarchies these institutions have been the most useful and the richest boon from kings to their subjects, why should republican governments, acting for the people, be less for- ward to endow their capitals with such valuable monuments of civili- zation! We may reasonably hope that the representatives of the peo- ple will be so sensible of the grandeur of their mission that they will be ready to support such institutions. They would not be on a basis more broad than is the existing British Museum. Each would easily be managed by the same trustees, in the same manner as is the Library and Museum of ^STatural History of the State of New York. States are most competent to effect in such schemes what individuals and societies cannot afford, to do, except in a limited degree ; and even when the latter attempt it, they do not always assure exemption from loss or destruction of the treasures under their charge. In carrying out these general aims, particularly as regards the library, its character will be naturally shaped by its trustees, in view of the situation of its capital, the peculiar manufactures, products, and com- merce of the State, and the funds at their disposal. These trustees, in 308 Public Libraries in the United States. their zeal, and as intelligent friends of the libraries, may, at times, con- template with feelings of disappointment the fact that the collections are not used in proportion to their value; that the multitude are so en- grossed with industrial and commercial occupations or pleasures that the library, however well supplied with books, and however choice its treasures, is not frequented for scientific or historical research as they think it should be. In these circumstances they must console them- selves with the thought that, besides the present good which they are accomplishing, they are accumulating a wealth of information, for which coming generations will be grateful when the demands of material industry shall be less pressing. The value of these libraries is both imme- diate and prospective. They are not to be tried by the present amount of use which is made of them, or the absolute need which is felt for them, but by the good which they augur for the future, when each capital is the seat of government of a State containing millions of inhabitants, many of whom will be interested in the completeness of the history of their State, its lands, its towns, its distinguished citizens, and when its most cultivated men are resorting to them to enjoy intercourse with the best minds of all ages. They are now but the centers around which are to be collected the records of the- past and the future, whose value is to be enhanced in proportion to their completeness. In the days of the llomau republic its first public library was estab- lished in the temple of liberty. Our State capitols are our temples of liberty, in which it well becDmes the representatives of the people to sustain sucli an institution as the State library, not merely in behalf of material ends and legislative necessities, but for the cultivation and de- velopment of the most serious studies and the highest thought on themes of science and of social and political life. State and Territorial Libraries. 309 cc tc :;: cc J 55 J ^ ce 2 "5 — M 5 S |c ■2 ^ I S I 1 5 3 I i j: J3 — aw a tL] w w j5 ^ ^ 2 S W WWW ,=. j=. ^ ^ o o t- a w w " w - -2 s- « 3- = s o III 2 I I s c 2 •^ <; =5 o ... *- a — ° I tc _. 3 M a - 5 = o ;2 <-. 5 = It I I o o a a g 5! 5c tt S « i M a -= ~t. .-^ 'f. -t. -f. ^ n-f. -f. •«aiTin]OA JO J3(imn;ij I I 0000 %." % 2 S CI (H •uiSuo JO 8}Ba ^ J2 g 1 \ 1 = i ^ i 1 c 1 z \ < < c a i Colorado Denver Connecticut Hartford Dakota Yankton Delaware Dover c < : : '. : < II til •1 ■= =5-5 5 • ; ■ 5 ; '. '. ; 'Z '. ' i 1 1 1 ^ )5 5 ■? 3 s K.3 310 Fiibllc Libraries in the United States. llegulations as to exchanges. t -% 1 I i 1 s ■2 1 1 H 1 1 w I B •A Exchanges with States. Exchanges with States and Territories. Exchanges with States and Territories, and with Canada; with historical societies and public libraries. Ti^YplifmiTPH with States niid Ten-itiiiiea. 1 Exchanges with Slates and several foreign goverumeuts. Exchanges with States. 1 .2 2 !! f \ 11 1 1 < -^ S 1 II M M as : a = o ^ <1 13 1 Sill ; ri 1 !:it : ^i :lMilli ill 2a»osoP.M aej;^. Oh 6h 5: -I) i § 1 1 1 1 1 1 i ! i ; m . ; Hll lis! 1 -.1 § « C3 g i 1 i :3 J " 5 a 3 i £ : J : 1 ^ ■ c ^ 40, 000 37, 0(J0 39, 88(i 10, 000 10,000 13, 000 550 13, 133 9,600 13, 500 20, 000 4, 500 95, 000 40, 000 Lot^aNi i ill i i i i i ii 1 1 1 I S < \ 1 1 J 3 :s 1 is -; 3 1 5 ? 3 i ■ = ^ 1 ^ 3 i IS 5 li^ 1 1 1 C. 1 1^ 1 1 1 1 -3 1 Sta^e and Territorial Libraries. 311 ii i; S i; i; 2. Z S z z m m '^ r. -x. 9- ? bC tic -J. «.■ =1 tC S£ := tC cS = ^ ^ =^ ^ ^ ^ 5 ti =5 ir. u — tc to — Pd &d &q u pq a s ■ a sq aj i5 o o a = CC M M 75 M 13 .111. - 2-2 & & 5 S: t- o o g 3 O -T O - J = J 5. = :c =5 S, 5 >5 < X Nils - si CHAPTER XIII. HISTORICAL SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES. I.— HEXRY A. HOMES, LL.I)., Lilrariayi Xeoj York State Library. II.— W. I. PLETCHER, Asshianf Li'jrarim Watkiasoa Library, Hartford, Conn. III.— THE EDITORS. I.— HISTORY AXD COXDITIOX. Early History — Number and importance — Oh.jects — Characteu axd extent of COLLECTIONS — Impetus given to historical research and publications — Statk societies — Special and local societies — Membership — Meetings — Funds, income, and expenditures — Historical publications — Genealogical^ family, and town histories — Plans for the future — National historical convention. In. the attempt to collect the most recent statistics which should ex- hibit the intellectual condition of the United States, it was impossible to overlook so important an illustration of the subject as would be of- fered by a view of its historical societies. From the facts shown in the statistical tables, and from those which we have gathered from other sources, it is evident that diligent workers in preserving the history of the nation have been numerous, and that whatever neglect there has been in the pursuit of science or literature, we cannot be said to have equally neglected our own history. Daring the past one hundred years of our national life, the historical spirit could not fail to be awakened ; the degree of its development, as compared with the colonial period, has .depended in no small measure upon the freedom of the people under our republican institutions. Wherethere are no political or social restraints upon the opportunities, for co-operation, the historical spirit will effectively develop itself at au- early stage in the life of the commonwealth. In proof of this, we find that since the organization of the govern- ment in 1789 under the Constitution, there have been formed more thart one hundred and sixty historical societies, the greater number of which have perpetuated their organizations. The object of these societies has been essentially the same, to collect and diffuse the materials of Ameri- can histor3\ It was declared by the first one of the historical societies, organized in 1791, and afterwards called the Massachusetts Historical 312 Historical Societies in the United States. 31i^ Society, that its object was " to collect, preserve, and communicate ma- terials for a complete history of the country." No limitation of aims was made in behalf of the State, or of New England. Later, in 1804, the New York Historical, and, in 1823, the New Hampshire Historical Societies were organized, each " for the purpose of discovering, procur- ing, and preserving whatever may relate to the natural, civil, literary,, and ecclesiastical history of the United States, and of this State in par- ticular." Societies formed at a later period, in defining their object, either give the State precedencs of the United States, or omit the United States entirely. Thus the Historical Society of Pennsylvania declares its single object to be " the elucidation of the civil and literary history of the State.'' We think, therefore, notwithstanding the more comprehensiv^e schemes set forth by the earlier societies, that it has come to be their object generally, to collect the materials for the history' of the State, county, or town where the society is situated, and then, as circumstances may favor, of the United States and the individual States. The principal means employed for accomplishing the object aimed at have been the establishment of libraries, the collection of manuscripts^ the forming of museums of historical memorials and' of the natural his- tory of the region, and the printing of historical documents. Their pur- pose has been to collect and to render accessible to the public the ma- terials for history, but not to write history under the sanction of the societies. The libraries formed by these societies, for the use of their members and all other accredited persons, are alone a fair evidence of their earnest- ness, when we consider that the works collected in them relate chiefly to American history. The number of volumes known to be contained in them amounts, as far as can be gathered from the reports received, to more than 482,000, and more than 508,000 pamphlets. The books are solely for reference. Additions are continually made, but with no jjur- pose of building up a large library, unless it should consist of historical works. In some towns and cities, however, the library, for purposes of convenience, is also made miscellaneous in its character for more general uses. The zeal of the members in securing and preserving historical manu- scripts is sufficiently illustrated by the fact that the Massachusetts His- torical Society has collected a thousand volumes of such manuscripts -, and the New York Plistorical Society counts 15,000 single manuscripts^ while the number possessed by all the societies is reported at 88,771, be- sides 1,301 bound volumes. These manuscripts relate to every period since the founding of the colonies. During many years the apartments of these two societies, of the American Antiquarian Society at AVorcester, Mass., and of one or two other societies, were the only places that oflered for the especial and safe deposit of manuscripts, the State libraries not having been generally organized. The States of Maryland and Georgia have made the libraries for their State societies places of deposit of valu- 314 Public Libraries in the United States. able State historical records. The younger State societies mauifest au ardor in this direction, which indicates that they are managed by the sous of worthy sires. The character and subjects of the manuscripts collected may be inferred from the contents of the publications of the societies, of which we shall soon speak. The whole number of manuscripts in their libraries exceeds that of those which are to be found in the State libraries, if we exclude the official State records in tbo latter. In addition to books and manuscripts, tbe societies have formed museums, and have sedulously collected in their halls memorials of the aborigines, of their arts and customs, relics of the prehistoric races, and of the founders and early settlers, with portraits of distinguished oitizens, and cabinets of coins. Some of them have extensive collec- tions in natural history. In these respects they resemble, as far as our €ircumstances will permit, the archi^ological societies which exist in so many of the counties of Great Britain. The large number of volumes thus far published by our historical societies is a most substantial proof of the efl&cient industry of their members. The number of printed pages issued by them, chiefly dur- ing the last seventy-five years, is equal to more than three hundred volumes of three hundred and fifty pages each. A detailed descrip- tion of their contents here would be impossible. They include town and church histories, town and parish records, journals and correspDud- cnce of the Revolution, private diaries, biographies, genealogies, deeds, wills, and family papers of citizens, iilustracions of aboriginal life and history, annotated rei>rints of rare and early books relating to America, and other similar materials. The incidental' operations of the societies are to meet during the year with more or less frequency for the discussion of subjects of historical interest, to provide for the delivery of an annual public historical dis- course, and to secure popular courses of lectures on historical and sci- entific subjects, rather than on themes of society and literature. Some of the discourses delivered on their anniversary occasions — three at least of which have been given by men who have been Presidents of the United States — will long remain monuments of patriotic eloquence and witnesses to important truths in our history. The societies have, moreover, at different times in several States, been active in calling the attention of State legislatures to measures for the preservation and publication of the early public records of their States. These efforts have resulted in securing not only the printing of the colonial records in the State archives, but have led some States to procure copies of such documents as were to be found in the record offices of the states of Europe. In a few years we may expect that all such papers, existing either at home or abroad, will have been printed for public use. In the meantime other States, or their State societies, have obtained and priuted calendars of the contents of such documents as could be found in England. Historical Societies in the United States. 315 Membership in the societies is g'euerally secured by the vote of a ma- jority ; sometimes by the payment of an annual tax ; in other societies it is restricted by the ne^^ative vote of a small minority. The resident members, residing in the town, county-, or State, have alone the right to vote. Some societies are managed entirely by an executive committee. The number of members does not appear to be fixed and limited in more than three societies. The Massachusetts society was at first organized on this principle, and limited to thirty members, latterly increased to one hundred. The American Antiquarian Society, organized within the same State a score of years after, adopted the same principle. The Maine Society, a daughter of Massachusetts, organized in 1822, did not depart from the mother's example. Bat whatever may bi tlio advan- tages supposed to inhere in a limited membership, the fact that the practice has not been adopted by otber societies, is evidence of a decided preference for an enlarged membership, not fixed by law. The number of members of the several societies ranges from fifty to over one thou- sand, the largest membership being usually in the largest cities. The aggregate membership of all the societies, according to the latest re- turns received, is 27,2 A4. The income of most of the societies is derived from an initiation fee of $3, $5, or $10, and an annual tax of from $1 to $5 on each member. In many cases the annual dues constitute the sole regular income of a society. Life memberships are encouraged. The expenditures of the societies are defrayed from these sources, or by extraordinary subscrip- tions — special permanent funds created by the gifts of the members and their friends, and in a few cases by annual or special grants from the State legislature. The Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin State socie- ties receive, the first, $2,500, the second, $500, and the last, .$7,000 a year from the State treasuries, which sum is used for the purchase of books, for salaries, and other expenses. The Tennessee and some other societies are provided with apartments in the State capitol. The value of the lands, edifices, and permanent funds of all the societies approaches $2,000,000; the amount reported, not including all the societies, is $1,674,973.88. It would not be reasonable to name a lower sum than another million of dollars to represent the value of their libraries, man- uscripts, and museums; although it is next to impossible to make a pecuniary estimate of the amount. The meetings of the societies are either annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, or twice a mouth during six to nine months of the year. Most of the societies whose names are given in our list may be classed as either State or local societies. State societies have been formed in twenty-two of the thirty-seven States, although one or two of them can hardly be said to exist at present. From the prominence which the State societies give to the history of the State in their plans, they are properly entitled to bear the name of the State which they represent. 316 Public Libraries in the United States. They generally have the seat of their operations at the capital of the State or in the largest city. The local societies, named after a town, county, or district, limit themselves to the history of the region indicated by their name, and do not generally attempt to embrace the larger purposes of the State societies. Very few of them have combined with their plans for collect- ing their own civil history, the study of other branches of history, or science. They are not affiliated in any way with State societies, except in Michigan, where incorporated local societies are required to report annually to the State society, and to send to it copies of papers which h rive been read before them. They frequently have libraries and mu- seums for the preservation of historical relics. Both classes of societies occasionally embrace in their plans other aims than American history. The New York and Maryland societies have galleries of paintings, and the former a collection of Egyptian antiquities. The Long Island So- ciety has a collection of paintings. The Georgia Society has a general library and reading room. There are ac least nine historical associations engaged in the work of preserving the histor^^ of as many of the ecclesiastical denomina- tions of the country, and most of them have formed libraries for the purpose.^ During the last twenty-five years, and more especially during the la.st ten years, there has arisen a spontaneous an'd widely spread en- thusiasm to form associations of pioneers and old residents for the purpose of cherishing the memory of the first settlers and preserving incidents connected with the early settlement of different counties and towns. These continue for a series of years to have annual addresses, or to publish occasional historical papers of great interest for the locality. The earliest association of this nature was the Old Colony Club, founded^ at Plymouth, Mass., in 1769, by which was inaugurated the custom of celebrating Forefathers' Day by an annual discourse- As adjuncts to the societies peculiarly historical should be counted the ethnological, numismatic, philological, geographical, and statistical societies. They are all contributors, in a greater or less degree, to the civil and political history of the country, or to the history of the native races. The several printing clubs, engaged in printing small editions of rare historical books, freshly annotated, or of unpublished manu- scripts, have performed an important service. Their enterprises have 'Au effort was made to collect the statistics of the diocesan libraries of the Protestant Episcppal Chnrch, and from a few registrars returns were received showing that in nine such collections there are 730 volumes, 14,U24 pamphlets, and 259 manu- scripts, the books and pamphlets mainly consisting of diocesan journals, proceedings of conventions, and other periodical and fugitive literature relating to the church. No description of the manuscripts was given. These collections will, in time, become vain- able to the student of ecclesiastical history. Rev. William Stevens Perry, D. D., of Geneva, N. Y., is custodian of the Church Archives, which " consist of oOO volumes of most valuable manuscripts." — Editors. Historical Societies in the United States. 317 not been conducted witli a view to pecuniary advantage. The numer- ous New England societies at the West and South, awaken an interest in historical studies, by the frequent annual discourses which are deliv- ered under their auspices, in which the virtues and errors of the fore- fathers are discussed for the benefit of the present generation. VALUABLE RESULTS. From the statements we have made regarding the character and con- dition of the historical societies, no one would hesitate to conclude that they have already accomplished a great work or to infer, from the rec- ords of their operations during three-score years and more, that results of still greater im[)ortauce will follow. The value of their labors is not likely to be overestimated ; and a perusal of the details of the his- tory of many of the societies can alone give an idea of the patient devo- tedness and affection for their object of many members during a long series of years. They have steadily pursued their patriotic impulses as though they were yielding obedience to the behest of the most exalted virtue. It has been by the exhibition of this disinterested attachment to their ,cause, which it is a pleasure to contemplate, that they have obtained so many valuable contributions from their own members, from the public, and the State. The libraries and museums of the societies, besides increasing in size, will, with the lapse of years, hav^e an increasing value for the public. It has only been by gradual, slow additions to their funds, that any of these societies have been able to secure convenient apartments and a curator, so that their collections, the gifts of members and friends, could be accessible to more than a very limited number. In the future, with the possession of suitable edifices, open under charge of .officers, theseinsti- tutions will be useful to the community in a degree hitherto unknown. The libraries will be more complete on their special subjects ; their rare manuscripts, increased in number, will be found in the i)laces where they are most needed. The guarantee which their halls will offer for the safety and care of manuscripts and historical relics will be appreci- ated, and citizens will be glad to deposit in their archives the treasures which they possess and thus save them from destruction. How many valuable documents have already been lost from the absence of such soci- eties % How many have already been saved by their existence ? Memo- rials of founders, pilgrims, and settlers, as well as of ancient customs, are destined to be regarded with a growing interest ; .and when the period shall have come that not an uncivilized Indian remains, every material vestige of the race will be gazed at with admiration. Already the exhumed arrow-heads, hatchets, and sculptured stones, which had been quietly noticed for scores of years as memorials of existing races of Indians, have acquired a fresh value since we have been led to attempt to discriminate which of them may have been wrought thousands of years since by races not yet identified. 318 Fiihlic Libraries in the United States. Wliiie tlie "discovery and preservation" of manuscripts and memori- als is a [)rime motive for the existence of these societies, their efforts ia that direction do not present themselves so prominently to the appreci- ation of the public as do those historical volumes by which they "com- municate and diffuse" a knowledge of tbe documents which they have coll-ected. In the three hundred volumes published by them, to which we have alrea ly referred, there are to be found copies of many unique manuscripts, which were, of course, difficult of access. By the multi- plication, through the press, of hundreds of these copies, even if the manuscript itself were lost, an easy acqu.iintatics with its contents is secured to investigators. Many a rare volume also, the purchase of which might cost half a year's income to a poor student, when reprinted by a society, is put withiu his^each in every library. Both the manuscript and the rare book have thus the opportunity to carry down the stream of time the record first made hundreds of years ago. A special illustration of the value of these publications is offered in the thirty-five volumes published by the i*^ew England Historic-Genea- logical Society. Before its [formation in 1845, the whole number of American genealogical histories was not more than thirty. They now iir.mber more than four hundred, and the later histories are incom- parably more thorough and complete. There is every reason to suppose that the work will be prosecuted till the genealogical story of a great portion of the early settlers of New England shall have been written and p.iblished. In succeeding years it may be found that these facts will liave a value beyond anything designed in their compilation, by enabling the man of science to trace the influences of varied climate and education, of the laws of hereditary influence, and the comparative ability of different nations, from a larger number of similar facts than was ever before collected. Family history in the past has had for its object to trace the pedigree of successful families in a single line of de- scent. Few genealogies have attempted to give the affiliations and ramifications of all the descendants of a common ancestor for many generations. In this respect the pursuit is not a minister to pride, but has a tendency to promote a sense of republican equality'. It is not necessary to have in one's veins "the blood of all the Howards" to se- cure an interest in our genealogical relations. Tbe influence of the historical societies in securing the preparation and publication of town histories has been remarkable. More than two hundred have been published in the last thirty years. The thirty town histories of New Hampshire have all been prepared since the formation of its society in 1823. All these histories have an exactness and( thoroughness not to be found in those of early date. The larger por- tion of 'them are written by those who are members of historical socie- ties, and who are indebted to the collections in their libraries for their most important facts, for materials without which it would have been impossible to perfect their works. The fact that four of the New Historical Societies in the United States. 319 England States ^ have authorized towns to tax themselves to procure the publication of town histories is an evidence of the stimulus which has been imparted to'the'undertaking by these societies. The compilation of a town history is not an undertaking that can be begun and finished in a few months. Consequently, since the enact- ment of State laws authorizing towns to incur the expense, although the number of histories published by them is already considerable, yet the results expected to follow from the power of taxation must neces- sarily be developed gradually. Authors of histories need time and ap- portunity to collect,"digest, and develop their materials. The course pursued by the towns that authorize the publication cf their town histories is, to take a vote upon the subject at the annual town meeting, the callfor the meeting having specified that the subject will be introduced. A committee of publication is nominated and chosen, and this committee selects a gentleman to prepare the history under its general direction. An appropriation at that or a subse- quent meeting is made to cover the expense. A few details of some specific cases are subjoined as illustrations of the method pursued. The town of Pittsfield, Mass., for example, in full town meeting, on the proposition by a citizen, appointed a committee of five to write a history of the town, with authority to select an editor. The committee chose Mr. J. E. A. Smith to compose the history and to arrange" the materials, itself giving general directions and aiding in the work. The town made at the same meeting the necessary appro- priation of money for the expense to be incurred. The first volume, con- taining 518 octavo pages, was stereotyped and printed in 1869, and the town retains the copyright. The history reaching only to the year 1800, a second volume is to follow speedily. The town of Warwick, Mass., chose a committee of seven tp adopt such measures as they might deem expe- dient for the publication of the manuscript of J. Blake's history. The call for the annual meeting contained a notification that the question of an appropriation for this purpose would be introduced, and at the meeting it was voted to publish it, and the same committee was em- ' The following are the legal provisions for the publication of town histories in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts : J/at«e.^"Cities and towns may raise money for the purpose of procuring the writing and publication of their histories." — R2C. Stat., lS7i, tit. I, sec. 3o. -Veil; Hampshire. — ''Any town, at a legal meeting called for the purpose, may author- ize their selectmen to contract with some person to prepare and publish the early history of such town, at the expense of the town, under such restrictions and regula- tions as such town shall prescribe." — Laws of 1868. Vermont. — "Any town, at their annual March meeting, may authorize their select- men to contra3t with some person to prepare and publish the early history of such town, at the expense of the town, under such restrictions and regulations as such town shall prescribe."— C^H. Stat., 2d ed., 1t!70, tit. IX, sec. 91. Massachusetts. — Towns " may, at legal meetings, grant and vote such sums as they may judge necessary for the following purposes: For . . . procuring the writing and publishing ofjtheirtown histories." — General Statute^, 1800, cha}). 18, sec. 10. 320 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. j)owere(l to borrow the money necessary. The history of the town of Northfield, Mass., Avas printed in 1875, by Mr. Munsell, of Albany, in ii volume of 630 pages, much of it in tine type. The towti paid 14 a copy for 320 copies, out of an edition of 500 copies. The authors received as their share 125 copies. The inhabitants had the privilege of purchasing- copies from the town at $1 each. No others can obtain the work, either from the town or the publisher, except at an advanced price. The history of the towns embraced in the original township of Eeading, Mass., prepared by Hon. Lilley Eaton, was published in 1874 by the authority and at the expense of the town of Wakefield, one of the towns included, through the agency of a committee appointed for the purpose after his death. The town of Bradford, Yt., employed the Kev. S. McKeen to write and publish the history of the town. The town owns the edition, and sells copies of it at a fixed sura, on applica- tion being made to any one of the selectmen. The Middlebury Histori- cal Society of Vermont embarked in the enterprise of securing histories of all the towns of Addison County. As one result of its exertions, the town of Shorebam made an appropriation for the completion and publication of a history, and appointed the Rev. J. F. Goodhue, a former citizen, to compile it, under the superintendence of a committee. He came and took up his residence there until he had completed a work which he had formerly prepared, and the committee published it. It bears on the title-page, " Published by the town."^ The history of Winchester, Conn., by J. Boyd, was published by him, but with pecu- niary aid in the undertaking from the town. The town of Barnstead, N. H., having declined to bear the expense of printing a history prepared by E. R. Caverly, he was afterward enabled to publish it through aid received from individual citizens. The prefaces to C. Hudson's two histories of Lexington and Marlborough, Mass., as well as the preface to the history of Pittsfield, prepared by the town committees, give ample details of the method of procedure of the authorities in these particular cases. As regards the regulations for the disposal and distribution, by sale or otherwise, of the copies of these histories, the practice varies in different towns. The histories themselves, in the prefaces, give very little information on the point. The members of historical societies individually have, besides, pub- lished many historical monographs, biographies, and genealogies, as the bibliographical records in their archives show. Their labors, also, as editors of historical magazines supported by subscription, deserve men- tion. Though these periodicals have had but a few years of life, they have been convenient depositories for historical studies and the waifs of history, and have aided to sustain an interest in the subject. 1 As showing the impulse giveu to historical research, it may be meutioned that since 1858, the year in which the law was enacted, histories of the following named towns in Vermont, besides those above mentioned, have been published : Bennington, Cornwall, Danby, Fairhaveu, Middlebury, Middletowu, Moutpelier, Pawlet, Reading, Rutland, Salisburv, and Well«.— EnrroKS. Historical Societies in the United States. 321 The historical fervor stimulated b}' the operations of the societies iu the Atlantic States, has been manifested iu a remarkable degree iu the Western States. Several of them have commenced their life as States with the organization of a historical society. The Minnesota society was created by an act of its first territorial legislature. Such organiza- tionsareatestimouytothe high grade of civilization with which these new communities enter the family of States. They constitute the first em- bodiment of their men of culture, eager to achieve something for the common weal outside of the direct necessities of domestic and civil life. These pioneer founders from the Atlantic States saw that they had not only to preserve the memory of the French and early settlers, but that they were in the presence of the monuments of departed races, which, though already abraded by the hand of time, were certain to be more rapidly- effaced bj* the hand of man. They felt the need of insur- ing protection for them, by co-operative action, that their history might be the better investigated. It is especially in those States that the legis- latures have encouraged the societies by annual grants of money, free apartments, (devolving upon the society the care of the State library,) or, as iu Michigan, have provided for the care of the collections of the State society in the State library. While the history of any nation has a positive value to the world, that of the United States has a special importance, on account of the character of our institutions. It is probable that this history will be preserved with a completeness unparalleled in the annals of any people. It is one of the first attempts ever made to chronicle events contempo- raneously with the beginnings of life of the municipality and the State. These events are recorded, not merely in relation to matters of govern- ment and war, but of education, morals, and religion. The knowledge will be perpetuated of the character and acts of the numerous races and families from all quarters of the globe who, uuder novel conditions, commenced social and political life in the counties and towns of which the totality of the natiou consists. These records continued through centuries will furnish most trustworthy facts for statistical tables to illustrate the laws affecting these relations. It is to this important work that each active historical society is a substantial contributor. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. With this abundant evidence before us of the character and value of the work of the historical societies, it is none the less accordant with our progressive natures to be inquiring whether hy any means they can be rendered more effective and useful. As regards the State societies, we think the answer to the question may be safely left to their own in- telligent action, stimulated by the example of kindred societies among us. Tbe object which they have in view is broad enough to occupy them permanently. We hopefully predict that before ten years shall have elapsed there will be a society of their especial scope in every State. 21 E 322 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. In regard to the local soeieties, however, wliich have been formed in so considerable numbers, and which will continue to be formed in a ratio surpassing that of -any former period, there are good grounds for in- quiring whether their specific object uiiglit not be attained equally well, and other important advantages gained at the same time, by enlarging their aims. . Why should they not, instead of limiting their pursuit to their own localities, embrace the history of all ages and peoples '? Why should the incipient impulse to co-operate iu some useful investigation be restrained at the beginning to the scenes and events immediately at hand ? Were these local societies organized for the pursuit of history in all its branches, civil, political, educational, and religious, as wide as the world, we might expect there would be such a variet3' of interesting themes to discuss, that frequent meetings could successfully be main- tained throughout the year. Studies iu general history, pursued in local societies, would insure for those engaged in them the most healthy mental discipline, and educa- tion of an ennobling nature. The history of man in all relations is an inexhaustible study, ever fresh, and expanding with civilization. It should produce a continual enthusiasm in these societies to be studying in conjunction with their local aims, the relations of the past with the relations of progress in different nations, to be observing the evidences of a divine moral order in the world, and the laws which affect the development of humanity. Our future statesmen, aglow with aspira- tions for a wise and beneficent government, need to be familiar with the history of other nations as well as of their own ; to be able to compare ancient and modern republics ; and linked as we are with the past, to judge what may be the limits to the maxim that history is philosophy teaching by example. From historical societies on such an expanded basis, we might hope there would be produced a generation of legisla- tors with a scientific faculty to predict consequences; men who, im- pressed A\ith a sense of the difficulties of enacting wise laws, would possess the wisdom to confront those difficulties. To these observations on the question of enlarged plans for local so- cieties, we venture to subjoin the further inquiry whether most county and town societies might not, with incalculable advantage, combine with historical research the study of science, art, and natural history ? Every locality already has its military, fire, debating, literary, social or charitable society. It is incredible that there should be so ft^w simply for the pursuit of knowledge to the acquisition of which all men are so naturally impelled and in which they manifest so deep an inter- est. Tlie same motives, which dispose some of the leading minds of a place to associate for the sake of preserving its history, must be operat- ing in the minds of others, their neighbors, to desire to acquire and communicate knowledge in other forms. On the part of those inter- ested in history it should be regarded as a strong reason for extending the scope of their society, the consideration that when confined to a Historical Societies hi the Ujilted States. 323 siugle subject it will depeud for its permanence on the activity of two or three members. It does not afford a basis sntiicient for the active co-operation of more than a small portion of the cultivated minds of the place ; the topics either soon become exhausted as matters of con- tinual research, or the information is meagre and accumulates slowly, and the popular interest diminishes. The meetinos cease to be attended and the society either dies of inanition or languishes while standing in the way of a new organization on a more comprehensive plan. It ma}' be urged as an objection that some of our societies have com- menced with the title of "historical and philosphical,'' and have not been remarkably successful. Others, however, have tried the plan of conjoined aims, and congratulate themselves on the result. The Essex Institute, of Salem, Mass., was formed in 1848 from the uuiou of a county historical and a county natural history society, and organized on a popu- lar basis of large membership, having at the present time four hundred and eight}' members, ^yith the aid of historical and scientific workers it is prosecuting both branches with an efficiency, as shown by its pub- lications, which must compel imitation. The Albany Institute, Xew York, has been perpetuated with varying fortunes for forty-six years, and has four departments of research, physical science and the arts, natural history, history, and general literature. It has at no time been so promising an organization as at the present, when it has been ex- tended to a membership of two hundred and four. A similar successful society is the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, England, founded in 18-46, which has over two Iiundred members, and has i)ub- lished twenty-eight volumes of its transactions. The subjects treated of in thes3 conform, in fair proportion of literature, history, and science, to the name of the society. One motive assigned in its constitution for organizing the society, " to modify the local tendency to the pursuit of commerce," is capable of receiving a wider application. We have purposely alluded to the large membership in these three societies, because a late scientific writer, speaking of the frequent fail- ures of the learned societies of the United States, declares that they have died from "'a constant enlargement of the- range of membership, and consequent lowering of the tone of the society." ^ And yet we draw from this same writer the two facts that the membership of the leading English societies ranges from four hundred to one thousand or several thousand members, and that the annual tax on each member is from two to four guineas. We should infer from these facts that, by a large mem- bership, an abundant income is secured for the purposes of a society, and that the original papers of the men of science who are joined with them can be published, and the expense of their investigations provided for. A large membership secures friends, an audience, an income, and ele- vates the purposes and aims of all. Some aid by active efforts, some by pecuniary help, and all by the sympathy of a common purpose. Mem- ' North American Review, October, 1874. 324 PuU'ic Libraries in the United States. bersliip is not a reward of merit, acquired for achievements in literature or science, but an encouragement and a stimulus both to the less learned and to the most learned. It ought not to be difficult to com- bine the man of research with the intelligent aspirant for knowledge^ who educates himself for similar researches by means of the companion- ship. To the man of science or invention it must be desirable that he should have the encouragement of a listening audience, and be brought in contact with men of varied pursuits, outside of his specialty. It affords him an opportunity at least to utter his words of scientific truth before his fellow-citizens. To make an addition to the sum of human knowledge, or to diffuse and inspire a love of it, may be of equal impor- tance to humanity. In suggest>ing this combination of varied objects of pursuit, we are not, of course, supposing that academies of scientists can be founded everywhere; but we cannot resist the belief that in most counties and towns there will be found a sufficient number of men of education, of all professions, occupations, and opinions, disposed to unite for the mutual pursuit of history, science, and the arts; and that they will engage in it, not in a spirit of exclusiveness, but of benevolence, aiming to develop a love for the most elevated and accurate foruis of knowledge. It should be easy, in a multitude of places, for associations formed with these blended purposes, to sustain twice a month, or even weekly, during a large part of the year, meetings for the purpose of listening to papers, original or compiled, from members or invited speakers, or for the dis- cussion of any topic introduced. By some such method as this, local societies would become schools of thought and learning for the active members of the community in hundreds of our towns and cities. There might naturally follow a union of the societies of a State under a gen- eral society for the publication of such papers as might be deemed suitable. The extensive formation of such societies throughout the land, seems so full of promise and so potent for good, as to justify the establishment of a national society for the organization of associations for the pursuit of knowledge. Such a society might initiate efforts which would have the cordial support of co-workers in every State of the Union. The original name of our oldest learned society, the American Philosophi- cal, of which Franklin was the first president, was " The American Society for Promoting and Propagating Useful Knowledge." The title is an indication of the expanded and benevolent designs of its founders. This society had, also, its standing committee on history and commerce. If the Smithsonian Institution, founded "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," should be able to incorporate, with its pres- ent benefactions to science, the support of an agency for encouraging such societies as have been described, it might be hoped it would not be a departure from the spirit of its founder. It would be an agency, by whatever association it should be controlled, for introducing and Historical Societies in the United States. 325 promoting- a plan for enlisting tens of thousands in the direct study of aicience, art, and history. Such societies would be the means of educat- ing many communities to a loving appreciation of scientific investiga- tions, and of correct views of human history. They would contribute incalculably to the progress of American society and to the happiness of millions. While we dwell with wonder and pleasure on the historic picture of our national growth during a century, we need to remember that it does not become us to rest satisfied solely with recording its details. If we have received a goodly heritage from those who have preceded us, we ■must not only bequeath it unimpaired, but striv^e to add to its value for the advantage of those who come after us ; and so " hand on the torch of light," that the future may excel the past in brilliancy.^ IL— GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING HISTORICAL KESEARCH. Importance of collkctixg and preserving materials for history — Need of CULTIVATING a SPIRIT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH — PRIVATE COLLECTORS AND THEIR BENEFACTIONS TO THE PUBLIC — A HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT IN GENERAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES. The functions of the historical library, and its importance and use- fulness, especially in this country and at this time, constitute the sub- ject of these few pages. The chief object and purpose of such a library is the COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS. The greatest difficulty encounterert by the student of history is the want of contemporary materials. These are of so much greater value than oral traditions or histories written after the event that they are the great object of search on the part of one who wishes to get at the truth concerning the past. The history of the ancient nations of the East has been almost entirely rewritten since the discovery of the key to the mysterious languages in which their annals were embalmed. And whenever it has been possible to confront tradition with contem- porary documents, the result has been such as to justify the utmost caution about believing anything as a matter of histor}^ which is un- supported by indubitable contemporar}' evidence. But the lack of such evi-dence for almost all history is lamentable. Within the narrow scope of our own national existence one would hardly ^The Missouri Historical Society, of St. Louis, at its rueetiug on June 17,1875, adopted resolutious recommending tliat a national historical convention should be held during the Centennial anniversary of 1876, and that all the historical societies of the country should participate in it. If such a Convention should be held, it would certainly be a favorable time to consider all plans which might be proposed to ren- ■der town and county historical societies more permanent and enduring, and among them the plan suggested in this paper might find a place. 326 Public Lihraries in the United States. believe, who bad never attempted to find it, bow scanty is the material avaibible for anytbiu;^ like a detailed, or even a discriminating gen- eral bistory. Just now tbe Centennial of our independence is call- ing attention to tbe bistory of one bnndred years ago ; and no fact connected witb tbat bistory is more striking than tbe dearth of mate- rials from which it could be constructed. And when we go back to^ colonial times, to tbe settlement of the country, our most interesting historical period, the case is still worse ; hundreds of matters are now the subjects of the widest differences and the sharpest disputes which would be readily elucidated by the production of such contemporary documents as once existed but have now disappeared. All writings pass through three stages, which may be called the newy the old, and tbe antique. In tbe first stage they have a value growing out of their connection with present interests; in tbe third stage they have a still greater value as curiosities and relics of the remote past; in tbe second stage, between these two, they are at their lowest point of interest and value. This year's almanac serves a present use* and is valued accordingly ; " last year's almanac " is a synonym for what its utterly worthless; but an almanac a century old is often worth its weight in gold. It is in this second stage tbat most books and other docu- ments drop out of sight and out of existence. There is not virtue enough in them to carry them through this purgatory-, and they slip into per- dition. Nor is it only those tbat are without value which are thus destroyed ; many of tbe most valuable come to an untimely end through the ignorance and carelessness of those Into whose bands they fall. And here is indicated one of the chief departments of the work of tbe historical library, namely, the protection of old documents until they become antique. It is a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles^ and does not disdain to gather even the bubbles which float on the stream of current bistory, prizing them as tbe world will one day prize tbe gems into which they shall be transformed by tbe magic of time. There are thousands of printed documents of one kind and another which few persons think of saving, but which, if preserved systematically and ar- ranged in sets, become valuable for purposes of reference in a very few years. And this is a kind of work requiring painstaking and patience rather than tbe expenditure of much money. The breaking up of pri- vate collections is the great opportunity for the historical library, which should always be on the alert for such chances. No scrap should be allowed to go into tbe remorseless jaws of the paper mill which con- tains anything for which a judicious librarian would give more than the regular price per pound ; and it is to be lamented if on the division of an estate books and papers of no special value except to the connoisseur go into the hands of those who will not protect them from speedy de- struction. One hundred years ago there were doubtless many copies of the Historical Societies in the United States. 327 various writings of Cotton ^[ather and Roger Williams in private bands in Xew England. They passed into the ownership of men to whom theological pamphlets were of no interest, and who, therefore, allowed them to go to destruction, a few copi:}S only having come down to us, in fragmentary condition, to be among the greatest desiderata of the bibliop- olist and the historical library. The simple existence in a community of an historical library will do much to preserve valuable material for future history from destruction. Many public spirited persons will sac- rifice what little profit they might derive from the sale of old paper, and present their pamphlets, etc., to the library ; while many others, receiv- ing their first intimation of a value in such things, will be careful of them in their own interest, which is the next best thing to turning them in for the public good. But beyond this, each historicil library should have a certain geo- graphical fiield of operations, within which it should aim to make thorough work of the collection of historical matter, and it should leave out nothing which can ever become useful as material for, or illustration of, the history of that locality. In this respect many of our historical libraries may be charged with laxity. They either make no pretense tO' collect materials for the history of to-day, or, if they do attempt it, it is not done with any thorougliness. They are occupied in collecting, what ought to have been preserved in previous years, and while they thus laboriously correct the mistake of those who neglected to preserve their own annals they are committing the same mistake with reference to the present. It is the old tendency to build monuments to the mem- ory of the prophets whom our fathers stoned, while, with equal shortsight- edness, we stone the prophets of our own day. To be definite, the follow- ing might be prescribed as some of the lines on which an historical library should work on its own special field: First. It should secure a copy of every book or pami)h1et printed in that field, or vrritten by a resident of it and printed elsewhere. Second. It should keep a file of every newspaper and periodical published within those limits of which files are not kept in some other public library. Third. It should find room for, and arrange systematically, such ephemeral productions as playbills, programmes, political posters, elec- tion notices, and even printed ballots, all of which will some day be of value as illustrating the public manners of the people. Fourth. It should secure as many as possible of the private, or at least semi-private, diaries and letters of deceased persons of prom- inence within its field ; it being, of course, well understood that such documents deposited in the library -will not be open to common public use, but kept under discreet surveillance, and made public only under such restrictions as are imposed by good taste and strict propriety. By persistent efforts at collecting on these general principles, and by conducting the library in such a way as to make its value and utility o2S Pahllc Libraries in the United States. popularly uudeistootl, in a few years a collectioa may be made which will be worth, in money, much more than it has cost, and which will have a far j^ieater value of a kind that cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. Supposinhu H. B. Latrobe, 187 L; The First Steamboat Voyage on the Western Waters, John H. B. La- trobe, 1871 ; Narrative of a Voyage to Maryland, by Father Andrew White, S. J., with an Account of the Colony from 1635 to 1677 ; The Lords Baltimore, John G. Morris, D. D., 1874. Such of these as are still in print are for sale by the publisher and are exchanged with kin- dred societies. The library contains 15,000 bound volumes, about 800 pamphlets, and 544 manuscripts. About 900 volumes relate to American and local history. The manuscript collection embraces manuscripts of the Mary- land Proprietary and State papers from 1037 to 1776, contained in 11 portfolios, and other manuscripts not arranged and belonging to this period; " Gilmor" Maryland papers, covering portions of colonial his- ' Further iuformation respecting this society will be fonucl iu Sketches of the Public Libraries of Baltimore, in Chapter XXXVIII, Part I, of this report. 340 Public Libraries in the United States. tory aud coDtaining- many valuable documents concerning the French war and Mason and Dixon's line ; the Stevens Index to the Maryland documents in the state paper office, London, from 1626 to 1780 ; the '•Gist Papers" and the "Purviance Papers," which are replete with original letters of historical value concerning the revolutionary period. Among the pamphlets are some, of very early dates in American history, which are extremely rare. Eight American and four foreign periodi- cals are taken regularly. The collection of publications of other his- torical societies in this country is nearly comi)lete. The library is free to the public. The number of persons using it in the course of the year is estimated at 500. The society owns its building and has a permanent fund of $20,000. Its yearly' income is $2,500, the sum of $1,500 being derived from invest- ments, and $1,000 from membership dues. The cost of administration averages $1,500 a year. The librarian receives a salary of $500. John H. B. Latrobe, president; Kev. E. A. Dalrymple, corresponding secretary. BOSTON NUMISMATIC SOCIETY, BOSTON, MASS. This society was founded in 1860, and has thirty active, besides seven honorary and thirteen corresponding members. Meetings are held monthly. The specialty of the society is its cabinet of coins, of wliich there are 1,000. The library contains about 50 bound volumes and 100 pamphlets. The society publishestheAmerican Journal of Numismatics. It has a permanent fund of $500, and an annual income of $50. President, Jeremiah Colburn ; secretary, William S. Applet on. CONGREGATIONAL LIBRARY, BOSTON, MASS.^ This library was begun in 1853, by the American Congregational As- sociation, whose object is to maintain in the city of Boston a Congrega- tional house for the meetings of the body and for the furtherance of its general purposes; to found and perpetuate a library of books, pam- phlets, and manuscripts, and a collection of portraits and relics of the past; and to do whatever else, within the limits of its charter, shall serve to illustrate Congregational history and promote the interests of the Congregational churches. The association is composed of members of orthodox Congregational churches, paying each $1 or more into its tieasury. Meetings aie held annually in May. The library contains 22,895 bound volumes, 95,000 pamphlets, and 550 manuscripts, besides 26 bound volumes of manuscripts. The increase during the^year ending May, 1875, was 4,735 volumes. It is free to the public as a reference library. The specialty of the library is Congrega- tional history. There is no income for library purposes, except for the payment of a librarian and assistant. The library has no available endowment fund, 'Further iuloruijition respectiug this library will be found in Sketches ot Public Libraries of Kostou, Chapter XXXVIII, Part II, of this report Historical Societies in the V tilted States. 541 but owns its building, which has a capacity for 80,000 volumes, and with the land is valued at $500,000. Eev. Isaac P. Langworthy, secretary and librarian. MASSACHUSETTS HISTOEICAL SOCIETY, BOSTON, MASS.^ The society, organized in 1791, and incorporated in 1794, is by its charter limited to 100 members. TUe present number is 99. Member- ship is by election, and regular or resident members must be citizens of the State. The fiscal year begins April 1. Meetings, for discussions and addresses, are held monthly. Tlie publications of the society are Collections, in 41 volumes, and Proceedings, in 10 volumes ; sold at the rooms of the society. The library numbers 23,000 bound volumes, 45,000 pamphlets, and 1,000 bound folio volumes of manuscripts, rich in colonial and revolu- tionary papers. The specialty of the society is American history, gen- eral and local. The collection of publications of kindred societies is large and complete. The larger proportion of the library has been re- ceived by gift. The accessions average 500 v^olumes a year. The library it used both as a reference and circulating library, by members and scholars. Besides the printed catalogues, dated 1796, 1811, and 1859-'00 there is a manuscript card catalogue, and a catalogue of the pamphlets, maps, and works of art. The society owns its building, which is valued at $160,000, has a per- manent fund of $150,000, and a yearly income of $15,000, derived from membership dues, interest on funds, and rent of the building. The librarian is chosen by the society. 2^one of the officers receives a salary. Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, LL.D., president; Rev. Chandler Rob- bins, U.D., corresponding secretary. NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-aENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, BOSTON, MASS.^ This society, organized in January, 1845, and incorporated in March of the same year, has 3.S8 life members and 452 resident members, mak- ing 840 active members, besides which there are 12 honorary and 305 corresponding members. Membership is by election and is not limited. The requirements are the payment of an admission fee of $5 and of a yearly subscription of $3. The payment of $30 constitutes a life mem- ber. Meetings, with discussions and addresses, are held on the first Wednesday of each month, July and August excepted. The publications of the society are: The Is^ew England Historical and Genealogical Register, 28 volumes, completed, and two quarterly num- bers of the twenty-ninth volume, issued, at $3 a year; annual addresses or proceedings since 1862, in pamphlet form, and occasional addresses and papers before and since ; and a discourse on the twenty-fifth anni- ' Further iut'ormatioa respecting this society will be found in Sketches of Publi« Libraries of Bjston, Chapter XXXVIII, Part II, of this report. 342 Public Libraries in the United States. versary of incorporation, by Sev. E. F. Slafter. None of the publica- tions, except the Register, have been sold. The society can supply the Register since 1869, with odd numbers since 1865, but has none of the rest for sale. All of the annual proceedings and other publications are out of print, except those from 1863 to 1875, inclusive. A specialty of the society is the collection of historical relics relating to New England history. The number of bound volumes in the library is 12,337 ; of pamphlets, 40,414; of manuscripts, about 40,000. The specialties of the library are local history, biography, and genealogy, which, together, comprise about two-thirds of the library. The books have, with very few excep- tions, been received by gift. The collection of the publications of kin- dred societies in the United States is quite complete. There is no printed catalogue. The library is almost exclusively for reference, and is free to all who desire to use it. It is daily consulted by an average number of 40 persons. The yearly accessions during the last three years have averaged 4,986 works. The average increase for the last thirty years has been 411 vol- umes, 1,347 pamphlets, and 1,300 manuscripts each year. The librarian and assistant librarian receive $L,000 and $312 a year, respectively. The society owns the building it occupies, which was purchased by members for $40,000. It has, also, several funds, as follows: The Bond fund, $475.87, for the purchase of books ; the Barstow fund, $1,000, for binding; the Towne fund, $3,595.23, for printing biographies of de- ceased members; the life fund, $8,247.74, being the money received for life membership, which is required to be invested; and the librarian's fund, $11,000, contributed by members for the support of a librarian. The permanent fund of the society is $76,000, of which the sum of $50,000 is invested in the building. The annual income is $2,887.42, of which the sum of $1,323.75 is derived from admission fees and assess- ment of members, $616.67 from the life membership fund, and $947 from the librarian's fund. Such manuscripts and books as cannot be duplicated are kept in a fire proof vault. Members of the society have during each year in its history produced valuable works, but they are too numerous' for a list to be given here. Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, president; Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, corre- sponding secretary. UNIVERSALIST HISTORICAL SOCIETY, COLLEGE HILL, MASS. This society was organized in 1834. Membership is dependent merely upon signing the constitution, and the number of members is unknown. The object of the society is " to collect and preserve facts belonging to the history and condition of the doctrine of Universalism, together with books and papers having reference to the same subject." Yearly meet- ings are held. Historical Societies in the United States. 343 The library contains about 1,500 volumes, of which number about three-fourths have been purchased, and the remainder received by gift. The average yearly increase is about 50 volumes. The collection em- braces not only works in favor of the Universalist faith, but the more important ones against it, especially such as are in any way distinguished as marking a point in the history of Uuiversalism or eliciting any con- troversy. The library is free to all. It occupies a part of Tufts College library room. The income is indefinite, being derived wholly from collections and gifts. Prof. Thomas J. Sawyer, secretary. DEDHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, DEDHAM, MASS. This society, organized in 1859, has 43 members. Membership is by election, and is not limited. Quarterly meetings are held, at which there are discussions and occasional reading of papers. The object of the society is " the collection and preservation of books, pamphlets, and mementos relating to the earlier history of the New England colonies, and especially the town of Dedham, and the prepara- tion of historical papers relating to the early history of the town." The library contains, 500 volumes, about 300 pamphlets, and 50 manu- scripts, all of which have been given. The average yearly increase is about 25 volumes. The society has no building; the library is kept in the county court bouse in Dedham. The income is about $50 a year, derived from assess- ments on members. H. O.Hildreth, president; Rev. Carlos Slafter, corresponding secre- tary. OLD residents' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, LOWELL, MASS. This society, organized in November, 1868, admits to its membership any person who was a resident of Lowell at the time of the organiza- tion of the city government. May 2, 183(i, or prior to that date, or who has resided in Lowell twenty-five years and attained the age of forty- five. The present membership is 200, Meetings are held quarterly. The society published, in 1874, Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association. The objects of the society are to "collect, arrange, preserve, and from time to time publish, any facts relating to the history of the city of Lowell, 'SiS, also to gather and keep all printed or written documents, as well as traditional evidence of every description, relating to the city." The society has no library, but possesses a small collection of pam- phlets and manuscripts, less than 300 in all, relating entirely to the Sfistorj of the city since 1824. It has a permanent fund of $.400, and 344 Public Libraries in the United States. an annual income of $200, derived from members' subscriptions. No salaries are paid. Alfred Gilmaii, secretary. PILGRIM SOCIETY, PLYMOUTH, MASS. This society, organized in 1820. requires no conditions for member- ship, except the payment of an entrance fee. The number of mem- bers is 5.000. Meetings are held twice a year. A specialty of the society is a cabinet of relics of the pilgrims, 1G20. The library contains 2,000 bound volumes, 2,000 pamphlets, and 200. manuscripts, all of which have been donated. The collections are free to the public. The society owns its building, valued at $8,000, and a number of pictures and engravings, besides its other collections. Its permanent fund is $700, and its annual income $1,200, derived from entrance fees and assessments on members. jSone of the officers receives a salary. William T. Davis, president j William S. Dauforth, secretary. ESSEX INSTITUTE, SALEM, MASS. The Institute was formed by the union of the Essex Historical Society (incorporated 1821) and the Essex County Natural History Society, (in- corporated 1830,) and was organized under a charter granted in 1848. The number of members is not limited, and is at present 480. The membership fee is $3 a year. The tiscal year begins on the second Wednesday in May. Regular meetings, with discussions and addresses, are held on the first and third Mondays of each month ; besides, there are field and other special meetit)gs. The publications of the society are Historical Collections of Essex Institute, 11 volumes, $3 a volume ; and Bulletin of Essex Institute, $L a yearj for sale at the rooms of the society. The specialty of the society is collecting materials to illustrate the history of Essex County. Tlie library contains 30,655 volumes, 105,408 pamphlets, and 100 bound volumes of manuscripts, besides a sufficient number unbound to make about 100 volumes more. There are also about 120 log books. Besides its historical collection, the society has a musical library and a museum containing a large number of antiquar- ian and historical relics, paintijigs, engravings, etc., and an extensive scieutitic collection. All have been obtained by gift and exchange^ The collection of publications of kindred societies in the United States is nearly if not quite complete. There is no printed catalogue, but card and box catalogues in manuscript. The library is chiefly for reference, but has a small circulation. It is free to members and students. The society owns a small building reconstructed from the first meet- ing house of 1634, and has invested funds amounting to $10,000. The yearly income is $2,500. None of the officers receives a salary. Henry Wheatland, president ^ A. S. Packard, jr., and George M. Whipple, secretaries. Historical Societies in the United States. 345 AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, WORCESTER, MASS. This sooiety, orgauized in 1812, limits its Americau membership to 140, but does not limit the number of foreign members. Members must be nominated by the council and elected by the society. The present number is 140. The fiscal year begins October 22. Two meetings are held annually : one at Boston in April, the other at Worcester in Octo- ber. The publications of the society are ArchaBologia Americana,^ Vol. I, 'The American Antiquariaa Society has devoted the rtftb and sixth volumes of its Archaeologia to a repnblicatiou of the History of Printing in America, by Isaiah Thopias, LL. D., its first president and promineut founder. The original work came from the press in 1810. Mr. Thomas, some years later, formed the design of issuing a new edition, f(vr which he gradually made preparation in an interleaved copy. Thus many corrections and additions, and also some curtailments and some changes of position, were provided for. It was a favorite purpose with him to attach to the new edition as complete a list as practicable of publications prior to 1776 in what is now the United States ; and he bestowed a good deal o^ labor on the collection of titles, which he desired to arrange under the names of their printers or publishers. As Mr. Thomas never found time to complete his revised copy for the press, he left his materials to the American Antiquarian Society to be used at its discretion. And now the work of republication has been carried out, preserving, so far as it could well be done under a change of times and circumstances, the identity of the author's plan and method of execution. Two important changes, however, have been made : First, in omitting his preliminary account of the beginning and progress of the art of printing in Ihe Old World ; second, in arranging the titles of American publications prior to the Eevolution chronologi- cally instead of under the names jjf printers or publishers. The account of printing in the Old World was regarded as requiring too much modi- fication and enlargement, in order to adapt it to the present state of information on that subject, and as not essential to the special purpose of presenting a history of the art in this country. It was also decided that a chronological arrangement of the list of publications would render that portion of the work more convenient and useful for general reference, and also cause it to serve as an exposition of the character and condition of American literature at each particular period, at the same time denoting clearly its changes and progress. These points are desiderata which ordiuarj^ cata- logues do not provide for; and the historical inquirer who wishes to know what was written and printed at a particular time, and what were then the subjects of public interest and discussion, has heretofore had no such ready source of information as a list of contemporary publications will supply. The reduction of titles gathered from miscellaneous sources, and but partially susceptible of being verified by collation, to a consistent and trustworthy cata- logue that should not swell the size of the second volume beyond reasonable propor- tions as compared with the first, has been the cause of much delay. The revision and extension of the list had been undertaken by S. F. Haven, jr., M.D., and was carried forward by him assiduously till the breaking out of the late war, when he entered the Army as surgeon, and lost his life at the battle of Fredericksburgh. Since the purpose "of publication was resumed, the task has fallen upon the chairman of the committee having charge of the printing. With such a mass of material, much of which had never before been catalogued in any regular way, if at all, errors and omissions must be expected to occur ; but it may be claimed that the foundation has been laid of a work which it will be comparativelj- easy to mature and complete. If all persona who are cognizant of publications that have been omitted will send. 346 Public Libraries in the United States. ] 320, $3.50 ; Vol. II, 1836, $9 ; Vol. Ill, 1857, $4 ; Vol. IV, 1860, $3 50 ; Vol. V, 1874, $4 ; Vol. VI, 1875, $4; aud Proceedings of the society from iisovember, ]813, to date ; for sale at the rooms of the society, with the exception of the Proceedings for October, 1814, August, 1820, and August, 1831, which are out of. print. The society has, besides its library, collections of Indian implements, revolutionary and ante revolutionary relics, coins, paper money, etc. The number of bound volumes in the library is 60,497. It is especi- ally rich in American history, including local and personal history, and early newspapers. The manuscript collection is large aud varied. The Mather and Bentley manuscripts are the most notable. The collection of periodicals embraces many early American periodicals and some early foreign ones, with considerable modern magazine literature, and a large number of ephemera. The yearly accessions to the library for the last five years have averaged 1,500 books and 6,700 pamphlets. No printed catalogue has been issued since 1837. There is, besides this, an office catalogue, interleaved'. The library is free to the public for reference,- but books can be taken from it only by special permission of the council. The society owns a building worth from $25,000 to $30,000, and has seven funds for specified purposes, amounting in the aggregate to $80,303.20, and yielding a yearly income of $5,800. S. F. Haven, librarian. HOUGHTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MINING INSTITUTE, HOUGHTON, MICH. This society, organized in March, 1866, has for its object " to procure and preserve whatever may relate to general history, but more especially a nieraoiandnin of thoin to the society, such deficiency may be supplied by the addition of supiilemeutary pases. The unexpected size of the catalogue, even after compression and the adoption of a smaller type, has caused the two volumes to be unequal in size, though not more unequal than is often the case with other publications. The text of Vol. I is preceded by a memoir of the author, prepared by his grandson, Hon. Benjamin Franklin Thomas; and brief notices of printing in Spanish, French, Dutch, and Portuguese America come before the principal subject of the work— the history of printing in English America, now the United States. A brief reference to the intro- duction of the art in Nova Scotia and Canada is placed at the end. The appendix con- tains a paper on printing in Mexico and Peru by Hon. John R. Bartlett, of Rhode Island, and some collateral matters of interest that could not suitably be inserted iu the body of the book. The number of pages iu this volume is 510. In Vol. II the first portion (pp. 1-204) is devoted to a history of newspapers and other periodicals, and is followed by a biographical list of booksellers in the colonies, from the first settlement of the country to the commencement of the revolutionary ■war. The appendix includes a variety of notes, and a list of magazines and news- papers published in 1810, when the original edition was issued, which Mr. Thomas says he prepared with much care and labor. The catalogue of ante-revolutionary publications and the index complete the volume, making 666 pages of text and 48 pages of index, or 204 more than Vol. I. The work is published iu two forms: fii-st, as Archteologia, Vols. V aud VI ; second, as History of Printing iu America, Vols. I aud II.— S. F. H. Historical Societies in the United States. 347 to the natural, literary, and ecclesiastical history of the counties, towns, villaofes, mines, and mining companies on and contiguous to Lake Supe- rior." Membership is not limited, and the only requirements are election and payment of $5. The present number of membersis forty-five. Meet- ings, for discussions and addresses, are held monthly from November to May. A specialty of the society is to collect specimens of minerals and procure all evidences of ancient mining in the surrounding region. The number of bound volumes in the library is 1,26(3 ; of pamphlets, 33l»; of manuscripts, 35; all of which have been obtained by gift. The manuscript collection consists principally of papers read at the society's meetings. The society owns no property, other than its collections. None of the officers receives a salary. ii. Shelden, president; James B. Sturgis, corresponding secretary. MICHIGAN STATE FIONEEB SOCIETY,^ LANSING, MICH. This society organized in April, 1874; has 236 members. There is no limit to membership, and the only requisite is the payment of $L a >ear. There is one annual meeting, on the first Wednesday in February. The specialty of the society is State and local history, and biography. It is entirely dependent on contributions for the increase of its library, which consists at present of 2 bound volumes, 26 pamphlets, and 91 manuscripts. By grant of the State legislature the society has an in- come of $500 a year for the years 1875 and 1876 ; beyond this its income is derived solely from dues of members. The collections are now by law deposited in the State library, in care of the State librarian, but are to be transferred to rooms in the State capitol, when that building is fin- ished. Oliver C Comstock, president ; Ephraim Longyear, corresponding secretary. MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ST. PAUL, MINN. This society, organized November 15, 1849, admits any respectable resident of Minnesota to membership on payment of $25. There are at present 180 active, 53 corresponding, and 25 honorary members, making a total of 258. Regular meetings are held monthly, and occasionally special meetings are called for the delivery of addresses or the reading of papers. The publications of the society are two volumes of Collections, and two parts of a third volume relating to the history of Minnesota, which may be obtained by exchange. The objects of the society are to collect and preserve material relat- ing to the history, antiquities, and statistics of Minnesota, the North- west, and, generally, of America ; to rescue from oblivion the memory of ' Couuty pioD'^er societies have been organized ia many couuties in the State, thir- teen of the naost important of which have become tributary to the State society. — Editors. 348 Public Libraries in the United States. its early pioneers, and to obtain and preserve narratives of their exploits, perils, and liardy adventures ; to preserve memorials of its Indian tribes, their customs, religion, and history, and to publish, from time to time, the result of its efforts in collecting historical information concerning Minnesota. The library contains 6,411 bound volumes, 9,372 pamphlets, and sev- eral hundred manuscripts; nearly all of which have been obtained by gift. For the past ten years there has been an average yearly increase of 233 bound volumes. The specialty of the library is Minnesota history. The collection in this department is claimed to be " absolutely com- plete," containing." every work bearing directly or indirectly on what is now Minnesota." The manuscript collection relates wholly to Minnesota and the Northwest. The most valuable portion consists of the journals, diaries, and letter books of traders and Array officers, bslouging to a period many years before the territory was organized. The collection of publications of kindred American societies is quite full. There is no printed catalogue. The library is only for reference, and is free to all. The society has no building, but owns two lots worth $15,000, on which it is proposed, ac some future day, to build. It has a permanent fund of $1,200 and an annual income of $2,500, derived from a State grant. The only salary paid is $1,500 to the librarian. The library and collection of pictures, Indian curiosities, etc., are kept in rooms furnished by the State in the capitol. Tiie building is considered fire proof, and the society has also a large fire proof vault for tbe protection of works of especial rarity and value. Eobert O. Sweeny, president; J. F. Williams, secretary and librarian. MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIE^TY, ST. LOUIS, MO. This society, organized in 1868, has 200 members. The terms of mem- bership are the payment $5 initiation fee and $5 yearly dues. Meetings for discussions and addresses are held monthly. The objects of the society are: the establishment of a library and a cabinet of antiquities, relics, etc. ; the collection of manuscrii)ts and papers possessing historical value; to provide for the complete and scientific exploration and survey of such aboriginal monuments as exist within the limits of the State and the Mississippi Valley ; and, in par- ticular, to collect and preserve sucli historical materials as shall serve to illustrate the settlement and growth of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, and Mississippi Valley. The number of bound v^olumes in the library is 150; of pamphlets, 200; of manuscripts, about 50. The collection is free to the public for reference. The society has no building, but owns a lot valued at $10,000. The annual income is about $1,000, derived from initiation feL^s and member- ship dues. John B. Johnson, M. D., president; W. H. H, Russell, corresponding secretary. Historical Societies in the United States. 349 NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, CONCORD, N. H. This society was oroanized in 1S22, and has 144 resident active mem- bers. Membership is not limited. The terms are, election and pay- ment of an initiation fee of $5, and of such annual tax as may be levied, not exceeding $3. The fiscal year begins the third Wednesday in June. The regular meetings of the society are held quarterly, at which histori- cal papers are usually read ; and an address is delivered annually. The publications of the society are: Collections, 8 volumes; for sale at $2 and $2.50 each, except, three volumes now out of print. The so- ciety has also seven volumes of Provincial Papers of New Hampshire, published by the State and given to the society for sale ; price, $5 a volume. The specialty of the library is the history of New Hampshire. The number of bound volumes is about 5,000. No enumeration has been made of pamphlets and manuscripts. The correspondence and other manu- scripts of Daniel Webster have recently been given to the society, and are deposited in its library. The collection includes most of the publications of other historical societies. Nearly all the books have been received by gift. The library is dependent for its increase on gifts and exchanges. The yearly accessions average 300 volumes and 500 pamphlets. There is uo printed catalogue. The library is free to the public. The society has a permanent fund of $1,889, and owns a building valued at $5,000. The income of the society is about $300 a year, de. rived from interest on permanent fund and assessments on members. None of the officers receives a salary. Hon. Charles H. Bell, president; Nathaniel Bouton, D. D., corre- sponding secretary. NEW HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, CONTOOCOOK, N. H. This society was organized November 19, 1873, and has 34 members. The conditions of membership are election by unanimous vote and pay- ment of $4 a year. Meetings are held quarterly. The publications of the society are : Who invented the American Steamboat? by W. A. Mowry ; 8°, pp. 28; and An Exposition of the Philomathic Club, organized at Hopkinton, N. H., November 19, 1859, with a catalogue of the curious and antique articles in its posses- sion, by Rev. Silas Ketchum; 8°, pp. 388. These are for sale by the society, and are also for exchange. Publications of the society not in print, are: Historical Collections of the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society, prepared and compiled under the direction of the Historical Committee ; Vols. I and II, (one such volume is prepared each year,) and one volume of Scrap Collections, historical and biographical. Besides its library, the society makes a specialty of collections, which number as follows : 1. All implements and manufactures which illustrate 350 Public Libraries in the United States. earlier periods, 550 ; 2. Implements and antiquities of the North Ameri- can Indians, 166 5 3. Coins, ancient and modern, foreign and domestic, 657; 4. Geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy, 1,500; 5. Natural history, 1,226 ; 6. Foreign curiosities, 328. The specialty of the library is books and pamphlets printed in, or re- lating to, New Hampshire, and by New Hampshire authors, and of these there are 806. The library contains, altogether, 2,028 bound volumes, 4,300 pamphlets, 1,512 manuscripts, and 6,696 newspapers. The pamphlets and newspapers are from all parts of the world, and are in twenty-five dittereut langnages. The manuscript collection comprises historical papers dating from 1692 to 1820, of which there are 500 ; the re- mainder comprises addresses, sermons, literary papers, old account books, etc. The books and other collections have been acquired prin- cipally by gift. The library is free to the public for reference. The society owns no building and has no permanent fund. Its yearly income is $346, besides gifts. None of the officers receives a salary. Darwin C. Blanchard, president ; Rev. Silas Ketchum, secretary ; H. A. Fellows, curator and librarian. NASHUA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NASHUA, N. H. This society, organized in 1870, has 61 members. The terms of mem- bership are election and payment of $3. Business meetings are held once in three months; meetings for addresses and reading of papers, on the second Monday of each month. Besides its library, the society has a cabinet of minerals and a col- lection of historical relics of local interest. The library contains between 100 and 200 bound volumes, 25 pamphlets, and 25 manuscripts. Nearly all of the books have been given, also the collections with the exception of three cabinets of minerals, which were purchased. The library is free to the public for reference. The society owns no property. Its annual income is about $100, derived from assessments of n»embers. There are also occasional gifts. No salaries are paid. O. C. Moore, president-; Henry B. Atherton, corresponding secretary. NEW JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NEWARK, N. J. This society, organized in February, 1845, has 519 members. The conditions of membership are election and, for resident members, the payment of $5 admission fee and $3 a year. Life membership may be secured at any time after admission by the payment of $25. Regular meetings for discussions and addresses are held in January and May. The fiscal year begins January 1. The publications of the society are: Collections, Vol. I, $4; Vol. II, $1 ; Vol. Ill, $1.50 ; Vol. TV, $2; Vol. V, $2.50; Vol. VI, $2, and supple- ment thereto, $1.50; and the Proceedings of the Society in 13 volumes, $1.50 each. These are for sale in Newark, and are exchanged with other societies and with individuals. Be.sides its library, the society has a Historical Societies in the United States. 351 cabinet of articles more or less rare and curious, relating to historical events and persona j?es. The library contains 6,100 bound volumes, 5,200 pamphlets, and 2,500 manuscripts. Its specialty is New Jersey history; and about GOO vol- umes, nearly all the manuscripts, and 200 bound volumes of newspapers refer directly to this. Its list of publications of other historical societies in the United States is quite complete. The books and other collections have, with a few exceptions, been received by gift. The yearly accessions average about 20;) books aud 250 pamphlets. The library is free to the public for reference. The society has no building, but owns a lot selected for building worth $10,000, and invested funds, m iking altogether a permanent fund of $12,000. Tlie yearly income is $1,900, derived from membership dues and sales of publications. Flenry W. Green, president; W. A. Whitehead, corresponding secre- tary. PASSAIC COUNT ¥ HISTORICAL SOCIETY, PATERSON, N. J. This society was organized in 1867, aud has 50 members. The only condition of membership is the payment of $1 initiation fee for men, and 50 cents for women, and the same for yearly dues. Meetings for discussions and addresses are held monthly. The library comprises 300 bound volumes, 100 pamphlets, and 5 manuscripts, all of which have been given. No additions have been made for the last two years. The catalogue is in manuscript. The library is free to the public for reference. The annual income of the society is about $25. No efforts are made to collect dues of members. The works produced by members of the society are Historical and Statistical Memoranda, relating to Passaic County, N. J., and Roads and Bridges in Passaic County, N. J., both by William Nelson, libra- rian of the society. Of the first, only 20 copies were published ; of the second, only 100 copies. John J. Brown, })resident; Henry Waters, secretary. VINELAND HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, VINELAND, N. J. Organized in 1864; has 50 members. The oul}^ requirement for mem- bership is the payment of $L initiation fee. Meetings for discussions and addresses are held monthly. The library contains 200 bound volumes, 40 pamphlets, and 25 man- uscripts, all donations. The manuscript collection consists of essays, relating to the early history and geological formations of South Jersey Besides its library the society has collections of local curiosities aud geo- logical specimens, all of which have been given. The society owns a small building, the first one built at Vineland, valued at $100, and two village lots worth $500. The income is varia- ble, being derived entirely from gifts. David W. Allen, corresponding secretary. 352 Public Libraries in the United States. ALBANY INSTITUTE, ALBANY, N. Y. The library of the Albany Institute was founded in 1793 by the So- ciety for tjhe Promotion of Agriculture, Arts, and Manufactures. The institute itself was organized in 1824, and incorporated in 1829. The conditions of raeuibership are election and for resident members the payment of |5 per annum. The number of members is 204. Meetings are held semi-monthly during nine months of the year. Addresses are made and papers read at each regular meeting. The publications of the society are : Transactions, 7 volumes, $2.50 a volume, and one volume of Proceedings. But few complete sets remain in the hands of the institute; some of the volumes may, how- ever, be had by exchange. In addition to its library, the society has collections in natural his- tory, which were formerly of considerable value, but are now over- shadowed by the neighboring State Museum of Natural History; also a collection of specimens of woolen cloths manufactured early in the present century. The library contains 6,000 bound volumes, 600 volumes of pamphlets, and a few manuscripts. The specialty of the library is local American history. The collection in this department includes the De Witt Clinton newspaper files, 48 volumes. The collection of publications of kindred societies embraces not only those of American but of some of the principal societies of Europe. The books and other collec- tions have been obtained principally by gift. The accessions to the library average about 50 volumes a year. A printed catalogue was issued in 1855 ; alphabetical, authors and subjects in the same alphabet, with a brief classed catalogue as supplement. There is a manuscript catalogue of the pamphlets, maps, etc. The collections are open to members of the institute, who may draw books at pleasure. The society owns neither building nor property. Its yearly income is about $1,000, derived from membership dues. The only salary paid is to the librarian, $200. No special precautions are taken to preserve the collections from fire. Numerous works have been produced by members of the society. Among them are Joel Munsell's Annals of Albany, 10 volumes, 12", and Historical Collections, 3 volumes, large S", Beck's Medical Jurispru- dence, and other works. Want of space forbids an extended list. J. V. L. Pruyn, LL. D., president; Leonard Kip, corresponding sec- retary. CAYUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AUBURN, N. Y. This society, organized March, 1876, has a vice-president in each town in the county. Persons may become members of the society by paying $1 admission fee. Charles Hawley, president ; B. B. Snow, secretary. Historical Societies hi tlie United States. 353 LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BROOKLYN, N. Y. This society, iacorporated April, 18G3, has for its objects : 1. The collection of a general library of reference, especially complete in every- thing which relates to American history ; composed in part, also, of extensive and finely illustrated works of a class not embraced in circu- lating libraries, or usually found in private collections. 2. The collec- tion and publication of manuscripts and original matter not before printed upon the history of this country. 3. The collection of histor- ical paintings and engravings, relics and memorials. 4. The formation of a museum of natural history, illustrating the fauna and flora of Long Island. The membership is about 1,100; one-third being life members and the remainder members by annual subscription. The conditions of membership are i)ayment of $5 initiation fee and $5 annual dues; and for a life membership $50, including fee and annual dues. The general meetings of the society are held on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of the mouth, from November to May, when papers of a his- torical, literary, or scientific character are i)reseuted. Two committees have recently been a{)poiuted — one to be called the archaeological and numismatic committee, the other the historical and geographical com- mittee — and it is proposed to hold regular meetings of each, for the discussion of approi>riate topics. There is also a committee on fine arts and one on natural history. The latter holds monthly meetings, at which approi)riate papers are read. The society possesses a number of paintings, mostly portraits of his- torical personages, many interesting relics and memorials, and a col- lection of coins, several hundred in number, some of them rare and of much value. The museum of natural history contains classified speci- mens representing the natural history of Long Island; and it is in- tended to make this complete as a local collection. The library contains 20,000 bound volumes, 25,000 pamphlets, and a large collection of manuscripts, not enumerated, among which are the Laurens Papers, 5 folio volumes, containing the correspondence of Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress, and other eminent men of the period ; 123 original letters of Washington, never yet printed; a collection of Dutch manuscripts of the time of Stuyvesant; and papers relating to Long Island, New York City, and vicinity, from the period of the Dutch government to the present time. The library is especially strong in American local history and family genealogy. The other his- torical departments, especially of French and English history and biog- raphy, are well furnished, and constant additions are being made by purchase and gift. A department of works relating to Egypt, the Holy Land, and Greece, has been founded by two ladies; and a department of American biography by another. There is also a medical depart- ment, established by members of the King's County Medical Society, to which was added in 1869 the entire library of an eminent Brooklyn physician, lately deceased. 23 E 354 Public Libraries in the United States. One biiiidred and fifty quarterly, monthly, and weekly periodicals and the prin( ipal daily newspapers are regularly received. A separate room is provided for ladies, but all the rooms are open to them. It IS a plan of the society to publish valuable original manuscripts as they come into its hands, and as it becomes possessed of the necessary tiinds. It has published two volumes, as follows: Journal of a Voyage to l!few York, and a Tour in Several of the American Colonies, in l()79- '80, by Jasper Bankers and Peter Shiyter, translated from a Dutch manuscript in the society's collection, octavo, pp. xlvii, 440 ; and The Battle of Long Island, with Connected Preceding Events, and the subse- quent American Retreat; narrative by Thomas W. Field, with authentic documents; octavo, pp. ix, 550. The society now occui)ies rented rooms, but owns a valuable lot, on which it purposes to build a large and handsome building as soon as the necessary funds can be secured, and ibr this purpose a committee has recently been ap[)ointed. The society has a permanent library fund of $54,000, and a yearly income of $10,000, derived from interest on in- vestments and dues of members. President, Richard S. Storrs, D. D.; corresponding secretaries, (home) T. Stafibrd Drowue; (foreign) J. Carson Brevoort. BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BUFFALO, N. Y. The special object of this society, which was organized in 1862, is to " procure and preserve historical material relating to Western New York and its inhabitants, whites and Indians, from the earliest period." The number of members is 746. The terms of membership are, for resident members the payment of $5 annually ; for life members, payment of $50. Regular meetings are held monthly, and additional historical club meet- ings every two weeks during the winter. At all the meetings addresses are delivered or papers read. The fiscal year begins January 1. There are committees on statistics, local history, and Indian reminiscences. The society has published nothing as a society; but papers contrib- uted by its members have been in some instances published in pam- phlet form. These may be obtained in exchange from the society. The library contains 4,058 volumes, 4,430 pamj)hlets, and 130 mauu- scripts. Its specialty is local and Indian history. The manuscript collection embraces the records, journals, and correspondence of the Holland Company, biographical sketches, letters and journals of early settlers, city records, etc. There is no printed catalogue, but manu- script catalogues, full and complete, of the books, pamphlets, manu- scripts, relics, and curiosities. The accessions" to the library average 470 volumes a year. Nine-tenths of all the collections have been given. The library is free to the public for reference, daily, Sundays excepted. The society owns no building, but has a permanent fund of $5,784, aud an annual income of $1,500, denved from membership dues and iu- Historical Societies in the United States. 355 terest on fund. It is exempt from taxation by the law of the State. Tlie onl}- salary paid is to the librarian, 8600. The building occupied by the society is completely tire proof. James Sheldon, president; George S. Armstrong, corresponding sec- retary and librarian. AMERICAN ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK, N. Y. The society was organized November 19, 1842, by Hon. Albert Gal- latin and a few other gentlemen. The present number of members is 100. Resident members pay on election an initiation fee of $5 and the same amount as annual dues. Meetings are not held at stated periods, but are called as papers are prepared. There are ten special committees of five members each, viz : On North America; on Central and South America; on Northern and Middle Europe; on Southern Europe; on Asia and the East; on Africa; on philology; on the American Indians: on stone, earthen, and metallic relics, etc. ; on books, pamphlets, etc. The society has published Transactions ot the American Ethnolog- ical Society, 2 volumes, 1845 and 1848, $4 per volume, which can be had on application to the treasurer of the society. Part 1 of Volume III of the Transactions was printed, but nearly all the copies were destroyed by tire, and it has not been reprinted. The society has printed bulletins at intervals. Arrangements had been made forthe pub- licatioL of the Squier and Davis materials, but these were relinquished to the Smithsonian Institution, and became No. 1 of its quiirto series. Since then most of the ethnological publications have been printed by the Smithsonian Institution, by Congress, or by book publishers tor the respective writers. The library consists of 1,000 bound volumes and pamphlets and a few manuscripts. Most of the books are in the library of the New York Historical Society, where an alcove is to be set apart for them. The manuscripts consist of papers relating to ethnology, vocabularies, etc., including •' Vocabulario en lengua Cacchiquel, de Villacana," in 1692, which has a preface entitled "Arte de lengua Cacchiquel," etc. The collection of publications of kindred societies includes some of the pub- lications of the Smithsonian Institution, the Antiquarian Society, the Philosophical Society, the Koyal Geographical Society, the Asiatic So- cietyj and the Geographical Society of Brazil. Most of the books have been obtained by gift and exchange. In Volume II of the Transactions, published in 1848, is a short list of books then belonging to the society, but no regular printed catalogue has been issued, 'fhe library is solely for reference, and is accessible only to members and students of ethnology. There is also a cabinet of Indian relics. The society has no funds except §50, known as " the Alofsen fund." Its annual income covers current expenses only. The list of works produced by members of the society is too long for insertion, including the writings of Humboldt, Agassiz, Lepsius, Pres- 356 Public Libraries in the United States. cott, Ticknor, Bancroft, Dr. Francis Lieber, Du Cbaillu, Cardinal Wise- man, Schoolcraft, Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, and many other eminent authors. Alexander J. Cotheal, president and treasurer; Piof. Charles Kau, corresponding secretary. AMERICAN GEOaRAPHICAL SOCIETY,' NEW YOEK, N. Y. The library of this society contains over 10,000 bound vcluraes relat- ing to its special field, about 4,000 pamphlets, 3,000 maps and charts of all countries, and about 1,000 manuscripts, consisting mainly of ad- dresses and reports. The library has been collected and purchased from time to time since the organization of the society by its various officers. The accessions average 1,000 a year. There is as yet no catalogue. The library is used only by members, of whom there are 1,800. The income of the society, derived solely from dues and life member- ships, varies from $10,000 upwards, and is all expended in the practical working of the society. Alvau S. Southworth, secretary. AMERICAN NUMISMATIC AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK, N. Y. A few gentlemen of New York City, interested in the study of coins and antiquities, founded this society in 1857. The number of members is now 100. The terms of membership are payment of $5 initiation fee and $5 annual dues ; or for a life member, |30. The number of hon- orary members is limited to 50. Kegular meetings are held on the third Tuesday of November, January, March, and May in each year. The American Journal of Numismatics, now in its tenth volume, pub- lished by this society for four years, has been transferred to the Numis- matic Society of Boston, Mass. The library, which is for the use of members only, contains about l,t)00 books and pamphlets, of which there is, as yet, no catalogue; but one is in preparation. The cabinet contains from 4,500 to 5,000 coins and medals. There are specimens of nearly all the ancient coins, except the Hebraic; and-^ there is a fair representation of Oriental, mediaeval, and modern coins; also of American coins of the colonial and revolu- tionary periods. The society has a nominal permanent fund of $300, and its yearly income is only sufficient to cover current expenses. No salaries are paid. Prof. Charles E. Authon, president; William Poillon, secretary. AMERICAN PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY,. NEW YORK, N. Y. This society does not limit its membership, and has at present 40 active members. The fees are $2 a year. Meetings, at all of which there are ' Purtber iuformation respecting tbis society will be found in Sketcbes of Public Libraries iu New York City, in Chapter XXXVIII, Part VII, of this report. Historical Societies- in the United States. 357 discussions and addresses, are held monthly, and frequently semi-month- ly. A special committee has in charge the formation ot a phonetic alpha bet adequate to the needs of all living languages. The library, the extent of which cannot be ascertained, has been ob- tained entirely by donation. The yearly income of the society is very small, and is derived solely fropa membership dues. Rev. xVaron Lloyd, president ; David P. Holton, M. D., secretary. GENEALOGrICA.L AND BIOaRAPHlCAL SOCIETY,^ NEW YORK, N. Y. This society, organized March IG, 1809, has a membership of 250. The terms of membership are election, and, for resident members, pay- ment of $10 initiation fee, and $5 annual subscription until the sum of $50, with interest, has been paid. The payment of $50 at one time con- stitutes a life member. Meetings are held twice a month, except during the summer; addresses are delivered about once a month. The society publishes quarterly the Xew York Genealogical and Bio- graphical Record. Four numbers form a volume. Six volutues have been published, beginning January, 1870. The price of the first volume was $1 ; the others are $2 each. The library contains 862 bound volumes, 2,GS7 pamphlets, and 97 manuscripts. The whole collection relates to local history, its specialty being local genealogy and biography. The only catalogue is a manu- script list of books kept by the librarian. Most of the books have been obtained by gift. The yearly increase, since the first year of the forma- tion of the library, has averaged 200 volumes and paruphlets. The library is exclusiv^ely for reference, and is accessible only to members and persons introduced by them. There is a small invested fund, derived from life memberships. Its yearly income is about $500, from dues and interest, besides subscrip- tions to and sales of the Record. The latter are applied, as fast as received, to the expenses of printing and publishing the Record. There are no salaried officers. Edward F. De Lancej', president ; Charles B. Moore, corresponding secretary. NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,^ NEW YORK, N. Y. This society has in its library 60,000 bound volumes. About one-half its newspapers, extending from 1704 to 1875, are bound, and when the binding is completed the collection will number 4,500 volumes. The pamphlets have not been enumerated, but are said to weigh from two to three tons. These are to be arranged gradually in chronological 1 Further iutbruiatiou respecting this society will be fouud in Sketches of Public Libraries iu New York City, in Chapter XXXVIII, Part VII, of this report. 2 An extended sketch of this society will be fouud in Sketches of Public Libraries n New York City, in Chapter XXXVIII, Part VII, of this report. 358 Public Libraries in the United States. order, by subjects. The manuscript collection embraces the Gates' Steuben, Golden, Duer, Lord Sterling, and Gen. Lamb papers, besides a large miscellaneouscollectiou, which cannot be enumerated in its present condition. The librarian is preparing a calendar catalogue of the whole* The society has 2,000 members. It has no permanent fund, and the amount and sources of its yearly income are not stated. HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY,^ CINCINNATI, OHIO. This society was established in 1831, and, after a period of inaction, was revived and reorganized in 1868. Only residents of the State of Ohio may become corporate members. The terms of membership are election and payment of an initiation fee and an annual subscription of $10 each. The payment of $100 constitutes a life member. The present number of members is 83. The fiscal year begins the first Monday in December, when the annual meeting is held. Other regular meetings are held each year as the executive board may determine. The object of the society is the "collection and preservation of every- thing relating to the history and antiquities of America, more especially of the State of Ohio, and the diffusion of knowledge concerning them." The library is composed exclusively of works on American history, and contains 5,413 bound volumes, 17,393 pamphlets, and 35 volumes of manuscripts. Nearly the entire collection has been presented. Both books and pamphlets are fully catalogued. The library is used by members of the society both as a reference and circulating library. There is also a cabinet of Indian curiosities and mound builders' relics. The society has no building, but occupies rooms in the Cincinnati College. It has a permanent fund of $8,735, and a yearly income of $1,265, All amounts received for life memberships are funded, and only the interest thereof can be expended. Gen. M. F. Force, president ; Robert Clarke, corresponding secretary. WESTERN RESERVE AND NORTHERN OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, CLEVELAND, OHIO. The object of this society, organized in May, 18G7, is to "discover, procure, and preserve whatever relates to the history, biography, gene- alogy, antiquities, and statistics of the Western Reserve, the State of Ohio, and the Northwest." The membersliip is 145. The payment of $100 constitutes a life member; of $5 a year an annual member. The fiscal year begins the second Tuesday in May. Meetings are held only when called. The society has issued a number of publications relating to the early history of Ohio and Michigan, none of which is for sale, but they are exchanged with kindred societies. 'Au exteudod uketch of this society will be foaud iu Sketches of the Public Libraries of Ciuciunati, iu Chapter XXXVIII, Part VI, of this report. Historical Societies in the United States. 359 The library contains 2,275 bound volumes, 3,500 pamphlets, and 150 manuscripts, A general catalogue of the books and an index of manu- scripts are being i)repared. The library is open to members and persons who have special permission. A specialty of the society is its museum of antiquities, principally relating to the West, and including a fine collection of curiosities taken from the mounds on the Mississippi River near Memphis. The museum has recently been enriched by a collection of Babylonian and other Oriental antiquities. The society has a permanent fund of $10,000, and a yearly income of $1,000 to $1,200, derived from interest on fund, dues, and gifts. The librarian is the only salaried officer. Col. Charles Whittlesey, president; C. C. Baldwin, corresponding sec- retary. LICKING COUNTY PIONELiR HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, LICKING, OHIO. This society, organized May 1, 1867, has 350 members, of whom 15i> are active, 74 corresponding, 81 honorary, and 39 antiquarian. There are no conditions of membership, except for active members a residence of thirtj" 3^ears. There are no fees or assessments on members; meet- ings are held auuuall}', at which papers ate read. The society has published nine numbers of the Licking County Pioneer Pamphlets, for sale by K. Clarke & Cj., Cincinnati. A specialty of the society is its cabinet, containing a collection of mound builders' relics, Indian relics and implements, petrifa(;tions, minerals, old coins, and other curiosities. The library contains 200 bound volumes, the same number of pam- phlets, and 250 manuscripts, the last relating entirely to pioneer and Indian history and works of the mound builders. The specialty of the library is local, especially pioneer history and biogr.ipliy. Tae larger proportion of the books and collections has been presented. The yearly accessions to the library average 25 b()oks and 30 pamphlets ; to the cabinet, 100 relics and specimens. The library is free to the public. The society owns no property, and its income is entirely from gifts. None of the officers receives a salary. P. N. O'Banon, president ; C. B. Giffin, corresponding secretary. FIRELANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NORWALK, OHIO. This society, organized July 4, 1857, limits its membership to residents of the Firelands. The terms of membership are the payment of 25 cents yearly. There are nearly 700 members. The meetings are annual and quarterly. Eleven volumes of the Firelands Pioneer have been published, the 360 Public Libraries in the United States. first in 1858, the last in 1864. The last five volumes can be had at 50 cents each, unbound, or 83.50 for the five, bound in one volume. The object of the society is to collect and publish historical facts, es- pecially such as relate to pioneer life in the State. The library con- tains about 50 bound volumes, 100 pamphlets, and 50 manuscripts- There is also a small cabinet of Indian and other relics. The collections have been obtained entirely by gift and exchange. The library is for the use of members. The society has no property; and its income, derived from member- ship fees and sale of the Pioneer, is small and irregular. Philip N. Schuyler, president ; Samuel E. Carringtou, secretary. 'JOLEDO HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, TOLEDO, OHIO. This society, organized in 1871, has 35 members. The only require- ment for membership is the payment of $3 a year. Meetings for discus- sions and addresses are held monthly. The number of volumes in the library is not stated, but the yearly accessions are said to average about 100 volumes. Collecting Indian relics is made a specialty. All the books and curiosities have beeu ob- tained by gift. The society has neither building nor permanent fund. Its income is derived solely from initiation fees and members' dues. E. H. Fitch, president ; Rev. H. M. McCracken, secretary. PIONEER AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ASTORIA, OREG. The objects of this society, which was organized in 1871, are "to col- lect, collate, and have published, sketches of the early discovery, settle- ment, and settlers of the country, to collect and preserve all records of the past and present history of Oregon and its several subdivisions, . . . and to establish a public library and reading room." Membership is limited to persons " who arrived upon this coast or were born in the country prior to January 1, 1851." Members' dues are at the rate of 12^ cents a month. There are 171 subscribing and 67 corresponding and honorary members, making a total of 237. Two meetings are held during the year, at both of which papers are read. The library is fot the use of members only, and contains about 600 volumes and 100 manuscripts, all of which have been obtained by gift. The income of the society is derived from members' dues and contri- butions. None of the officers receives a salary. Two members of the society, Hon. J. Gwin Thornton and AV. H. Gray? have written, jointly, a History of Oregon. T. P. Powers, president ; W. H. Gray, corresponding secretary". OREGON PIONEER ASSOCIATION, BUTTEVILLE, OREG. The objects of this association are " to collect, from living witnesses, facts relating to the pioneers and history of the Territory of Oregon." Historical Societies in the United States. 361 It was organized October 18, 1873, with 45 members; it has now a mem- bership of 485, limited to persons who settled in the original Territory of Oregon prior to January 1, 1853. The terms of membership are payment of 81 admission fee, and the same amount as yearly subscrip- tion. Womeu may become members without payment of fees. Regular meetings are held once a year. The association publishes its proceedings yearly, with historical sketches, in pamphlet form, about 100 pages, for sale and for exchange with other societies. The library rooms are not yet opened, and there is no report of the' number of volumes. A small manuscript collection relates entirely to tlie history of the Territory, from the discovery of the Columbia River to the admission of Oregon into the Union. The association is to occupy rooms in the State house at Salem. Its yearly income is $1,000, derived from fees, dues, and gifts. There are no salaried officers. Johi;i W. Grim, president; W. H. Rees, corresponding secretary. HAMILTON LIBRARY AND HISTORirAL SOCIETY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, CARLISLE, PA. This society was chartered in April, 1874. The payment of §20 se- cures a life membership; of $50 a perpetual membership. Meetings are held monthly. The library contains 500 bound volumes and 100 pamphlets. The society has no building, but owns a lot valued at $2,000, and has besides a permanent fund of $2,000. None of the officers receives a salary. W. H. Cooke, M. D., president ; Capt. J. T. Zug, secretary. LUTHERAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, GETTYSBURG, PA. The chief object of this society, organized in 1846, is the collection of the publiccitious of Lutheran ministers in this country, and of all such documents as may illustrate the history of the American Lutheran Church. No account is kept of the membership. Any contribution to the treasury constitutes the giver a member. Meetings are held bi- ennially, and addresses are delivered on these occasions. The library contains 359 bound volumes, about 1,000 pamphlets, and a manuscript collection, consisting of the original archives of the Gen- eral Synod and of several district synods. Nearly all the books have been presented. The yearly accessions average about 20 volumes and 50 pamphlets. The catalogue is in manuscript. The library is free to all who desire to use it. The income of the society is derived solely from collections at its reg- ular meetings. Charles A. Hay, curator. 362 Public Libraries in the United States. DAUPHIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HARRISBURa, PA. This society, orgauized in May, 18G9, has QQ members. The only con- dition of membership is the payment of $3 a year. The library contains 100 bound volumes, over 200 pamphlets, some of them of great value, 510 manuscripts, and 100 bomid volumes of news- papers, among them the Carlisle Gazette, the first paper published west of the 'Susquehanna, dating from 1786. The books have not yet been catalogued. The use of the library is restricted to subscribers. The yearly income of the society is $200, derived from subscriptions. A. Boyd Hamilton, president; George W. Buchler, corresponding secretary. LINN^AN SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, LANCASTER, PA. This society was organized in 18G2. Its membership embraces 20 active, 10 contributing, 25 corresponding, and 2 honorary members, making a total of 57. The library contains 500 bound volumes, 800 pamphlets, and 417 man- uscripts. Besi Ol 0< -H •sjaqinaiu JO J a q 01 u ^ •pazi ; .^ a y in n -TiBo.io n.»q^ 't^ □ -■ ^ I O C2 .2 I a 1 I ^ « I ^ g w « w H 3 -C -2 I g 12! ^ 5 o o 5 I i .. I £ I 9 J a 2< g M ? « 1 ^ =. -- a" -3 S I I' i ^ -S ^ :^ Si S P3r5^caoS:z;POOCL,W g [i* P^ S S S I I I w w 3 " 'Sill w ;2i liq K .2 3 bC ^ c2 6 5 ►s 2 n 5 M pq I I I „ 6 o o o c P3?;oQh1Phc«? « 3 376 Public Libraries in the United States. lOtOOOOtDOOIftOO (MmOOO-S>000« O of rt- « 'S)duosnaBiii JO jaqinnit n o) in •s^aiqcToiBd JO jeqran^ § g § § § O •» O O 05 (J» I- CO •BaninxoA JO J 9 q m Q ^ T-T «r iri" of to" co~ O 00 o o o O <0 ?5 O OS O O CO in o o S § 5 S § "= r-T o in" cf •sjaqniani JO jaqranx M> M ;o -; in S o»oooooo««oo^55 rH- r^- Of •paz; ■^ « o in «■» (j» r- oi » Tc un SSSSSSSS -.^ o o 5s ^S" i:) Sa° a 5 S 5 a a .2 SEW =S °^ nl » » c< izi |2i !z; .2 <) || S .2 g- I a 5 ^ ■2 s « 3 2 «1 o .'£ 2 >, .2 „- •1 ^ I ! i I g 5 3 ^ |« CC o a A( .2 ^-11 .2 7! n § « a ^ ^ a 2 ? bt ^ ^ "[1 S a S o 2 ^ •- - ^ .2 ■" cq ^ ;3 £ H -sop J. 2 Jo ^Jd-? "J? •S^sS5:;fe'§'aJ^ :J?= 1 -^ ^ I g w a S & ji S I? Historical Societies in the United States. 377 S S § : § § 5 o o o §{ § § i s? s i-T cf n its" § "" 1 1 1 i O to -H t- > S W ^ .2 .2 .2 S o g .2 *: -3 ^ -3 .5 § § a tS .« I g -i .2 a -3 .S o o 00 o 6 a .S a I O S 5 2 2^ ' I S - ~ ~ - <^ " •5 I t^ ifl W pS 3 2 3 S u _Q. _ft ^ _ft tS '3g,.2c52'2'2'a-2'0'a'2og,3»>2 - e< s a ^ o 2 2 -^ S 1 :^ :^ (3 M =2 a 3 •C 5 = rt 3 ^ § § £ S rt W H H t> CHAPTER XIV. YOUiNG MEN'S MERCANTILE LIBRARIES. BY F. B. PERKINS Boston Public Library. Origin AND kakly history — Apprentices' libraries — Athenaeums — Young men's associations and institutes — educational adjuncts — popular lectures — Character of collections — Business management — Future prospects — Sta- tistics. The first libraries ia this country which were in any sense public were those of the colleges; with a college there was always a library, and it could be used more or less by a certain portion at least of the not very great number of men scholarly enough to require such aid. Dr. Franklin's establishment of the Philadelphia Library, in 1731, may in like manner be reckoned the beginning of the period of proprietary libraries, owned by shareholders, and if used by others, only so used by favor. Even as thus limited, these libraries were calculated for much ■wider usefulness than college libraries. The young men's libraries mark a further step in cheapening and pop- ularizing knowledge. They were neither to be exclusively for the learned like those of colleges, nor practically confined to the few who could invest a significant sum of money in becoming owners of a collection ; but ■were adjusted to the requirements of that much more numerous class of persons who were not permanently established citizens and who could not afford more than a small annual fee. Last comes the full development of the American administrative prin- ciple. in libraries, that of supplying all at the common expense of all, yet gratuitously to each. A free town library, according to this defini- tion, seems to have existed in New York as early as the year 1700, ■s\hen the Eev. John Sharp, chaplain to the Earl of Bellamont, governor of New York, bequeathed his books to the city for a public library. After many years of neglect and misuse, this collection, however, be- came fused with the proprietary Society Library; the time was too early for the liberality of the project. Again, Governor Clinton, of New York, in his message in 1S27, suggested the establishment of free school district libraries in that State, which were subsequently imi- tated elsewhere; but this movement did not bring out adequately the best capabilities of a public free library system, being, indeed, mainly 378 Young Men^s Mercantile Libraries. 379 for childreu. Thus it remains to date the practical establishment of the real public free library system from the origiu of the Boston Public Library. While these four successive classes of libraries exhibit each a constant and decided advance in liberality of plan and in capacity of usefulness, none has. become obsolete, but all four remain alive together, suiting and benefiting diflferent classes, each in its own way. Some such preliminary statement as this seemed necessary, in order to show clearly what is the appropriate place and the distinctive char- acter of the so-called "mercantile libraries.*' These are enumerated by Mr. Jeweit^ in a more general class, which he calls "social libraries." This class of "social libraries" includes, he says, "athenaeums, lyceums, young men's associations, mechanics' institutions, and mercantile libra- ries." And he says in the next paragraph, "In some States, almost every town has, under some name, a social library." As distinct from the other " social libraries," the mercantile libraries may be described as primarily for the use of merchants' clerks j second- arily, also, for all general readers. They are established in large towns ; are not free nor owned in shares, but are open to all on payment of a peri- odical fee; and they are managed by the business part of the community, most commonly by the clerks. Probably the " apprentices' libraries" might with sufficient propriety be considered under the same head, at least so far as professional matters relating to libraries are concerned, but they are not at this time specifically discussed. Libraries, however, called by such names as " young men's institute," " young men's asso- ciation," "lyceum," etc., so far as their character, purposes, and man- agement are like those having the word " mercantile " in their title, are naturally reckoned with them. Those of the Young Men's Christian Associations are not so included. Mercantile libraries as a class grew up as part of the great educational movement of the second quarter of this century; a movement pretty distinctly visible in the history of the period, and to which also belongs the establishment in England of the " mechanics' institutions," of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, etc*; and in this country the important series of educational movements which first received their main impulse about the year 1837. Our two oldest mercantile libraries are, that of Boston, established March 11, 1820, and that of New York, whose foundation was determined on November 9 of the same year. In the next year the Philadelphia Mercantile Library (now, however, become a stock concern) was started. The Albany Young Men's Association and the Detroit Young Men's Society were founded in 1833; the Troy Young Men's Association in 1834; the Cincinnati Y^oung Men's Mercantile Library and the Buffalo Young Men's Asso- ciation in 1835; the Hartford Young Men's Institute (the successor of the old proprietary Hartford Library Company, which was in existence 1 Notices of Public Libraries iu the United States, page 189. ~ 380 Public Libraries in the United States. before 1795) in 1833 ; the Baltimore Mercantile Library in 1839 ; and so on, to a total number which cannot be stated with accuracy, but which is not less than thirty, and might be made much larger by relaxing the definition a little. The youngest of them all to; be baptized with the good old name of " mercantile library," it is believed, is that at Gal- veston, Tex., which was founded in the fall of 1870, and which in 1873 became a free public library. Another of the youngest of them, the Brooklyn Mercantile Library, founded in October 1857, is one of the most energetic and flourishing. This list is not, of course, offered as complete, but only to show the dates of establishing some of the prin- cipal mercantile libraries. It is probable that any public library founded now is decidedly more likely to be organized as a free town library, open to all without any payment, than as a subscription or yearly fee library. It does not now seem likely that many additional libraries will be joined to the existiag class of mercantile libraries. There are even a few cases that indicate a decrease in their number as not improbable. Such are those of mer- cantile libraries whose revenues and strength of position generally have been materially impaired by the establishment of a free public library in the same community. It would not be difficult to prove that such im- pairment may probably be avoided, on the obvious principle of using business like ways of dealing with the emergency — a doctrine peculiarly appropriate to institutions managed by business men. Without elabo- rating in this place any details of a scheme for this purpose, it will do to suggest that the great free public libraries do not exterminate but rather tend to multiply the small business " circulating libraries," of a few hundred volumes each, which newsdealers, booksellers, fancy goods dealers, and the like, so often manage. And if this be the case, it is quite certain that the mercantile libraries, if managed on the same principle, need not fail any more than their smaller neighbors. That princii)le is, to meet the business demand for reading. This requires two things : first, to use the main efforts of the library in supplying books that people want to read ; and second, to permit such modes of paying (cash payments only are meant) for the use of the books as the customers of the library may like best. Such management makes a pork business successful ; so it does a bookselling business ; so it does the small trading circulating libraries; and if this be true, much more would it make the mercantile libraries successful, co-operating as it would with the comparatively powerful position and influence which they already possess. In the meanwhile, however, the majority of our mercantile libraries are, like the largest and most valuable and useful of them, the New York Mercantile Library, the only important public circulating libraries in their respective towns, and while nominally, in some sense, pertaining to the mercantile class, or to the young men, generally, they are in fact open to anybody who pays the moderate annual fee ; and they do a great and indispensable service to the interests of literature. Young Men^s Mercantile Libraries. 381 The intimate original connection of the mercantile or young men's libraries with the general educational movement of the second quarter of this century was most evident in the feature, common to all the earliest of them, and still retairied to a considerable extent, of a school, or at least an educational, department. This consisted most frequently of classes in such studies as book-keeping, arithmetic, writing, and modern languages. Sometimes gymnasiums, or classes in athletic exercise, were added. The usual reading room has, in some cases, a chess room attached. In some instances, cabinets of minerals, coins, or other objects of inter- est have been begun, accordin g to the tendency to the study of natural science at the period when the young men's libraries began. Classes or societies for debate, and for exercises in declamation and composition, have sometimes been formed. Thus these institutions, instead of being, like the earlier proprietary libraries or the later free public libraries, confined to the single function of furnishing books to readers, were lilanned rather like a sort of business college, as if to furnish a general higher education to those who had not been able to go as far as desira- ble at school. The courses of lectures in connection with the mercantile libraries, which have been a nearly constant feature, and are even more prominent than any of those just enumerated, arose from this same original school or collegiate character ; for when these libraries began ,to be established, the public lectures, or " lyceum lectures," as they used to be and still are sometimes called, were supposed to be not mere entertainments, as most of them now are, but actual courses of instruc- tion, relatively as much so as the "Lowell lectures" at Boston. As the l)ublic demand changed, however, and as the lectures in the market be- came gradually mere amusements, the libraries came to make use of them no longer as parts of their school system, but as means of re- inforcing their finances. For a certain period, the annual course of lectures was relied on as a source of income just as regularly and just as safely as the payment of the regular subscriptions ; and other amuse- ments, such as concerts, for instance, were sometimes interspersed with them. Uf late years, the annual reports, however, show a very notice- able diminution of profit, and in a good many cases a loss from this bus- iness, insomuch that a considerable number of these libraries no longer organize courses of lectures regularly every winter, but confine them- selves to seizing any occasion al good opportunity to provide a single lecture or a special series. The rest of these school departments, as the classes for special instruction, the gymnasiums, chess rooms, and debat- ing societies, in some instances still continue, and are of considerable, though it cannot be said very extensive, service. The nature of the collections of books in these libraries varies greatly. Some of them founded on old and solid libraries, or commanding consid- erable means, are of much positive value, at least for general culture, though there is probably not one which has a complete apparatus for investigating any single branch of knowledge. To a predominating 382 Public Libraries in the United States. extent tbey are primarily, as they must necessarily be, collections of popular literature. The conditions on which their books are used, the modes of regfister- ing the names of borrowers, and the delivery and return of books, the details of service and business, present no special points for discussion, being like the corresponding parts of the administration of other cir- culating libraries, and modified in individual cases rather by the char- acter of the management than by the designation of the institution itself. The chief difiBculty felt by these libraries — it may pretty safely be said by alllibraries — is wantof money and of efficientaid from thepublic. For this want there is, however, one clearly manifestreason peculiar to young men's libraries. They are conducted by rapidly changing boards whose members are often mere youths. Their affairs are taken in hand once a year, and reported to and dealt with by a meeting of the mem bers, whose votes, cast during an exciting canvass for officers of the library, may, and frequently do, deciile the general policy and detailed measures of the library for the coming year. Such methods do passably well in associated enterprises, conducted by experienced business men, and, indeed, no one who knows the history of the young men's libraries can fail to admire the remarkable degree of good sense and good business management with which they have been conducted. Yet there is some: times a good deal of troublesome and not very handsome intriguing at the annual elections to oust one party or person, or to introduce another. Sometimes the executive force is changed in a similar manner. Some- times, on the other hand, there is too much apathy, and the machine moves only in a slow and rusty way in the hands of managers disin- clined or unable to give it the requisite care and energy. And it is natural and unavoidable that the older citizens, when applied to, as they are from time to time, for money with which to enlarge such a library, should hesitate to intrust an important property in personal or real estate, or both, wholly to such a collection of young people. Accord- ingly, where such measures have been accomplished, it has in some cases at least, been by means of associating a body of older men with the younger ones, with a special control over the merely property interests of the library. Such a double organization is that of the New York Mer- cantile Library Association, where the library itself and its conduct are in the hands of the merchants' clerks, while its real estate business and the income of the same are controlled by the Clinton Hall Associa- tion, which consists of old and conservative men of business. This sort of May and December conjunction causes more or less friction, but, on the whole, the institution gets along remarkably well ; and while nobody dreams that the young men want to do anything wrong or foolish, the presence and authority of the old ones make it reasonably certain that they could not if they did, at least to a fatal extent. For increasing the prosperity and usefulness of the mercantile libraries, none but general methods can be suggested, namely, to push them as Young Men's Mercantile Libraries. 38^ energetically aud wisely as possible. Tlie friends of institutions estab- lished with forms and habits of their own, do not often relish the idea of changiuj; them. It is, accordingly, not worth while to seek any changes in such mercantile libraries as are meeting with reasonable success. Where, however, the prospects of a mercantile library are not so encouraging as might be desired, the present state of public senti- ment warrants the belief that a revival would not improbably result from changing it into a free public library. This can always be done in such a way as to respect and preserve the traditions of the older insti- tution. And while, on the one hand, there might be some detriment from the change, there doubtless would be, on the other, an advantage so great as to be decisive wherever it could be fully secured. This advan- stage is the identifying the ownership of, responsibility for, and interest in the library, not with any one class, no matter how intelligent and re- spectable, but with the whole community. This, of course, points to putting the library on exactly the same basis as other municipal con- cerns ; indeed, it makes the library a part of the government; a part surely more creditable and worthy of encouragement than the jail or the poorhouse. [Following will be found tables of Mercantile, Young Men's Associa- tion, and Young Men's Institute Libraries, showing the date of organi- zation of each and the number of volumes in each, according to the latest returns. Most of the athenneums, mechanics' institutes, and apprentices' libra- ries are similar in character and purpose, in many respects, to the classes above mentioned, and it has been thought proper, therefore, to add the statistics of the more important of these. Further details respecting all of them will be found in the general table of statistics in Chapter XXXIX of this report.— Editoks.J Mercantile Libraries. Arkansas Little Rock ... California Sau Francisco . Illinois Peoria Maine Dexter Portland ilaryland Baltimore Massachusetts Boston Missouri Hannibal St. Louis Xew Hampsbire . ..Portsmouth... New York Brooklj'n Kew York Ohio Cincinnati Pennsylvania Philadelphia. . Pittsburgh Mercantile Libiary ! 18C' Mercantile Library ! 1853 Mercantile Library , 1855 Mercantile Library i ieC7 Mercantile Library ! 1851 Mercantile Library 1 1839 Mercantile Library | 1820 Mercantile Library I 1871 Mercantile Library ! 1346 Mercantile Library I 1852 Mercantile Library ! 1857 Mercantile Library ! 1820 Young Men's Mercantile Library 18^5 Mercantile Library i 1821 Young Men's Mercantile Library ! 1847 3, 024 41,5C3 9,155 050 5,031 31,032 21, 500 2,219 42, 013 2,000 50, 257 160, 613 36, 193 125, 66S 13, 012 384 Public Libraries in the United States. Young Men's Associations. Place. Name. 0.= a..2f 1 it 1838 1826 1867 1848 1866 1833 1833 1841 1835 1834 1866 1847 10, 000 4,510 4,400 Georo'ia Atlanta, Augusta Youug Men's Library Association 12, 790 13, 000 4 680 New York Albany Buffalo Buffalo Youn" Men's Association 27 597 Troy .. Youn" Men's Association 21, 424 Ohio Norwalk 4,300 15, 000 Athenceums. Place. Name. jl a -3 1^ Maine Rockland Athensenm 1850 1844 1856 1807 1857 1848 1834 1850 1871 1810 1864 1859 1817 1829 1828 1860 1814 1836 f852 1870 1847 4,000 2,261 3 000 Saco Athensenm Massachusetts BlacUstone Athenaeum and Library Association 3,657 8,700 4 903 Nantucket Athenaeum Athenaeum 3 782 Pittsfiekl 18, 000 20, 000 7,306 4,670 11 607 Salem Weatfield Minnesota Minneapolis Athenaeum Athenaeum Athensenm and Mechanics' Association Ohio Zanesville 6,000 4,000 20 000 Athenasum and Historical and Mechanical Society. Athenaeum Philadelphia . . 12, 000 Athenaeum 9,200 3, 050 Windsor Athenaeum Young Men's Mercantile Libraries. Mechanics' and Apprentices' Libraries. 385 1° California San Francisco . Maine Lewiston Portland Massachusetts Boston Lowell Worcester . . . Michigan Detroit Kew Hampshire ...Portsmouth.. New York Buffalo New York . . . Pennsylvania Lancaster Philadelphia . Philadelphia . Rhode Island Newport Providence. Mechanics' Institute Manufacturers' and Mechanics' Library Mechanic Apprentices' Library Mechanic Apprentices' Library Middlesex Mechanics' Association Charitable Mechanic Association Worcester County Mechanics' Association.. Mechanics' Society Mechanics' Association Mechanics' Institute Apprentices' Library Mechanics' Library Apprentices' Library Company Mechanics' Institute of South wark , Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Library As- sociation. Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers 1855 1861 1835 1820 1842 1820 1826 1865 1820 1828 1820 1852 1791 24, 108 5, 300 4,200 4,500 12, 782 4,000 4,450 3,500 2,800 4,504 53. 000 4,000 21,000 3,550 3,000 6,750 25 E CHAPTER XV. 'HE LIBRARIES OF YOIIXG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS. BY CEPHAS BRAIXERD. Young men's christian associations — Their number and membership — Number AND extent of LIBRARIKS AND READING ROOMS— PURPOSES— CHARACTER OF READ- ING— GERMAN ASSOCIATIONS — CaTHOLIC YOUNG men's ASSOCIATIONS — STATISTICS. LIBRARIES OF YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS. The first Young Men's Christian Association in the United States was organized at Boston, Mass., in 1851. There are now, according to the latest returns received, 478 associations, with an aggregate membership of 62,180. One hundred and eighty associations, with an aggregate membership of 43,612, report libraries containing altogether 164,188 volumes ; 139 report libraries valued in the aggregate at $227,268 ; 201 report reading rooms, with an aggregate average attendance of 9,145 readers daily. The largest library reported is that of the Association at Washington, D. C, which, together with that of the Washington Library, deposited in the same rooms, contains about 15,000 volumes. The active membership of these associations is almost wholly composed of young men, a majority of w^hom are clerks and artisans. The man- agement is in the hands of a small body of Christian men, who seek, through the agencies of the associations, the moral, mental, and social elevation of those who come within their reach. These societies have been steadily growing in numbers and influence for the last quarter of a century, and notably since 1865. Two and one-half millions of dollars have, within the last ten years, been permanently invested in fifty-oiie association buildings and some fifty building funds. Seventy-five trained men are now constantly employed in their executive work and administration. They are not isolated societies, but are connected in State organizations, and finally in a single co-operative agency, which embraces the English speaking part of the continent. Through these general combinations, by means of committees and paid agents, they are united in efforts to increase the power of existing associations and to form new ones. While the moral welfare and advancement of the mem- bership are sought most earnestly, and as a paramount object, the agencies for education are not neglected. There is scarcely an associa- tion which does not have its annual course of lectures, while those in the larger towns and cities sustain classes in those branches of practical knowledge which are especially available in business pursuits. The greater proportion of the libraries are circulating libraries, but two of the 386 Libraries of Young Alen's Christian Associations. 387 largest are used simply for reference and reading in the library room. The small collections of 100 volumes and less are composed almost wholly of books of biblical reference for the use of the members of the association and the Sunday school teachers of the community. In the purchase of books the first aim of an association is to supply the means for Bible study, and this portion of their collections is always in advance of the other. They then seek to obtain books most useful to the young men who frequent their rooms, in the line of their business employments. They then add histories, biographies, travels, poetry, and those works of fiction and general literature which are not considered objectionable. The use made of these books may be illustrated by the statistics of a reading and reference library of about 10,000 volumes for the year 1874, (excluding therefrom the use of dictionaries and encyclopedias:) His- tory, II J per cent. ; biography, 4 per cent. ; travels and geography, 31 per cent. ; Bibles and biblical works, 6 per cent. ; theology, 31^ per cent. ; general literature, 18 per cent. ; poetry and the drama, 7 per cent. ; fie. tion and tales, 29J per cent. ; arts and sciences, 17 per cent. These figures indicate unmistakably a decided preference for the better class of reading. They offer a fair example of the reading in all the libraries. It is believed that the library of the New York Association, which embraces 10,552 volumes, is the most valuable of its class in the coun- try. The books have been selected with the utmost care, are of the best English editions, when those have been obtainable, and are, for the most part, excellently bound. This collection is quite complete in stand- ard history and theology. Much attention has been given to the depart- ment of art, particularly in the matter of engraving, and the progress of that art is illustrated by a series of 8,000 engraved portraits begin- ning at a very early period and brought down to the time when the art reached its most perfect development. The library room of this associa- tion has shelves for 25,000 volumes. The reading rooms of the associations are always free to the general public. Some are particularly complete in the various departments of periodical literature. It is considered of the first importance that both the libraries and reading rooms should be kept open at hours when they will be con- veniently accessible to the young men of the community. Some of them are open during a large portion of each Sunday, though this is far from being an invariable practice among these societies. In no case are these collections of books mere libraries ; they do not stand alone, but are part of a complex machinery, all of which has a unity of design in seeking, largely by the personal effort of individu- als, the elevation and best welfare of the young men of the community. The library of the young men's christian association is, in many towns, the only one open to the public, and hence it has been the aim of those who are active in the association movement to encourage and foster every exhibition of the book gathering spirit. 388 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. [Of the 478 associations before mentioned 23 are known as German Young Men's Christian Associations, their membership being composed of persons of that nationality. Besides these, there are in the United States a number of Catholic Young Men-s Associations which possess libraries and reading rooms for the use of their members. The statistics of these are but imperfectly reported, there being as yet no central organization like that of the Young Men's Christian Associations. The oldest of these associations reported is that known as the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute of Philadelphia, which was organized in 1850. Among the largest are those of the Catholic Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, organized in 1860, and the Catholic Library Association of Fort Wayne, Ind., organized in 1871, which contain 3,000 volumes each. Reports from nine Catholic associations show that they possess libra- ries containing, in the aggregate, about 18,000 volumes. Following will be found a table showing the date of organization and number of volumes in library of the more important associations of both classes before mentioned. The statistics of others will be found in the general table in Chapter XXXIX of this report. — Editors.] Talle of principal libraries of Y4)ung Men's Christian Associations and Catholic Young Mm's Associations. California San Francisco . . , Dist of Columbia.. "Washington Illinois Chicago Indiana Fort Wayne , Massachusetts Boston Boston New Jersey N ew Brunswick . Trenton New York Albany Albany Brooklyn Elmira New York Ohio Cincinnati Pennsylvania Bethlehem Erie Hairisbnrgh. Lancaster Philadelphia . . Philadelphia.. Williamsport . Ehode Island Bristol Providence ... Tennessee NashvilUi Virginia Richmond Young Men's Christian Association Washington City Library Young Men's Christian Association Catholic Library Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Union Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Catholic Lyceum Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Catholic Institute Young Men's Christian Association City Library, Young Men's Christian Asso elation. Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute... Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association Young Men's Christian Association s U 1853 5,000 1865 15, OOO 1867 2,670 1871 3,000 1851 4,785 1852 3, 6:{5 1868 3,000 1856 3,404 1871 2,000 1857 2,000 1854 8,000 1858 5,200 1852 10, 552 1860 3,000 1867 2,000 1867 5,650 1855 2,100 1872 3,000 1350 2,000 1854 5,310 1866 2,000 1863 2,070 1853 4,000 1870 4,500 18c5 3,600 CHAPTER XVI. FREE LIBRARIES. BY J. P. QUIXCY. Relation of the citizex and the state to free librabies — Incentives to thor- ough READING — Selection of books — Use and abuse of fiction- Value op special and complete catalogues — Educational influences and advantages — Individual endowments and contributions. The free library, regarded from the alcoves by those responsible for their supply and arrangement, necessarily suggests studies in the details of administration. The citizen for whose convenience this wonderful institution has come into being, as he presents his card at the desk and summons the author whose instruction he needs, as naturally considers the central principle which it illustrates and the subtile influences it is already diffusing in the world. There are certain eminent philosophers who have emphatically an- nounced that the sole duty of the state is to administer justice. Legis- lation should not attempt to improve and uplift the citizen, but be satis- fied in providing him with a policeman and a penitentiary. They assure us that private enterprise will best furnish the community with what- ever civilizing and ennobling influences it may lack. Even the public school, we are told, is a blunder of which the logical outcome is a state church, with an annual item of "faggots for heretics" to be assessed upon all tax-payers. It would not be wise for any moderate dialectician to question the construction of the syllogisms which have brought really great men to these dismal conclusions 5 but I have sometimes thought that it would be pleasant to take an evening walk with one of them (Mr. Herbert Spencer, for instance) through the main street of a New Eugland town, and see if he would recognize any tendency to the evils that he had predicted. He would be shown the ancient barroom (happily closed) which an unfettered priv^ate enterprise once provided as the sole place of evening resort. Some of the older inhabitants might be summoned to give their recollections of this central rallying place. It was the social exchange of the community, every night ablaze with light, inviting all male passers-by to try the animal comforts of spirits and tobacco. Even persons of local respectability, having no- where else to go, were wont to stray in and stupefy themselves into endurance of the vulgar jests of the barkeeper and the chorus of brutal 389 390 Public Libraries in the United States. talk that must prevail when whisky is abundant and women are left out. Our distinguished thinker would learn that »this tippling house had been closed by the fiat of a government which no longer permits the open bar to flaunt its temptations in the face of men ; and not only was the liberty of the liquor dealing citizen thus outraged, and his private enterprise remorselessly put down, but this same government (going on from bad to worse) audaciously exceeded its proper functions by opening a spacious library, heated and lighted at the general cost. Instead of the barkeeper and his satellites, we find modest and pleasing young women dispensing books over the counter. Here are working- men, with their wives and daughters, reading in comfortable seats or selecting volumes to make home attractive. If we should estimate in dollars the saving to the community of that government action which theorists have condemned, the result would be most gratifying. To the moral advance which in this case had been initiated by substituting a public institution for a private enterprise, there would be no want of fervent testimony. Of course one could not ask an inexorable logician to abandon those compact formulas about the limits of state action, which are the best of labor saving inventions to all who can accept them. We could only set against the philosopher's reasoning what a poet has called "the unreasoning progress of the world;" and we may rejoice that no American citizen who has studied the actual workings and perceived the yet undeveloped capabilities of his town library is likely to be disturbed by the deductions of a merely verbal logic. He is familiar with at least one form of this dreaded government interfer- ence, which not only expresses the collective will of the people, but constantly tends to inform and purify its sources. The diminution of human eftbrt necessary to produce a given result is nowhere more strikingly exhibited than in one of our free libraries. One is tempted to parody the Celtic paradox, that one man is as good as another and a great deal better too, by saying that a public library is just as good as a private one, and for the effective study of books has decided advantages over it. A student is much more apt to fix and record the results of reading if the book is not owned. The volumes which stand on his private shelves may be mastered at aiiy time, which turns out to be no time, or rather they need not be mastered at all, for there they are, ready for reference at a moment's notice, but the books bor- rowed for a few weeks from the public library he is compelled to read carefully, and with pen in hand. The one secular institution which encourages self-development as an aim should be especially favored in the times upon which "we have fallen. Who has not had moments of skepticism touching the solid advantages to humanity of the mechanical triumphs our generation has seen '1 They have created a host of new desires to be gratified, of unimagined luxuries to stimulate the fierce competitions which thrust the weakest to the wall. But we cannot help entertaining :\Ir, Mill's painful doubt whether all the splendid achieve- PUBLIC LIBRAPvY CONCORD, MASS. Free Libraries. 393 ments of physics and chemistry have yet lightened the toil of a single human being. We read that the railroads are rapidly extending the cattle plague and the cholera, and that Mr. Adams told the Comte de Paris that, had the ocean telegraph been laid a few years earlier, the frightful calamity of a war between England and America could not have been avoided. If we would bind these Titans in wholesome service to the higher interests of our race, it must be done by a commensurate expansion of the means of popular education. It will not do to ignore the fact that their advent has greatly increased the difiiculties of main- taining a healthy poliiical system. It is only by constantly extending knowledge that we may take good heart, and accept the situation. The best use to which we can put the stage coach of our ancestors is to carry us to the railroad, and we can best employ their precious legacy of the free school as a conveyance to the free library. There is one question concerning the functions of free libraries upon which different opinions are held by estimable persons. Should an in- stitution, supported by tax-payers to promote the general interests of the community, hasten to supply any books which people can be induced to ask for by unscrupulous puffs with which publishers fill the papers ? It must, of course, be admitted that there may be good reasons why the libraries of wealthy cities should preserve single copies of every- thing that comes to hand. Silly, and even immoral, publications may offer illustrations to the student of history, and give him valuable aid in reproducing the life of the past. But the smaller libraries, which cannot aim at completeness, have not this excuse for neglecting to exer- cise a reasonable censorship upon books, and for seeking only to adapt their supplies to a temporary and indiscriminatiug demand. Surely a state which lays heavy taxes upon the citizen in order that children may be taught to read is bound to take some interest in what they read ; and its representatives niaj^ well take cognizance of the fact, that an increased facility for obtaining works of sensational fiction is not the special need of our country at the close of the first century of its inde- pendence. Physicians versed in the treatment of those nerve centres, whose disorder has so alarmingly increased of late years, have testified to the enervating influence of the prevalent romantic literature, and declared it to be a fruitful cause of evil to youth of both sexes. The interesting study of the effects of novel reading in America, to be found in Dr. Isaac Ray's treatise upon Mental Hygiene, should be familiar to all who are responsible for the education of our people. Senator Yeaman, in his recent work upon government, exclaims: The volumes of trash poured forth dailj', weekly, aud moothly, are appallinjT. Many minds, which, if confined to a few volumes, would become valuable thinkers, are lost in the wilderness of brilliant aud fraj^raut weeds. It has been very hastily assumed that if our young people cannot obtain the sensational novels which the}' crave, they will make no use 394 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. of the towu library. But this is not so. Boys and girls will read what is put in their way, provided their attention is judiciously directed, and the author is not above their capacity. I am, fortunately, able to ad- duce direct testimony to a truth which will appear self evident to many who are thoroughly in sympathy with the masses of our people and have studied their requirements. There is a free library in Germautown, Pa., sustained by the liberality of a religious body, and frequented by artisans and working people of both sexes. It has been in existence for six years, contains at present more than 7,000 volumes, and takes the extreme. position of excluding all novels from its shelves. A passage from the report for 1874:, of its librarian, Mr. William Kite, is commended to the attention of those who affirm that libraries have no interest for the ma.sses of our people uuless they administer sensational fiction in heroic doses : In watcbiug the use of our library as it is more aufl more resorted to by the younger readers of our coiumunity, I have been much interested in its influence in weaning them from a desire for works of fiction. On first joining the librarj"^, the new comers often ask for such books, but failing to procure them, and having their attention turned to works of interest aud instruction, in almost every instance they settle down to good reading and cease asking for novels. I am persuaded that mnch of this vitiated taste is cultivated by the purveyors to the reading classes, and that they are responsible for an appetite they often profess to deplore, but continue to cater to, under the plausible excuse that the public will have such works. A letter from Mr. Kite (dated November 11, 1875) gives most gratify- ing statements concerning the growth and success of the Friends' Free Library. I take the liberty of quoting the following extracts, as bearing upon the matter in hand : As to'the question of inducing readers to substitute wholesome reading for fiction, there is no great difficulty about it. It requires a willingness on the part of the care- takers to assume the labor of leading their tastes for a time. A very considerable number of the frequenters of our library are factory girls, the class most disposed to seek amusement in novels and peculiarly liable to be injured by their ftilse pictures of life. These young people have, under our State laws, an education equal to reading average literature. . . . According to our gauge of their mental calibre, we offer to select an interesting book for them. They seem ofteu like children learning to walk; they must be led awhile, but they soon cater for themselves; we have thought but few leave because they cannot procure works of fiction. . , . We receive great help, in rightly leading our young readers, from our juvenile department. Perhaps the name hardly conveys the nature of the books, for it contains many works intended to give rudimentary instruction in natural history and science, and does not contain children's novels, Sunday school or others. It is safe to say that relaxation in the sense spoken of as belonging to novel reading is obtained by our readers in the use of books of travel, of which we have a rich collection. In further illustration of what seems to me to be the better American opinion upon the matter under consideration, I quote from the last report (1875) of the examining committee of the Boston Public Library. That committee was composed of well known aud responsible men, who may be presumed to have given due consideration to the language they sanction. The italics in the following extract are mine : Free Libraries 395 There is a vast rauge of ephemeral literature, excitiog andfascinating, apDlogetic of vice or confusing distinctions between plain right and wrong; fostering discontent with the peaceful, homely duties which constitute a large portion of average men and women's lives; responsible for an immense amount of the mental disease and moral irregularities which are so troublesome an element in modern society — and this is the kind of reading to which multitudes naturally take, which it is not the business of a town library to supply, although for a time it may be expedient to yield to its claims while awaiting the development of a more elevated taste. Notwithstanding many popular notions to the contrary, it is no part of the duty of a municipality f to raise taxes for the amusement of the people, unless the amusement is tolerably sure to be conducive to the higher ends of good citizenship. . . . The sole relation of a town library to the general interest is as a supplement to the school system; as an instrumentality of hiyher instruction to all classes of people. No one has ever doubted that the great majority of books in a free library should be emphatically popular in their character. They should furuish reading interesting and intelligible to the average graduate of the schools. And there is no lack of such works. The outlines of the sciences have been given by men of genius after methods the most sim- ple and attractive. History and biography in the hands of competent authors fascinate the imagination and give a healthy stimulus to thought. The narratives of travelers, beautifully illustrated as they so often are at the pre.sent day, are thrilling enough to gratify that love of wild adventure which is at times a wholesome recoil from the monotonies of civilization. Some.of the great masters of romance interest, and at the same time elevate and teach. What theologian has shown the power of secret sin to inthrall the human heart as Hawthorne has shown it in the Scarlet Letter ? Can Milton's noble Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity reach the average ear like the lovely Christmas Carol of Charles Dickens ? Few persons could think it desirable to exclude all fiction from their town library. But it is one thing to admit certain works of imagination of pure moral tendency, which have proved their vitality by living at least a year or two ; it is quite another thing to assume that the town library is to be made a rival agency to the book club, the weekly paper, the news stand, and the railroad depot, for disseminating what are properly enough called " the novels of the day." Granted that fiction is an important ingredient in education, it is not the ingredient which is especially lacking in American education at the present time, and which the public funds must hasten to supply. It may be thought that I am taking needless pains to emphasize views which all leaders of opinion willingly accept. Unhappily this is not the case. A gentleman, whose honorable military services always secure him the public ear, declared, in a recent address, that free libra- ries should distribute the literature known as "dime novels," seeing that these productions, although " highly sensational," are " morally harmless." The fallacy, as it seems to me, is almost too transparent for exposure. Morally harmless to whom, and under what circumstances I Many physiologists believe that, to certain persons at certain periods of life, the moderate use of alcoholic stimulants is not only morally harm- 396 Public Libraries in the. United States. less but pbysically beneficial. Would it be well, then, for our towns, at the collations some of them give to parents and pupils at the end of the school year, to place plentiful supplies of wine and spirits upon the tables? Nobody will deny that an occasional dime novel may be mor- ally harmless to the middle aged mechanic at the close of his day of honest work. He is amused at the lurid pictures of the every-day world he knows so well, takes care to put the book out of the way of his children, and finds himself none the worse for his laugh over the bloody business of the villain and the impossible amours of the heroine. But now let us look at the testimony of Jesse Pomeroy, the boy mur- derer, at present under sentence of death. Mr. J. T. Fields, in a lecture of which I find a notice in the Boston Journal, (December 14, 1875,) reports a conversation held with this miserable youth : Pomeroy, in the course of the interview, said that he had always been a great reader of blood and thunder stories, having read probably sixty " dime novels," all treating of scalping and deeds of violence. The boy said that he had no doabt that the reading of those books had a great deal to do with his course, and he would advise all boys to leave them alone. If it is held to be the duty of the State to supply boj's and girls with dime novels, and the business of the schools to tax the people that they may be taught to read them, public education is not quite as de- fensible as many persons have supposed. It would be foolish to draw any definite line respecting the selection of books for free libraries, and to declare it worthy of universal adop- tion. The gentlemen of the Boston committee, while proclaiming the principle which these institutions should embody, imply that it is pro- visionally expedient to furnish the literature whose tendencies they so unequivocally condemn. I am not concerned to dispute their conclu- sion. The question deserves very grave consideration, and its decision may wisely differ in different communities. Libraries already organized may for a time be fettered by precedents that were hastily established. It may be best that their managers should not directly oppose existing prejudices, but should gradually gain such spots of vantage ground as may be held against unreasonable attacks. Some of our librarians have already entered upon an important line of duty, and offer wise guidance to their communities in the art of effective reading. The efforts of Mr, Winsor and other pioneers in this direction should be met in a spirit of thorough and cordial appreciation. They have recognized the fact that they are not servants to supply a demand, but that (within limits) they are responsible for the direction of a new and mighty force. It is to be hoped that the directors of our smaller libraries will gradually attain conceptions of public duty which will prevent them from court- ing a temporary i^opularity by hastening to supply immature and unreg- ulated minds with the feverish excitements they have learned to crave. There is a silent opinion ready to sustain those who will associate with the town library an atmo^iphere of pure ideas and generous traditions. ROXBURY BRANCH BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. Free Libraries. 399 We cannot evade a responsibility which has been placed upon us of this passiuisf generation. One of the most promising institutions yet born into the world must be bequeathed to our successors as an instru- ment always working in the direction of moral and social development. As not without connection with the subject just dismissed, I desire to protest against the very common assumption that the number of books a library circulates serves to measure its usefulness to the com- munity sustaining it. Even if we reach this conclusion by reckoning only the works of real value which are called for, it may be wholly fal- lacious. If such a test is to be recognized, the noble work that has been done in cataloguing will often appear to be superfluous. I am sure that many persons consulting the Boston Public Library will agree with me that its peculiar advantage lies less in the great number of its books, than in the fact that exhaustive catalogues guide the student to just the book he wants; he is not co;npelled to swell statistics of circulation by taking out ten books that were not wanted in order to find the volume of which he stands in need. A little reflection will make it evident that the circulation credited to a free library may throw very faint light upon the one important question of the manner and spirit in which its privi- leges have been used. To set everybody to reading in all leisure hours is not necessarily the best thing that the institution can do for us. Much of its highest usefulness must reach the tax-payer indirectly, and through vicarious channels. Our people are an exceptionally good medium for the transmission of intellectual force. The free library will benefit many of its supporters through the minister's sermon and the physician's practice ; the editor's leader will lead toward sounder con- clusions; the teacher will learn, not only something worth communi- cating, but the best methods of imparting knowledge orally to opening minds. An educational centre may confer no slight blessing upon out- lying dependencies by leading to the recovery of the lost art of conver- sation, as quickening as vulgar personal gossip is enfeebling to the human mind. It is plain that no attainable statistics will measure the work of the town library. There are no figures that will tell us, even approximately, what portion of the intelligence of the community would have lain dormant without it. How many individuals of exceptional capacity have been encouraged in thinking and acting more wisely than the mass of their fellow-citizens, we can never know. We must take for granted what is incapable of direct demonstration. But it is important to remember that as intellectual eflbrt is kindled fewer books may be wanted. Excessive indulgence in miscellaneous reading is soon found to be incompatible with any real assimilation of knowledge. Statistics are desirable so long as we do not credit them with information which they cannot give. It is certainly possible that the usefulness of a free library may increase in inverse ratio to the circulation of its books. It is yet too soon to estimate the wonderful results to which this gift of literature to the masses of the people is destined to lead. It will 400 Pitblic Libraries in the United States. act and react upon our successors in ways that we cau scarcely antici- pate. Mr. Froude has contended that the transition from the old indus- trial education to the modern book ed ication is not for the present a sign of what can be called progress. Bat this is only sayiug that all fruitful principles bring temporary disorder in their train. Something may be urged in behalf of the discipline that went with apprenticeship, when contrasted with the smattering of unvitalized knowledge which was all that some of the earlier experiments in public education seemed able to supply. But the moment the public school is supplemented by a public library, its capacity is increased an hundredfold. And this should be recognized by some modification of the ends at which our earlier schools, the schools of the masses of the people, direct their energies. When good books could be obtained only by the wealthy, there was some excuse for crowding a child's memory with disconnected scraps of knowledge. But now that the free library is opened, sounder methods are demanded. The miscellaneous examining must give place to a train- ing that tends to develop the reflective and logical faculties of the mind. Our classical schools, the schools of a small class, defend their narrow course of study with the plea that it is their special work to fit for the wider opportunities of college. It is fast bscoming the work of the schools of our governing majority to fit for the people's college, the town library. Many years ago, Macaulay declared the literature then extant in the English language of far greater value than the literature extant in all the languages of the world three centuries before. The noble contri- butions that this literature has received during the last score of years throw a new emphasis upon the statement. When our public instruc- tion gives the power of leading English with ease, and of writing it with some knowledge of the delicacies of its vocabulary, when it is perceived that its true end is to facilitate and systematize the use of pub- lic books, the cost of popular education will be repaid in a social advance- ment which now seems in the dimmest future. The free library will tend to establish some better pro^wrtion between the work which must be done in America and the means provided to do it. It will give the man of origiuaMty an opportunity of finding the sympathy and support which are somewhere waiting for him. Under its hospitable roof the pamphlet may again assume a ministry of instruc-, tion not held of late years. Much valuable investigation is done by men who have neither the time to write books nor the money to publish them. Let them remember that a few hundred copies of a pamphlet are cheaply produced, and, di^stributed among the free libraries, will reach those who are prepared to take an interest in the matter discussed. It is no slight privilege to secure that small circle of sympathetic read- ers who can be picked from the crowd in no other way. And these publications, when good work is put into them, are no longer ephemeral. Bound into volumes, and catalogued under the subjects of which they treat, they remain to shed whatever light may be in them upon difficul- Free Libraries. 401 ties with which the world is tormented. The politician, trammeled, it may be, with the fetters of his party, the journalist, not always emanci- pated from allegiance to temporary expediencies, easily reach the gen- eral ear. A new means of communication with the people is opening for the independent thinker who may in the end direct them both. It will not be the least service rendered by the free library if men of moral force, who may hold unpopular opinions, are able to touch the pores through which the public is receptive. It is to be hoped that each free library will gradually become the cejQtre of the higher life of its community, and will successfully ai)peal to private liberality for an increasing attractiveness. A few wealthy men have already seen that there is no surer way of benefiting their neighborhoods than by providing permanent library buildings, capable of giving the pleasure and education which fair forms and beautiful col- oring afford. It were well to set apart some room in such an edifice for the display of pictures and other works of art, and to establish the cus- tom of lending objects of interest for free exhibition. The usage of giv- ing the first and best of everything to the sovereign is too good to aban- don to the " efiete despotisms of Europe." It wilt bear transplantitig. Why should not every one of us acknowledge gracefully the claims of the general public? When the prosperous citizen treats hiiiist'lf to a work of art, let it tarry a month at the town library on the Wiiy to its private destination. It will give its possessor a healthier enjoyment for subjection to this popular quarantine. And not the wealthy alone, but all classes of the coramuuity should be encouraged to give some service to their library. When the state bestows a privilege, it creates an obli- gation which it is courteous to acknowledge. Any one who takes a few good newspapers, or can borrow them of his neighbors before they are used for kindlings, may make a valuable gift to his town library. By giving a few moments every evening any one can prepare and index a scrap book which will always be associated with its donor as a volume absolutely unique, and of permanent interest. Mixed with masses of foolish and frivolous matter, much of the best thought of the da}' finds its way into the newspapers. Finance, free trade, the relations of capi- tal and labor, and other important subjects of research, are illustrated not only by the essays of able journalists, but by th^e crisp correspond- ence of active men whose business brings them face to face with the short-comings of legislation. The millionaire who, by spending thou- sands, should present the four Shakspere folios to his town library, would be thought to have honorably connected his name with the insti- tution ; but the man or woman who gives four folio scrap books filled with the best contemporary discussions of a few great topics of human interest, is a far more useful benefactor. To the statesman, to the student of history, as well as to the general reader, the work will gain in value as the years go by. It seems doubt- ful whether the multitudinous records of the times that are thrown 26 E 402 Public Libraries in the United States. daily from tlie press can be accommodated within the walls of any institution. But to preserve judicious selections, capable of easy refer- ence, will always be a high form of literary usefulness. When Thomas Hobbes declared that democracy was, only another name for an aristocracy of orators, he never conceived of a democracy which should be molded by the daily journal and the free library. To this latter agency we may hopefully look for the gradual deliverance of the people irom the wiles of the rhetorician and stump orator, with their distorted fancies and one-sided collection of facts. As the varied intelligence which books can supply shall be more and more wisely assimilated, the essential elements of every political and social question may be confidently submitted to that instructed common sense upon which the founders of our Government relied. Let us study to perfect the workings of this crowning department in our apparatus for popular education. Unlike all other public charities, the free library is equally generous to those who have and to those who lack. It cares as tenderly for the many as for the few, and removes some of those painful con- trasts in human opportunity which all good men are anxious to rectify CHAPTER XVII. PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MANUFACTURING COMMUNITIES. BY WILI^IAM I. TLETCIIER, Assistant Librarian Watkinson Library of Reference. Mill libraries — Social libraries — Endowed free libraries — Prr.Lic i-rke LIBRARIES — Buildings— General MANAGEMENT — Catalogues — Details oi man- agement — Choice of books^ Nowhere does the public library system find a better field than in those communities which are largely engasjed in manufactures. The density" of the population, the scarcity of books in private ownership, the dreariness and the dangers of boarding house life, the generally un- employed evenings of most of the people, offer conditions eminently suited to give a public library success and usefulness. Tliese facts have been recognized early in the history of most of our manufacturing towns, and attempts have been made to establish libraries on some public or semi-public basis. Four classes of libraries have resulted from these attempts. T. MILL LIBRARIES. Some of the larger manufacturing corporations have established extensive libraries for the use of their employes. That of the Pacific Mills, in Lawrenc3, Mass., is a gooJ example of this class. To its establishment the corporation contributed generously, but it is now maintained by a contribution of one cent a week from each employe. This assessment is deducted from the wages by the paymaster, in accordance with an agreement entered into by each employe on entering the service of the corporation, and as the average number of hands employed is from four thousand to four thousand five hundred, the sum thus realized is sufficient to support the library. It is open every evening for the drawing of books, and for the use of its well furnished reading room. The library now contains some G,000 volumes, and while there is sufficient light reading to furnish entertainment for those who seek nothing more, there is also a large and growing accumulation of the best books in all departments of literature which are adapted to the needs of a circulating library. No one familiar with the workings of this great mill can fail to see the benefit of the library in cultivating among the operatives literary tastes and ambitions, and an esprit du 403 404 Public Libraries in the United States. corps of great value to all the interests of the corporation. The same is true of the many other instances of libraries of this class.^ II. SOCIAL LIBRARIES. Libraries of this class are not peculiar to manufacturing towns, as they have been nowhere else so successful as in the large cities, where they are, in most cases, known as mercantile libraries. But the manu- facturing towns have nearly all had their library societies, which have filled an important place in the cultivation of literary tastes, and in pre- paring the way for the more modern system of free libraries. Most of the present free libraries hare, in fact, been formed on the nucleus fur- nished by a social library, and would probably have never come into existence without the spur to public effort which is found in the gift of such a nucleus. Social libraries seem now to have had their day, and, even where they have not been superseded by free libraries, are appar- eUftly losing ground in the presence ot the general expectation of better things. III. ENDOWED FREE LIBRARIES. To the honor of the men who have labored at the foundation of our great manufacturing interests, and have received large wealth as their merited return, it is to be observed that they have, in many instances, spent this wealth with a liberal hand for the benefit of the people- Their benefactions have often taken the form of a gift or bequest for ^the establishment or support and enlargement of a public library- What could be a better use of wealth acquired by the application of superior skill and intelligence to manufactures, than to employ it in dif- ^ The following from O. A, Archer, librarian of the Blackinton (Mass.) Library, aflfords another illustration of the good a public library will do in a community largely com- posed of operatives in manufactories : " On first settling in the village, about eighteen years ago, I found a large number of men and boys who had nothing to read, and they spent their evenings in lounging at the village store. I offered to loau them books from my private library, which offer was eagerly accepted. The demand was soon greater than the supply, and I determined to commence collecting a library for the use of the public. A small sum was raised by subscription in the outset, and although our additions have not since been large, we have kept the library in good condition, and have managed to obtain from time to time such new works as the character of our readers seemed to demand. " The patrons of the library are mainly operatives, who, after a day of toil, require reading largely of a light character, as a means of relaxation ; hence a large part of our books are of the best class of fiction. The average factory girl takes amazingly to Mary J. Holmes, Marion Harland, and the like, while many of the men read Irving, Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray. Books of travel are favorites, especially with the young folks, while the works of Miss Alcott and Sophie May are in great demand. In order to make a library in a given locality of real service to the people, much discrim- ination is needful in selecting books that will be read. A thousand Volumes of Greek and Roman classics, or scientific works, would be of very little use in a small factory village. Still, the aim with us is to get the best of every class, and gradually work in books of a higher class, as the demaud for them is created." — Editors. Public Libraries in Manufacturing Communities. 405 fusing intelligence among those who have contributed to its accumula- tion by honest toil ? Such things as these are the most serious obsta- cles in the way of those who would array labor against capital as against a natural enemy. In a few cases a bequest 'has furnished all the means for the establish ment and support of a library, making it a free gift to the people. Tli;it beneficence is doubtless better directed which is so applied as to make its usefulness and av^ailability depend on more or less effort on the part of the beneficiaries. Thus, the gift of a building will stimulate effort in the matter of furnishing its shelves with books ; or the supply of books in one important department will excite ambition to keep the other de- partments up with it. A town which makes the liberality of individ- uals a reason for not doing anything in its public capacity in any depart- ment of education or progress, is sure to foil behind those which act on the principle that effort to procure a good thing greatly enhances it^ value. IV. PUBLIC FREE LIBRARIES. This expression is used for want of a better to characterize those libraries which are maintained as a part of the regular educational sys- tem, free to all, and supported by taxation. Tliis is without doubt the character of the public library of the future, the outcome of all the experiments of the past. Only twenty-five years have elapsed since the bill permitting the laying of rates for the maintenance of ]mblic libraries passed the British Parliament, and a similar one was adopted in the Massachusetts legislature. Many of the States have enacted laws encouraging the establishment of public libraries, and every year adds to the number. That the large manufacturing towns, both in England and in this country, have been among the first to avail themselves of the privilege of supporting a public library at the public expense, shows the special adapted ness of the sysiem to such communities. Probably no Ameri- can town or city can show so good a record of unanimity in this matter as did the city of Manchester, England, which voted to lay a rate for library support by a majority of almost exactly one hundred to one. It should be stated that the library at Manchester was not established by rates alone, but enjoyed a generous endowment. The public libraries of Manchester, as the institution with its branches is called, are in the very front rank of success and usefulness, their yearly circulation now being not far from half a million of volumes. Let it be admitted, then, that this is the form which public libraries should take to achieve the highest success, especially in a manufac- turing community, and let ; 11 eflbrts to ])romote their establishment be made in the direction of inciting, encouraging, and helping the people to help themselves in this matter. Leaving this branch of the subject, which is of too general application to be dwelt on at length in this paper, it will next be iu order to consider some of the details of library administration in manufacturing towns. 406 Public Libraries in the United States. BUILDINGS. lu an industrial comiDUTiity the library should be placed where it will be the most likely to attract the attentiou and induce the visits of the large class who would not go far in search of it. The corner of impor- tant streets in the heart of the town is the proper place for it. The natural desire to remove it from the bustle of business and place it in some quiet, secluded spot should be sacrificed to more practical consid- erations when there is a conflict. For the same reason it is doubtful whether it is wise to maintain so high ii standard of excellence in the construction of a building as has generally been done. While aesthetic considerations should not be lost sight of, and the building should by no means be unsightly, it is more important that it should be practi- cally adapted to its uses, and its capacity not be reduced to small limits on account of the expensive style of the work. In many places the desire to secure an elegant building according to the conventional stand- ards has caused the long postponement of the erection of any building at all, while in others the expense of the work when done has seriously impaired the resources available for books and the support of the librarj' The library is more than the building, and must not be sacrificed to it. The attenipts at adherence to the Gothic or any other ancient style of architecture in buildings for modern public libraries have not been suc- cessful, and cannot be in the nature of the case. At the same time, the expense attending such attempts is unduly large. Another point in- volving large expense has been the desire to put up absolutely fire proof structures. This matter is of importance where the preservation of rare and costly books is concerned, but in regard to such libraries as we are considering there is little occasion for solicitude, as the books can generally be readily replaced, and insurance, which can be had at low rates, will furnish all needed security. In one of the cities of New England, there is a library built at a cost of nearly $100,000, which is a model of substantial elegance and architectural beauty, but which is admitted to be practically unsuited to the requirements of the case. Had one-half of the money been expended in a plai n structure contain- ing rooms arranged throughout primarily with reference to use and con- venience, probably it would have furnished better and ampler accom- modations than the present building ; while the rest of the moneyj invested as a book fund, would at once place the library on an inde- l)endent footing. Especially, in such communities as we are now considering, is it a mistake to have the library on the second floor, surrendering the ground floor to other uses. The same arguments which favor placing the build- ing in a central situation, eas^^ of access, apply equally to this point. At least the reading room and the circulating department should be on the street level. The main library may be placed on the second floor, and reached (for use in the room) by a separate entrance, while a few thou- sand volumes of the books most called for are kept in the delivery room Public Libraries in Manufacturing Communities. 407 below, which should couimuuicate with the library by easy stairs or a dumb-waiter. la small libraries, two attendants could do all the work by this arrangement as well as though the delivery of books were done in the library proper, as is the case in too many of our public libraries; where it almost, if not quite, prevents the use of the library room for purposes of study. The great desideratum is, that in making the plans for a library building, the internal arrangements should be devised by a person practically acquainted with the workings of such a library as the building is intended to accommodate, and not by architects or building committees without such experimental knowledge. GENERAL MANAGEMENT. In a manufacturing community it is a matter of great importance and of no less difficulty to so conduct the public library that it siiall be a favorite resort of all classes. It must neither repel the masses by high standards and an atmosphere of dignified respectability which will give it the odor of aristocracy, nor lose its hold on people of culture and re- finement by descending to low standards and becoming the meeting place of a disorderly rabble. Where the artisan and laboring classes are in the majority their interests should be looked after more jealously than those of any other class, but it may, with proper care, be done in such a way that both of the extremes mentioned will be avoided. Good order, decorum, and cleanliness may be enforced without the employ- ment of severe and obnoxious restrictions. People disinclined to these virtues may be dealt with firmly but kindly, and the library become the means of introducing a wholesome reform it)to their lives in all depart- ments. The simple keeping of library books in clean paper covers is worth more than a little for its educational influence. Few persons will detect themselves soiling a clean book without experiencing a sense of shame salutary in its tendency; while the receiving a book from the library in a soiled and dilapidated condition will do little to instil that respect for the very outside of a book which ought always to be felt. The expense of re-covering the books as often as they are soiled and worn is but little ; on the average they will need covering once for every ten times they are drawn, and the whole cost of covering will not exceed one cent each. The character of the attendants and their bearing towards the patrons of the library deserve close attention in a library having a large con- stituency of comparatively uncultivated people. To the good breeding and knowledge of books which will make them acceptable to the literary portion of the community, they should add that affability, kindness, and sympathy with even the poorest attempts at culture whicli will make them useful and agreeable' to all. When the library is thronged with applicants for books, so that special attention to one will wrong others, the work must of course be done in a mechanical manner, with a view to rapidity of execution rather than anything else. But even then 408 Public Libraries in the United States. courtesy and politeness should not be forgotten, and when there is leisure for it, applicants for books should receive the best assistance the attendants can render in the form of information not furnished by the catalogues, or general aid in making selections. Even the subor- dinat e attendants, so far as they stand between the books and the people, should have at least a taste for books and an appreciation of their own position. Cheapness is not the most desirable quality in library work. CATALOGUES. The only thing to be said on this point that has special reference to industrial communities is to insist on the catalogues being made with an eye not to bibliographical and scholarly excellence alone, but also and especially to the wants of the coinm on people. Nothing further is necessary than to refer to the recent class lists of the Boston Public Library as models of catalogues which meet this requirement. Under the name of each author is given a brief account of the person, and under each subject title of importance we have not only a list of the works on the subject, but also a note gi ving hints as to their compara- tive value and special excellencies, and referring to review articles and other sources of further information. DETAILS OF MANAGEMENT. With the shifting population of a manufacturing town it is necessary that some efficient means be employed to protect the public library against the loss of books by loans to irresponsible persons. The means employed for this purpose are various. Sometimes a deposit of money equivalent to the value of the books borrowed is required from all per- sons not possessing busin ess reponsibility.and credit. A more common system is that in use in Manchester, England, and in many places in this country, by which every borrower is required to deposit a certificate signed by some well known and responsible person guaranteeing the library against loss. The advantages of this system are found in its entire impartiality, the lightness of the burden imposed by it on appli- cants, and the almost perfect security it affords when well carried out. In all places where it has been tried it seems to have given great sat- isfaction. Another system well adapted to manufacturing communities is that in which the guarantee certificates are signed not by respectable citizens at large, but by the members of a regularly constituted board of reference, consisting of the clergymen, school boards, and city offi- cials. In this case the certificates are not genuine guarantees against loss, but simply evidences of the acquaintance of the person signing with the applicant and the facts cited in the form of application. This system has worked well and given good satisfaction in places where it has been tried, though it would seem to be inferior to the other in some respects. The difficulties arising from frequent changes Public Libraries in Manufacturing Communities. 409 of residence without uotice beiug given at the -library, require that a new registration should be occasionally made. Experience shows that the losses of books by public libraries are due to the carelessness far oftener than to the wrong intent of borrowers. The few cases of attempt to defraud which a librarian meets with are comparatively easy to deal with, but the carelessness which causes so many delinquencies is the source of continual difficulty, and is the greatest trial of the librarian who strives after accuracy and method. It is probable that if figures could be compared on this point, it would be seen that the people in manufacturing towns are more readily subjected to library discipline, if the expression may be used, than those whose business and daily lives are less a matter of routine. The employes in our large mills and other establishments learn habits of regularity and punctuality, and also of obedience to rules, which are wanting in many classes of our population. Bat in manufacturing towns more need exists of precautions to guard against losses through removals, as such removals are very frequent. To show how unstable is this population, the fact may be cited that one of our large corporations, employing four thousand hands, reports that it employs and discharges every year a number equal to or even greater than the whole number employed. Such a state of things as this demands of the public library two things : first, the best possible system of keeping account of the books loaned ; and, second, constant vigilance and promptness in the carrying out of the system. The system of recording loans by means of separate slips, one for each entry made, kept in numerical order in a drawer having compartments for the separate days, which system was first introduced in the Boston Public Library, and has now been adopted either with or without some modifications in nearly all the leading libraries, has proved to be far superior to any other yet employed. Its great excel- lence is in the fact that the retention of books over time is shown by the record, without the least expenditure of time or labor in searching for such facts, making it possible to serve a notice by mail on persons re- taining books over time within twenty-four hours after they become due. If the mail notice, in any case, should fail to reach the party addressed, the fact would soon be known to the librarian, and a messenger put on track of the book within a very few days, by which means, books bor- rowed by persons who have even moved out of town can generally be recovered. Another recommendation of such a system as this, is found in the fact that it will inspire in the patrons of the library a respect for its rules and management, which will be most salutary and useful. But even such a system is of little value if its administration is not as faithful and ener- getic as the system is thorough. Left to young and incompetent assist- ants, it will break down under the weight of errors in the record, and consequent difficulties with borrowers. Except where a thoroughly com- petent assistant can be employed to take charge of this department, the 410 Public Libraries in the United States. chief officer of the library shonkl give it his constant personal snper- vision. Tn the case of such libraries as we are now considering, the circulating department should be recognized as altogether the most important, and the best talent employed in the library should be devoted to its care and improvement. A great deal will be gained in the direction of interesting the public in the library and in its intelligent use, if it is made apparent that the management of the library is ac- tively in sympathy with the popular department, and makes that the object of its chief solicitude. If, on the other hand, the librarian with- draws himself to the seclusion of a private office, and devotes his efforts to the collection and building up of a library which shall conform to his personal ideas of excellence rather than to the wants of the commu- nity, gratifying his own tastes as he would in regard to his own private library, the institution will certainly fail of doing the work it ought, above all else, to do. And this brings us naturally to the consideration of the CHOICE OF BOOKS. Xo question connected with public libraries has been so much dis- cussed, or is of such generally recognized importance, as that of the kinds of reading to be furnished. On the one hand, all kinds of argu- ments — from the political one, that it is not in the province of gov- ernment to furnish the people with mere recreation, to the religious one, that it is wicked to read nov^els — have been urged against the admission of any but the very highest order of fictitious works; while, on the other hand, the sweeping assertion is made by some that the public library cannot refuse to supply whatever the public sentiment calls for. The mean between these two extremes is doubt- less the true view of the case. The managers of the public library are no less bound to control and shape the institution in their charge so as to produce the best result than are the managers of the school system. To say that calls for books should be accepted as the indi- cations of what should be furnished, is to make their office a merely mechanical and perfunctory one. In such communities as we are espe- cially considering, adherence to such a principle as this would make the library a mere slop shop of sensational iiction. But in avoiding the Scylla of unlimited trash, the Charybdis of too high a standard must be equally steered clear of. Those who deprecate the free supply of such fictitious works as the public demands, are generally in favor of the entire exclusion of fiction of a sensational cast, a course which will unavoid- ably result in alienating from the library the very class most needing its beneficial influence. The old recipe for cooking a hare, which begins with ''first catch your hare," may well be applied to the process of ele- vating the tastes of the uncultivated masses. Let the library, then, contain just enough of the mere confectionery of literature to secure the interest in it of readers of the lowest — not depraved — tastes; but let this be so dealt Out as may best make it serve its main purpose of a Public Libraries in Manufacturing Communities. 411 stepping stone to something better. To be more definite, we would recommend that the library contain one or two sets of the works of that galaxy of female authors whose names always appear in the focus of such a discussion as this, and of their compeers of the other sex ; while such authors as Mrs. Craik, Mrs. Stowe, Mrs. Whitney, Miss Alcott (we purposely mention these rather than tlie masters of fiction, as better adapted to replace the others) are duplicated to a much greater extent. Then by care in the matter of advising readers whose most desired books are "all out," very much may be done to give them an introduc- tion to these writers, who will, in many cases, win them to a higher level of reading. This result will also be furthered by such an arrangement of the catalogue that books of an inferior order cannot be looked for with- out encountering the titles of those of greater value. This is one of the strongest arguments against furnishing a separate catalogue or list of works of fiction ; that it makes it possible for a reader to forget that the library contains anything else. It will naturally be made a leading object of the public library in aii industrial community to furnish scientific and mechanical books adapted to assist artisans in their special callings, particularly in fitting them- selves for advancement and promotion, and improving the quality of their work. Just at this time, when special efforts are being made to save to the country the large sums annually sent abroad to remunerate foreign workers in the arts of design, by thorough and wide spread in- struction in those arts among ourselves, all works which can be had bearing on these and kindred subjects will be sought. Facilities should be furnished for the making of copies from books of engravings, etc., and the freest use of all works on the fine arts allowed that is consistent with their proper preservation. Bat there is little need of dwelling on points so obvious ; and we will turn to another not so generally recognized — the importance of providing, even in manufacturing communities, for lib- eral literary culture. We ought to have said especially in manufacturing communities, for there is greater need here than in those places in which private libraries abound, and the English classics at least are to be found in nearly every house. After all that can be said, the real mission of the public library is to furnish, not recreation, not the means of earning a better living, but culture ; and whatever we have said as to its mission being limited by the wants of the people must be understood to mean by their real wants, not their fancied ones. " Culture," says Matthew Arnold, " is indispensably necessary, .... the poor require it as much as the rich, .... and culture is reading; bat reading with a purpose to guide it, and with system. He does a g03d work who does anything to help this ; indeed, it is the one essential service now to be rendered to education." This is the service rendered by the public library if it not only supplies books, but educates the people in their use. And no- where is there more occasion to give prominence to this latter function of the library than in manufacturing communities. CHAPTER XVIII. PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE YOUNG. BY WIL-LIAM I. FXiETCHER, Assistant Librarian Watkinson Library of Reference. USK OF LIBRARIES BY THK YOUNG — RESTRICTIONS AS TO AGE DISCUSSED — PaREKTAL SUPERVISION — The library and the school — Choice of juvenile books — Cultivating a taste for good reading. What shall the pablic library do for the young, and how ? is a question of acknowledged importance. The remarkable development of "juvenile literature" testifies to the growing importance of this portion of the com- munity in the eyes of book producers, while the character of much of this literature, which is now almost thrust into the hands of youth, is such as to excite grave doubts as to its being of any service, intellectual or moral. In this state of things the public library is looked to by some with hope, and by others with fear, according as its management is apparently such as to draw young readers away from merely friv^olous reading, or to make such reading more accessible and encourage them in the use of it; hence the importance of a judicious administration of the library in this regard. One of the first questions to be met in arranging a code of rules for the government of a public library relates to the age at which young persons shall be admitted to its privileges. There is no usage on this point which can be called common, hut most libraries fix a certain age, as twelve or fourteen, below which candidates for admission are ineligi- ble. Only a few of the most recently established libraries have adopted what seems to be the right solution of this question, by making no re- striction whatever as to age. This course recommends itself as the wisest and the most consistent with the idea of the public library on many grounds. In the first place, age is no criterion of mental condition and capacity. So varying is the date of the awakening of intellectual life, and the ra- pidity of its progress, that height of stature might almost as well be taken for its measure as length of years. In every community there are some young minds of peculiar gifts and precocious development, as fit to cope with the masterpieces of literature at ten years of age, as the average person at twenty, and more appreciative of them. From this class come the minds which rule the world of mind, and confer the greatest benefits on the race. How can the public library do more for Ali Public Libraries and the Young. 413 the intellectual culture of the whole commuriity than by setting forward in their careers those who will be the teachers and leaders of their gener- ation? In how many of the lives of those who have been eminent in literature and science do we find a youth almost discouraged because deprived of the means of intellectual growth. The lack of appre- ciation of youthful demands for culture is one of the saddest chapters in the history of the world's comprehending not the light which comes into it. Our public libraries will fail in au important part of their mission if they shut out from their treasures minds craving the best, and for the best purposes, because, forsooth, the child is too young to read good books. Some will be found to advocate the exclusion of such searchers for knowledge on the ground that precocious tastes should be repressed in the interests of physical health. But a careful investigation of the facts in such cases can hardly fail to convince one that in them repression is- the last thing that will bring about bodily health and vigor. There should doubtless be regulation, but nothing will be so likely to conduce to the health and physical well being of a person with strong mental crav- ings as the reasonable satisfaction of those cravings. Cases can be cited where children, having what seemed to be a premature develop- ment of mental qualities coupled with weak or even diseased bodily constitutions, have rapidly improved in health when circumstances have allowed the free exercise of their intellectual powers, and have finally attained a maturity vigorous alike in body and mind. This is in the nature of a digression, but it can do no harm to call attention thus to the facts which contradict the common notion that intellectual precocity should be discouraged. Nature is the best guide, and it is in accordance with all her workings, that when she has in hand tlie production of a giant of intellect, the young Hercules should astonish observers by feats of strength even in his cradle. Let not the public library, then, be found working against nature by establishing, as far as its influence goes, a dead level of intellectual attainments for all persons below a certain age. But there is a much larger class of young persons who ought not to be excluded from the library, not because they have decided intellectual cravings and are mentally mature, but because they have capacities for the cultivation of good tastes, and because the cultivation of such tastes cannot be begun too early. There is no greater mistake in morals than that often covered by the saying, harmless enough literally, " Boys will be boys." This saying is used perhaps oftener than for any other purpose to justify boys in doing things which are morally not fit for men to do, and is thus the expression of that great error that immorali- ties early in life are to be expected and should not be severely depre- cated. The same misconception of the relations of youth to ma;turity and of nature's great laws of growth and development, is seen in that common idea that children need not be expected to have any literary tastes ; that they may well be allowed to confine their reading t(j> the 414 Public Libraries in the United States. frivolous, the merely amusing. That this view is an erroneous one thought and observation agree in showing. Much like the caution of the mother who would not alloV her son to bathe in the river till he had learned to swim, is that of those who would have youth wait till a cer- tain age, when they ought to have good tastes formed, before they can be admitted to companionship with the best influences for the culti- vation of them. Who vill presume to set the age at which a child may first be stirred with the beginnings of a healthy intellectual appetite on getting a taste of the strong meat of good literature ? This point is one of the first importance. 2To after efforts can accomplish what is done with ease early in life in the way of forming habits either mental or moral, and if there is any truth in the idea that the public library is not merely a storehouse for the supply of the wants of the reading pub- lic, but also and especially an educational institution which shall create wants where they do not exist, then the library ought to bring its' in- fluences to bear on the young as early as possible. And this is not a question of inducing young persons to read, but of directing their reading into right channels. For in these timesthere is little probability that exclusion from the public library will prevent tljeir reading. Poor, indeed, in all manner of resources, must be the child who cannot now buy, beg, or borrow a fair supply of read- ing of some kind ; so that exclusion from the library is likely to be a shutting up of the boy or girl to dime novels and story papers as the staple of reading. Complaints are often made that public libra- ries foster a taste for light reading, especially among the j'oung. Those who make this complaint too often fail to perceive that the tastes in- dulged by those who are admitted to the use of the public library at the age of twelve or fourteen, are the tastes formed in the previous years of exclusion. A slight examination of facts, such as can be furnished by any librarian of experience in a circulating public library, will show how little force there is in this objection. Nor should it be forgotten, in considering this question, that to very many young peopte youth is the time when they have more leisure for reading than any other portion of life is likely to furnish. At the age of twelve or fourteen, or even earlier, they are set at work to earn their living, and thereafter their opportunities for culture are but slight, nor are their circumstances such as to encourage them then in such a work. We cannot begin too early to give them a bent towards culture which shall abide by them and raise them above the work a-day world which will demand so large a share of their time and strength. The mechanic, the farmer, the man in any walk of life, who has early formed good habits of reading, is the one who will magnify his calling, and occupy the highest positions in it. And to the thousand!^ ot young people, in whose homes there is none of the atmosphere of culture or of the appli- ances for it, the public library ought to furnish the means of keeping pace intellectually with the more favored children of homes where good Public Libraries and the Young. 415 books abonnd and their subtle influence extends even to those who are too young to read and understand them. If it fails to do this it is hardly a fit adjunct to our school system, whose aim it is to give every man a chance to be the equal of every other man, if he can. It is not claimed that the arguments used in support of an age limi- tation are of no force ; but it is believed that they are founded on ob- jections to the admission of the young to library i)rivileges which are good only as against an indiscriminate and not properly regulated ad- mission, and which are not applicable to the extension of the use of the library to the young under such conditions and restrictions as are re- quired by their peculiar circumstances. For example, the public library ought not to furnish young persons with a means of avoiding parental supervision of their reading. A reg- ulation making the ^«:ritten consent of the parent a prerequisite to the registration of the name of a minor, and the continuance of such con- sent a condition of the continuance of the privilege, will take fiom parents all cause for complaint in this regard. Neither should the library be allowed to stand between pupils in school and their studies, as it is often complained that it does. To remove this difficulty, the relations of the library to the school system should be such that teachers should be able to regulate the use of the library by those pupils whose studies are evidently interfered with by their mis- cellaneous reading. The use of the library would thus be a stimulus to endeavor on the part of pupils who would regard its loss as the probable result of lack of diligence in their studies. Again, it must be understood that to the young, as to all others, the library is open only during good behavior. The common idea that chil- dren and youth are more likely than older persons to commit offenses against library discipline is not borne out by experience ; but were it true, a strict enforcement of rules as to fines and penalties would pro- tect the library against loss and injury, the fear of suspension from the use of the library as the result of carelessness in its use, operating more strongly than any other motive to prevent such carelessness. If there are other objections to the indiscriminate admission of the young to the library, they can also be met by such regulations as read- ily suggest themselves, and should not be allowed to count as argu- ments against a judicious and proper extension of the benefits of the library to the young. CHOICE OF BOOKS. But when the doors of the public library are thrown open to the young, and they are recognized as an important class of its patrons, the question comes up, What shall the library furnish to this class in order to meet its wants ? If the object of the library is understood to be simply the supplying of the wants of the reading public, and the young are consid- ered as a portion of that public, the question is very easily answered by 416 Public Libraries in the United States. saying, Give them what they call for that is not positively injarioiis in its tendency. Bat if we regard the public library as an educational means rather than a msre clubbing arrangement for the economical supply of reading, just as the gas company is for the supply of artificial light, it becomes of importance, especially with reference to the young, who are the most susceptible to educating influences, that they should receive from the library that which will do them good ; and the managers of the library appear not as caterers to a master whose will is the rule as to what shall be furnished, but rather as the trainers of gymnasts who seek to provide that which will be of the greatest service to their men. Ko doubt both these elements enter into a true conception of the duty of library managers; but when we are regarding especially the young, the latter view comes nearer the truth than the other. In the first place, among the special requirements of tlis young is this, that the library shall interest and be attractive to tliem. The attitude of some public libraries toward the young and the uncultivated seems to say to them, " We cannot encourage you in your low state of culture; you must come up to the level of appreciating what is really high toned in literature, or we cannot help you." The public library being, however, largely if not mainly for the benefit of the uncultivated, must, to a large extent, come down to the level of this class and meet them on common ground. Every library ought to have a large list of good juvenile books, a statement which at once raises the question, What are good juvenile books? Thisisoneof the vexed questions of the literary world, closely allied to the one which has so often been mooted in the press and the pulpit, as to the utility and propriety of novel reading. But while this question is one on which there are great difiereiices of opin- ion, there are a few things which may be said on it without diffidence or the fear of successful contradiction. Of this kind is the remark that good juvenile books must have something positively good about them. They should be not merely amusing or entertaining and harmless, but instructive and stimulating to the better nature. Fortunately such books are not so rare as they have been. Some of the best minds are now being turned to the work of i)roviding them. Within a few months such honored names in the world of letters as those of Hamerton and Higginsou have been added to the list which contains those of " Peter Parley," Jacob Abbott, " Walter Aimwell," Elijah Kellogg, Thomas Hughes, and others who have devoted their talents, not to the amusement, but to the instruc;ion and culture of youth. The names of some of the most popular writers for young people in our day are not ranked with those mentioned above, not because their productions are positively injurious, but because they lack the positively good qualities demanded by our definition. There is a danger to youth in reading some books which are not open to the charge of directly injurious tendencies. Many of the most popu- lar juveniles, while running over with excellent "morals," are unwhole- Piiblie Libraries and the Young. 417 some mental food for tbe yonng, for the reason that they are essentially untrue. That is, they give false views of life, making it consist, if it be worth living, of a series of adventures, hair-breadth escapes; encounters with tyrannical schoolmasters and unnatural parents; sea voyages in which the green hand commands a ship and defeats a mutiny out of sheer smartness; rides on runaway locomotives, strokes of good luck, and a persistent turning up of things just when they are wanted, — all of which is calculated in the long run to lead away the young imagination and impart disconteut with the common lot of an uneventful life. Books of adventure seem to meet a real want in the minds of the young, and should not be entirely ruled out ; but they cannot be included among the books the reading of which should be encouraged or greatly extended. In the ])ublic library it will be found perhaps necessary not to exclude this class of juvenile books entirely. Such an exclusion is not here advocated, but it is rather urged that they should not form the staple of juvenile reading furnished by the library. The better books should be duplicated so as to be on hand when called for; these should be provided in such numbers merely that they can occasionally be had as the " seasoning" to a course of good reading. But the young patrons of the library ought not to be encouraged in confining their reading to juveniles, of no matter how good quality. It is the one great evil of this era of juvenile books, good and bad, that by supplying mental food in the forui fit for mere children, they post- pone the attainment of a taste for the strong meat of real literature; and the public library ought to be influential in exalting this real litera- ture and keeping it before the people, stemming with it the current ot trash which is so eagerly welcomed because it is new or because it is interesting. When children were driven to read the same books as their elders or not to read at all, there were doubtless thousands, probably the majority of all, who chose the latter alternative, aud read but very little in their younger years. Tbis class is better off now than then by the greater inducements offered them to mental culture in the increased facilities provided for it. But there seems to be danger that the ease and smoothness of the royal road to knowledge now provided iu the great array of easy books in all departments will not conduce to the formation of such mental growths as resulted from the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. There is doubtless more knowledge; but is there as much power and muscle of mind? However this may be, none can fail to recognize the importance of setting young people in the way of reading the best books early in life And as the public library is likely to be the one place where the masters of literature can be found, it is essential that here they should be put by every available means in communication with and under the influence of these masters. It only remains now to say that, as we have before intimated, the public library should be viewed as an adjunct of the public school sys- 27 E 418 Public Libraries in the United States. tern, and to suggest that ia one or two ways the school may work together with the library in directing the reading of the young. There is the matter of themes for the writing of compositions ; by selecting subjects on which information can be had at the library, the teacher can send the pupil to the library as a student, and readily put him in communication with, and excite his interest in, classes of books to which he has been a stranger and indifferent. Again, in the study of the his- tory of English literature, a study which, to the credit of our teachers be it said, is being rapidly extended, the pupils may be induced to take new interest, and gain greatly in point of real culture by being referred for illustrative matter to the public library. CHAPTER XIX. HOW TO MAKE TOWN LIBRARIES SUCCESSFUL. BY F. B. PERKINS, Boston Public Library. Business capacity and management essential — Mateiual — Choice and pur- chase OF BOOKS — Periodicals — Details of maxagkment — Catalogues — Keg- istration — Library manners — Maintenance —Women as librarians — Execu- tive DUTIES. To begin with, businesslike management is tlie whole story. A public library for popular use should be managed not only as a lite- rary institution, but also as a business concern. The business depart- ment of educational and literary institutions is too often overlooked or undervalued. Yet it is vain to expect the solid and permanent success of such institutions without good business management. Perhaps this truth may not be so fully recognized in the case of libraries as in that of other institutions for mental improvement; but those who are familiar with the inside history of great charities and missionary and educa- tional enterprises — Bible and tract societies, for instance — know very well that neither faith nor works (in the religious sense of the words) would keep them going very long without accurate bookkeeping, reg- ular hours, and efficient business supervision. The success of the Methodists has been confirmed in extent and deter- mined in character as much by the extraordinary abilities of John Wesley, the business man, as by his energy and zeal as a preacher of God's word. The commercial success of the Methodist Book Concern, which is a kind of financial heart in the organization of this powerful and peculiarly practical religious denomination in the United States, is a direct legacy from the practices of Mr. Wesley, and a living proof this day of the importance of the considerations here urged. In like manner the prosperity of a college — more particularly of a young one — depends as much on its business management as on the literary attainments of its faculty. A really able business man might make a new college successful where learning and studious research alone might even sink it. There are a few cases where our colleges have become so large and rich that thej" have taken on what may be called a proper organic life. Harvard or Yale, for instance, lives on so large a scale that, like a strong nation, either could long withstand bad management, for the reason that no one man can quickly wreck so large 419 420 Public Lihraries in the United States. and strong a life; and the vitality of the whole, outlasting the one weak member, makes up, after he is dead or dismissed, for the harm he does while in office. A great library may for a time withstand very poor business manage- ment ; because its great accumulation of permanent literary treasures may be growing more valuable from year to year, even without addi- tions, and this value will outlive any one man. But a small library, which is not a treasure house for scholars, but rather a drinking basin for wayfarers, depends, if not even from month to month, certainly from year to year, upon the continual watchfulness, tact, and alertness with which not the wishes of learned men, but the public demand for enter- taining reading, is understood and met and gratified and managed. A great lake has its natural sources of supply ; the pitcher on the table must be filled every day. The large library is valuable for what it has in it; and to a considerable extent its collections remain valuable even though its revenues be scanty, its statt" weak or incompetent, its man- agement illiberal, discourteous. But the small circulating public library, like a retail shop, depends upon prompt gratification of the demands of the day. It is not valuable for what it has, but it must keep itself interesting by getting what it has not. It cannot wait for the resort of scholars and students ; it must attract readers for pleasure, rest, and amusement. It is not old learning, but new entertainment, that it must furnish; as well as learning, it must have popularity ; as well as instruc- tion, it must, primarily, furnish entertainment; while waiting for the scholarly few, it must attract the many, and even the ignorant, frivolous, and thoughtless. Under this general doctrine, it is not difficult to state some of the chief points which must be regarded in so organizing and conducting a town library as to make it successful. These belong under three heads, viz : material, management, and maintenance. I. MATERIAL; OR, CHOICE OF BOOKS. The first mistake likely to be made in establishing a public library is choosing books of too thoughtful or solid a character. It is vain to go on the principle of collecting books that people ought to read, and afterwards trying to coax them to read them. The only practical method is to begin by supplying books that people already want to read, and afterwards to do whatever shall be found possible to elevate their read- ing tastes and habits. Most of those who read are young people who want entertainment and excitement, or tired people who want relaxation and amusement. For those who do not read, it is desirable that the habit of reading should be formed. A habit of reading is more neces- sary than any particular line of reading, because it is the one indis- pensable previous requisite ; and to form the habit, easy reading — that is, i>eading such as people want, such as they enjoy — must be furnished first, and afterwards that which requires more etibrt. How to make Town Libraries successful. 421 There is a good deal of fear and dislike among certain classes ot serious people, of novels and '•'■ trash." This feeling is to a certain ex- tent well founded. There is no doubt that the scoundrelly books of which Jack Sheppard is the best known, have done a good deal of harm. Nor will any luindwell grounded in the old fashioned modesty of English Christians, ever give in to the folly of the modern French notion that literature, and art too, have qothin.? to do with morals ; and that anything that can be represented is a pro[>er subject for representa- tion to all, either in picture or in print, ami a proper subject for con- templation by all. It cannot be too much regretted that some American men and women, otherwise apparently of decent enough character, and publishers who would express tlie utmost indignation at any imputa- tions on their respectibility, are of late years yielding to the temptation to introduce this element into our cleaner literature. No contempt can be too indignant, no anger too bitter, for the folly, if not the crime, of such systematic befouling of minds for the sake of gain. All such baneful literature should be as inexorably excluded from the public library as arsenic anil laudanum and rum should be refused to children. This criterion is not difficult to apply, and it is demanded by all considerations of Christian civilization. It should exclude such books as Rabelais, the Decameron, the Heptamerou, the Contes drola- tiques of Balzac, and such rascally French novels as Fanny and the Woman of Fire, all which books are sold in English translations. for money by otherwise respectable American publishers. It should also exclude the thief books and other fictions provocativ^e of crime, so many of which are also sold by respectable publishers. Few, indeed, are those who will object to this exclusion of ribald and immoral books from public circulating libraries. Indeed, even this brief statement of the case is made not so much because it is needed as a precaution, as in order to clearly define the line beyond which readers must not be indulged, and up to which they should be. The line is that of immorality, and it permits silliness. " Silly reading," " trash," at least what is such to many persons, must to a considerable extent be supplied by the public library. And those who intend to organize a library for the public, for popular reading, and who intend to exclude such " trash," might as well stop before they begin. But what is trash to some, is, if not nutriment, at least stimulus, to others. Readers improve; if it were not so, reading would. not be a particularly useful practice. The habit of reading is the first and in- , dispensable step. That habit once established, it is a recognized fact that readers go from poorer to better sorts of reading. No case has ever been cited where a reader, beginning with lofty philosophy, pure religion, profound science, and useful information, has gradually run down in his reading until his declining years were disreputably wasted on dime novels and story weeklies. The idea is ridiculous, even on the bare statement of it. But the experience of librarians is substantially unan- 422 Public Libraries in the United States. imous to the contrary: that those who begin with dime novels and story weeklies may be expected to grow into a liking for a better sort of stories ; then for the truer narrative of travels and adveutare, of biog- raphy and history, then of essays and popular science, and so on up- ward. If those who cannot make use of any better reading than novels and stories and jokes are not furnished with these, they will not read at alb and this is a worse alternative. And to exclude such reading from a public library will, in general, reduce the extent otits use to one-quar- ler of what it would otherwise be. The records of our libraries show that about three fourths of the reading in them is light reading, and but little alteration in this proportion results from the greater or less proportion of novels and other light books to the whole collection.^ In thus arguing for a policy of indulgence and help to the immature, it is not, however, intended to recommend any neglect or injustice towards the strong, who are capable of enjoying better things. Equally indispensable with milk for babes and thin broth for the feeble, is strong meat for men. By the side of the stories should be as good a supply of reference books and of solid standard literature as the means of the library will allow. A good English dictionary, a good general encyclopie lia, a biographical dictionary, a chronological work or two, a good atlas, a gazetteer, and such further and more special books of that sort as can be aftbrded, should be among the very first to be obtained. Along with the books, there should always be supplied as large a number of periodicals as possible, and these, like the books, should range "from grave to gay,- from lively to severe," and should be so assorted as to suit every class of the community. Scientific, me- chanical, professional, agricultural, or other specialist periodicals can usually be aflbrded by a public library in greater numbers than by a private citizen, and in a population so intelligent as ours, it is pretty certain that there will be in every community some in one or another line ot life who will be gratified and also benefited by such a supply. Among the lighter class of these periodicals should be as liberal a proportion as practicable of the literary, and particularly of what may be called the picture book magazines and newspapers, both for adults and for the young. For reading these periodicals, a reading room should be connected with the library where possible; where it is not, they may be circulated as books, but for shorter periods and under more stringent guards, because they are so much more liable to loss and injury. These two halves of the right doctrine being laid down, namely, about light reading and reference books, the list of books to be bought must of course be left to the wisdom of the managers of the enterprise. Great assistance can, however, almost always be obtained by consult- ing some professional librarian, if such is accessible, and particularly ' For statistics sliowiug the couipanitive circulatiou of ditftjieut classes of books iu some public libraries, see Chapter XXXVII, Library Reports and Statistics.— Eon ous Hoiv to make Town Libraries successful. 423 if oue be selected who has managed, or helped manage, a successful library. 1q purchasing the books, care should be taken to make use of a fair and healthy competition among the booksellers. The natural temptations of a private bargain or a monopoly, might sadly decrease the number of volumes supplied per dollar, or might seriously injure the average value of works selected. By obtaining bids from several substantial houses it can readily be seen who will deal on the best terms. An in- telligent agent can often make advantageous purchases in person, but a small library cannot atford to pay for such services. If there be time, second hand stocks can frequently be searched to advantage, and auction sales attended ; but in this case the risk of getting defective or overworn volumes must be guarded against. It will probably be well to deal directly with firms whose lists are so extensive as to afford a considerable number of the books required, as such direct dealing should be made to save one or more profits. A judicious economy, by these and other means, will be found a very popular feature in starting a library, as its constituents are certain to be gratified if a large number of vol- umes are furnished for the money. II. MANAGEMENT ; OR, ORaANIZATION AND SERVICE. First, as to the mechanical part. Here, as before, the business doc- trine should be applied. That is, all the mechanical details of the in- ventory or record system, the shelving, and the receipt and delivery ot goods, viz, books, should be, first, thorough ; and second, simple. Even the smallest public library will require, however, something like the following set of records : 1. Daybook and ledger. 2. File of book invoices, to be kept separate from other vouchers. 3. Accession list. This may also serve as a shelf list, until the library becomes too large. 4. Catalogue. 5. Eecord of delivery and return of books. Other lists and entries of various kinds will be found necessary from time to time, such as letter books and lists of books sent to binder. A few specifications will be useful under the above five heads: The daybook and ledger should be kept by whoever is responsible for the receipt and disbursement of the funds of the library ; and should show the whole of its business in exact detail to a cent by balancing accurately from quarter to quarter and year to year like the books of any other properly managed business; and they should contain the materials not only for drawing off the usual accounts for a trial balance and balance sheet, but for special library accounts such as fines. Keceipts for fines and other petty cash business should be noted in full by the librarian invariably at the moment of transaction, and this daily record duly posted and preserved itself besides. 424 Public Libraries in the United States. This sort of retail business accuracy will be found from year to year a very great help to the popularity of the library, at least among people who are habitually careful, who own property, who can greatly assist the institution if they choose, and who will be much more inclined to do so if they can see not only that a good deal is done with the money spent, but exactly how every cent is spent. The file of invoices or receipts for books bought should be numbered in the order of the purchases, and this file will thus show when and where each purchased volume in the library ^as procured. The accession catalogue is, in fact, an inventory of goods in the order of purchase. In it should be entered, first, the first book or lot of books bought or presented ; second, the second book or lot, and so on, with references to corresponding invoices and other requisite facts, thus con- stituting a history of the origin of each accession to the library. The items required in this accession catalogue are : 1. An accession number, beginning with 1, and ending with a num- ber for the last volume added, which last number will of course show, not how many volumes are in the library now, but how many have been put in ; deduct those lost or unaccounted for at the periodical exami- nation, and the remainder is the actual number ot volumes in the library. In the case of a set or series, one line in tlie accession cata- logue will accommodate the whole; as, "201 to 332. Edinburgh Review." 2. Invoice number, referring to the invoice iu which the book is charged. 3. Date of receipt of book. 4. Title, (very short.) 5. Remarks. Names of donors may be entered here. Other items are often added, but these will serve the purpose, as the additional ones are such as must be sufficiently entered elsewhere. The book used may be ruled and headed by hand or made to order. The latter will be necessary where the number of books is considerable ; for a few hundred, or even a thousand or two, the former may serve. The following form is a specimen : 1 u 6 1 H Date of re- ceipt. Title of book. Remarts. 1 1 Gift. 2 1875, Jan. 1 1875, Jan. 2 1875, Jan. 4 Web8ter'.s Dictionary 12 Bible Catalogue. — Hardly any details can here be given on this subject, which runs easily into an astonishing number of petty rules, and admits of a great variety of opinions and practices. A small library can be competently catalogued iu a shorter and sim- X>ler way than a large one. How to make Town Libraries successful. 425 III proportion as the library becomes large, valuable, and frequented, the librarian will find a card catalogue for his own official use more and more indispensable. The catalogue can be sufficiently well Driuted at the nearest printing office usually, even (with a little ingenuity and good will on the part of the foreman) if it is a country newspaper office without the usual requi- sites for book w^ork; and it is on every account best that this, like all the other business of the library, should be done at home as far as possible. It is indispensable, practically, that the alphabetical method of cata- loguing, and not the classification method, should be followed, for the l)laiu reason that the English alphabet is a key whose use is familiar to a great many more people than the use of any classification by subjects or scheme of universal knowledge. It is extremely desirable that books .should appear in the catalogue three times — that is, in three difierent places in the alphabet — viz: at 1. The author's name. 2. The title of the book. 3. The subject of the book. The reason of this is that the customer of a library, unless one of those helpless nuisances who come in with a feeble grin, and say, "1 want a nice book," will want either — 1. Such a one's book. (For instance, " I want to get Mr. Darwin's last ■work; I don't remember the name exactly.") 2. A book called so and so. (For instance, " I want to get Ecce Homo.") 3. Something about such and such a subject. ("Can't you give me something about women's rights?") For novels, histories, biographies, and some other sorts of books, the third item is not necessary. If one of the three must be omitted, it should be the third. Two entries for each book should be retained, unless in extremity of necessity ; and, if but one can be had, it should be the author's name, and, of course, the title of an anonymous book. The titles, on the principle of the smaller the simpler, need not be more than about twice as long as those in the accession catalogue. They need give only author's name, a very short title, number and size of volumes, place and date of publication, and shelf mark; for instance : McLenuan, J. F. Primitive marriage. 12uio. Edin., 1865 , 3.25 The second or title entry for this book would be thus, being still shorter than the main entry : Primitive marriage. J. F. McLeunan ....3. 25 And the third or subject entry would be under the head of Marriage, with other books on the subject, thus: Marriage. — Cnrej', M. Domestic happiness 16. 32 — McLennan, .T. F. Primitive marriage 3. 25 — Woolsey, T. D. Divorce ' 1. 50 The "3. 25" at the right-hand margin means that the book is to be 426 Public Libraries in the United States. found in place No. 25, on shelf No. 3. " E Jin." means Edinburgh. Four letters are almost always enough to show where the book was published. One style of type in a catalogue is twice as good as two. If there is no card catalogue, the librarian should enter the accession number of each book in a copy of the printed catalogue kept for the purpose. This preserves an easily traced history of the book by reference from the book itself or the catalogue, to the accession catalogue, and from that to the files of invoices and letters. Each book, before being circulated, should be permanently identified by marks on it as the property of the library, as having entered the service at a particular time, and as belonging in a particular place. This is commonly to be accomplished by the book plate, securely gum- med or pasted inside the cover, and containing the library seal or other device, the accession number, the shelf mark, and the date of accession. These items may be written in, if desirable ; and when a book is rebound they should be so recorded as to be sure to get into it again when it gets its new coat on. An embossing stamp, to strike the name of the library" into the tex- ture of title pages, plates, and any other requisite parts of the volume, is very useful. Brown paper covers are probably desirable in small libraries, but it would be better if people would use the books so politely as not to require them. There seems to be an increasing notion with librarians that to circulate the books without these dingy overcoats of itself makes people use them more carefully. The experiment is very easily tried, a small label being put on the back of the volume to show its shelf mark. So much for what might be called the inventory department, which includes the means of identifying the property of the library, of tracing its history, and determining its place on the shelf. The next point is very naturally that for wTiich the book has a place on the shelf, namely, how to get it off, keep track of it while away, and get it safe back. This includes the registration and delivery service. Neither of these would be required if everybody would do right. As it is, however, there are a certain number of thieves, book mutilators, and careless persons (besides accideuts) who would seriously diminish the extent and value of the library if precautions were not taken against them. A list must therefore be kept, either in an alphabeted book or (a better plan) on slips or cards, like a card catalogue of books, of all those who are entitled to use the library, and each such person should receive a card certifying to such right, to be shown and stamped if necessary (and it will be necessary where much business is done) whenever a book is taken away or brought back. Books may be delivered in numbers and for periods as may be pre- scribed, to persons thus registered only. What is called the " ledger system" may do for small constituencies, to record deliveries and returns Hoiv to make Town Libraries successful. 427 of books; that is, one pag^e or part of a page may be devoted to each taker, iu a ledger for the purpose, and, when such taker receives a book, the shelf mark and date may be entered on that page. A still more compendious fashion is, however, found to serve every purpose of both registration and delivery in circulating libraries (which are wholly busi- ness speculations) in our large cities, to wit : as each successive cus- tomer comes up, his name and address are written on a dated page, daybook fashion, and the accession number of the book, and the num- ber in that day's issues, opposite it. The numbers of the month and day and this same issue number, are noted inside the cover of the book, and that is all. This, with the additional requirement of a deposit when- ever necessary, would very likely serve the turn perfectly well, and if it should be found insuflBcient or be outgrown, a more elaborate plan could be substituted. All it requires is a large blank book with a date column at each side of the page, and if Mr. John Smith takes out Mc- Lennan's Primitive Marriage, the entry in the blank book would be by the accession number thus: "1875, Feb. 28, 130, J. Smith. 53 Con- gress St., 2,340," and inside the cover of the book, "2 | 28 \ 130." If the book is reported lost, the accession catalogue, No. 2,346, shows at once what the book was, and the invoice column will show where to look for its cost, and therefore what Mr. Smith should pay. And if it is returned, the "2 | 28 | 130" in it shows where to look iu the ledger in order to check the book as returned, viz: it was the 130th book delivered on the 28th day of the second month ; and, also, if kept too long, how many days' fine is due. And if nothing is heard from Mr. Smith, the ledger also shows where to look for him, viz : 53 Congress street. Whenever the extent of the business done makes it necessary, a sys- tem as elaborate as that employed for the 80,000 persons who use the Boston Public Library may be a[)plied ; but the smaller the sinipler. Supposing the machinery of the library thus set up and ready for operation, we have next to consi.ler how it should be operated. The principles which make any ordinary business successful, are, if possible, still more closely applicable here than in la,\ing in the stock to be fur- nished, or in preparing the mechanism for furnishing it. A sour face, gruff and disobliging manners, sharp or contemptuous answers, con- tentiousness, slowness to gi\*e information or to wait on customers, will Ijromptly and deeply wound the usefulness of the library. Many ludi- crously foolish questions are put to librarians, and it sometimes almost seems as if the unreasonable and the scolds resorted by preconcerted agreement to the librarian's desk to plague him with their complaints, their fault finding, their impertinence, and their sneers. But it will not do for a salesman to give way to the Old Adam any more than for a Christian ; nor will it do for a librarian. .Perfection is hardly to be ex- pected, but it should be followed after ; and a perfect librarian is bound to be courteous and kind, attentive and accommodating, not only to the polite and considerate, but also to the evil and the unthankful. 428 Public Libraries in the United States. At the same time, all rules and regulations must be steadily, though civilly, euf'oreed, not as an exertion of the librarian's authority, but as a law which both librarian and borrower must equally obey. Fines must sometimes be collected, and the delivery of books refused in conse- quence of non-payment or other delinquency. All manner of attempts to obtain illegal privileges, to avoid complying with regulations, to de- fraud the library of books or of money, must be met, though fortunately not so frequently in a small community as in a large one; and this enforce- ment of law and resistance to imposition, as well as the regular library service for good citizens, it is the librarian's duty to perform not merely with justice and accuracy, but with conciliating kindness. The library ought not only to give out and take back books, but it ought to keep all its friends and to make new ones. It is very true that Moses him- self, with all his meekness, would find to-day, if he were running a public circulating library, more Korahs, Dathans, and Abirams to im- pute bad sentiments and manners to him, than of old troubled the camp of Israel. But such is society ; and those who cannot meet detraction with courtesy, and the detractors themselves with civility and attention, are not fit to be politicians, missionaries, or librarians. It will be found a great convenience to have in the sight ot borrowers a shelf of the last twenty or fifty wqvj^ ac(;essions t^ the library, and, where it is safe, to permit the borrowers to examine these. In some communities, the liberty could not be safely granted, but where it is, the scrutiny will save a great many questions and a good deal of trouble. There should be a public book or other open record for entering the names of books wanted which are not in the library, and these should al- ways be got.if possible; duplicates of books eagerly sought for should be obtained to the utmost extent that the means of the library will permit ; and the same of popular periodicals. These two instances came un 'ej* the generi^l rule, that, so far as circumstances permit, the library should do whatever is asked of it. The duties of the public in dealing with the library must not be en- tirely passed over. If the friends of the library clearly understand these duties, and habitually use their influence to promote the observ- ance of them, a public sentiment will gradually be created and main- tained which will be a great encourageihent and assistance to the institution on all hands, and an important confirmation of its popularity and success. Unreasonableness is the only fault which people need to guard against in dealing with a library. I am unreasonable if I complain and find fault upon finding that some one else has the book I want; or upon being required to specify what book I want in the regular way ; or upon being confined to just such privileges as everybody else enjoys : or upon being required to pay a fine for keeping a book too long, or for return- ing it in an iujured condition ; or upon being required to pay for it if I How to make Town Libraries successful. 429 spoil it or lose it. So I am if I plague the librarian by trying to make him (or her) pick out books for me instead of doing it myself; as Bel- shazzar first required Daniel to tell him what his dream was, and after- wards what it meant. These specimens will sufficiently show what ought not to be done by the public, and these, as well as all other wrong doings, will be prevented by observing the one plain rule of considerate courtesy in dealing with the library. This rule, while it will prevent injustice and undeserved annoyance, will, at the same time, permit that free criticism and sug- gestion that all may justly practise, which is not merely the right of the public, but a favor to the library, and which every judicious friend of the institution will welcome. III. MAINTENANCE. The circumstances of the case must determine how each library is (financially) created and maintained. But there is one. excellent prac- tical rule, already proved healthy and efficient in its application to common schools, which ought to be applied to public libraries as far as possible. It is this: That the community as such (that is, by public money, not through fees paid to the library) should pay something for its privileges. Unrestricted gifts to the public, like unrestricted charity to paupers and beggars, are almost certain to be undervalued if not abused. In our best school systems, the receipt of the State money by a town for school purposes depends more or less on the energy with which the town raises money of its own. God helps those who help themselves. The state finds it safe to imitate the divine example in this particular ; and so in the case of libraries. A State grant for the purpose, to depend on the raising of a proper yearly amount by the town, is the most American, that is, the most direct and effective, method of promoting the library department of our systems of public education. On precisely the same principle, private gifts for the same purpose should be upon the same condition. This plan secures not only beginning but continuance; not only birth but healthy life. It is com- paratively easy to produce a revival, either in religion or literature, and thus to found a church or a library ; the real task is to maintain it in its proper growth and health afterwards. At a!iy rate, it is desirable that a fair sum should be raised yearly for the support of a public circulating library by the community which uses it ; for this recurring exertion will keep the public attentive, will incite the tax-payers to get some reading for their money, and will in every way maintain the inestimable American practice of making the individual citizen mind his own (public) business, by watching, managing, and using what he owns and pays for. In the not unusual case, however, where acertainsumof money can be had to set the library going, without any certainty about the future, an obvious policy should be pursued in hopes of establishing a permanent 430 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States public support. It is this : to reserve as much as is safe from the first expenditure, and to apportion this reserve, for a year or two years, so as to furnish during that time a good supply of fresh books as they come out. When this reserve is exhausted, if the community has not by that time learned to value its fountain of reading enough to maintain it by the necessary yearly tax, it is a community where probably a library is misplaced, or at least impracticable. As large a proportion as practicable of the yearly income of the libri- ry should be invested in books. The least satisfactory feature of our present library systems is the excessive proportion which the annual cost of administration bears to the whole annual expenditure for the library. This state of things should be remedied as soon as possible by means of mechanical appliances in library service, of better arrangements of book rooms, and by other suf- ficient contrivances of that American ingenuity which has thus far done pretty well in devising means of escape from much greater difficulties. Women should be employed as librarians and assistants as far as possi- ble, as the nature of the duties is, to a great extent, and in many cases, suited to them. W^here the work is too heavy, men must be employed instead. Precautions will sometimes be needed against curious troubles arising from the fact that women in such places often do not get along with other women as well as men do. A good board of trustees, or other supervisory authority, can, however, remedy this sort of friction by ad- monition, or, if necessary, by a change in the service. It is worthwhile to try several different librarians or assistants, if the additional trouble results in discovering exactly the right one at last ; and it will be found an excellent motive in the librarian's own breast to be clearly aware that actual success, as well as formal good behavior, is required in order to continuance in office. Wherever the librarian, or some other competent person in or out of the library board, is able and willing, a yearly or occasional lecture, course of lectures, or other public performance, and perhaps special courses of lessons, may result in benefit to the library. But it has not been found that it is worth while to have such operations obligatory all tlie year, or every season. Good opportunities should be seized, and, in their absence, efforts should not be wasted. Tlie natural division of associate enterprises into executive and ad- visory departments is as necessary in a successful library as in an insurance company, a bank, or a government. If the librarian is com- petent, he should be the trusted executive of the library, and behind him should stand a board of trustees or directors, or other consulting and legislative body. If he is not competent, the president of the board, or some other member of it, formally or informally a[)pointed, should act. Such executive should be allowed, under full responsibility, ade- quate i)owers. Unless tin'-re is some reason to the contrary, the libra- rian should act as secretary to the board, as in that place he can inform, suggest, and advise, as cases may require. CHAPTER XX. READING IN POPULAR LIBRARIES. BT JUSTIN WINSOR, Superintendent of the Boston Public Library. nAUACTER OV READING CONSIDERED — PaSTIME READERS — NATURAL TENDENCIES OP RKADING TOWARDS ELEVATION OF TASTE — OPPORTUNITIES OF LI1JUARIAN8 — YOUTH- FUL READERS. People who look wise, and sbake their heads, and talk about public libraries being after all not an unmixed good, are the greatest encomiasts which the system has, because they imply that they diifer from most I)8ople, and that the practice of imputing unqualified good to libraries prevails, when nobody thinks of assigning such a condition to the pul- pit, the bar, or trade. These censorious llatterers refer to the character of the reading that is put into such libraries and is drawn from them by the mass of readers, and they estimate the value of that reading wholly from their own wants and predilections, and without any regard to the immense variety of minds and character which fortunately makes up communities. If the good inflaences largely predominate, most advocates of libraries will be content, and they are not altogether strenuous that the good should be positive in all cases, being quite happy if a negative benefit is brought about. It is a very easy matter to form a library to suit the wants of specific conditions of people ; but it is not so easy to gather such books as will aflford the greatest and most varied interest to all sorts of readers. What will hawn some will work no harm to others, though it may do them no more good than to grant them a pastime, and it is with this object that three quarters of the reading of people not professedly bookish is carried on; and whether it be desirable or not, the pastime readers are the most of the people to whose wants public libraries of the popular sort minister. Books can neither instruct nor amuse if they are not within the com- prehension, or" it is perhaps better to say, within the literary sense of their readers. One may understand a book, but it does not allure him ■from other things, unless it responds to his intellectual wants, or runs upon the plane of his mental traiuing. When we consider the vast multitudes of people who are destitute of literary culture — and they may be none the worse citizens, and many even may be bright think- 431 432 Public Libraries in the United States. ers — we need not be disappointed that so many read what, in a literary sense, are poor books ; and that so few read for other reasons than to refresh themselves after sterner work. It is not very considerate to establish anything like a fixed standard of good for all people, whether in dietetics or literature. There is doubt- less a universal goodness in literature as bread is in diet; but no one wants to live on bread solely, and it is the variety, and to a consider- able extent, condiments and relishes in food and in books, that give health to the appetite and vigor to the digestion. These critics cannot understand why the epicure eats the trail with the woodcock. They call what is unpalatable to them or mawtisli to their ideas trash, for- getting that this much abused word represents a quality which is not positive, but only relative, and is like the freezing point, which depends upon the substance to be frozen. Water is useful and iron is useful, but they solidify at such different temperatures that they are not equally useful in the stomach. This doctrine of the average mind and procrustean lengths in educa- tion, is unfortunately one that cannot easily be discarded in our schools, where a few teachers are to instruct many scholars; but in libraries, where the teachers are dumb, and are not annoyed by whispering, each reader can have his own mentor, and there is not a little gratiticatioa in the emancipation from rule which is thus produced. There is also some significance in the up and down traveling of the trash point ac- cording to the quality of the pupil. Thus it is: A spurns as trash what elevates B, who looks down on the highest reading is capable of, and s ) on till you get down to the mere jingle that amuses a half idiot, who is happy because he can Un- derstand something above the caterwauling of the roofs. If this prin- ciple is understood, the whole question lightens up. It is by no means to be inferred that, however we take things, we must leave them as we find them. Librarians do not do their whole duty unless they strive to elevate the taste of their readers, and this they can do, not by refusing to put within their reach the books which the masses of readers want, but by inducing a habit of frequenting the library, by giving readers sucli books as they ask for and then helping them in the choice of books, conducting them, say from the ordinary society novel to the historical novel, and then to the proofs and illustrations of the events or periods commemorated in the more readable of the historians. Multitudes of readers need only to be put in this path to follow it. This can be satis- factorily proved by statistics in any well administered library where the records of circulation are kept in a way to be a guidance rather than an obstacle to the librarian. But the proofs do not show all, and only the librarian knows what allowance must be made for several interfering influences. Most of the frequenters of a popular library drop off when you have begun to have thie most effect upon them, because they have attained au age when Reading in Popular Libraries. 433 business first begins to engross their attention, and they confine their reading to a newspaper on week days and to a chance number of a peri- odical on Sundays. Librarians know that if these influences can be resisted, and the young man can continue to frequent the library, he can be helpfully advanced in his reading. Again, every year many young readers begin their experiences with the library. They find all the instructive reading they ought to have in their school books, and frequent the library for story books. These swell the issues of fiction, but they prevent the statistics of that better reading into which you have allured the older ones, from telling as they should in the average. A reasonable conclusion, then, is, that the mass of readers in popular libraries crave pastime only ; but they can be made to glide into what is commonly called instructive reading quite as early as it is good for them. 28 CHAPTEE XXI. ART MUSEUMS AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH PUBUC LIBRARIES BY PROF. H. S. FRIEZE, L,L,.D., University of Michigan. What has already been done — America behind other countries in art ejjuca- XiON — MUSECMS of ART SUBSERVE NATIONAL INDUSTRIES — INFLUENCE ON ARCHITEC- TURE — Recreation — Educational and refining influence — Aut museums PRACTICABLE IN LARGER TOWNS — MaY BE COMPARATIVELY INEXPENSIVE — VOLUN- TARY effort — Connecting art museums and libraries — Places to obtain AND cost of copies OF W ORKS OF ART. WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE. The collection of paintings and statuary connected with the Library of the Boston Athenaium has for many years formed one of the principal attractions of that city, and has been a source of instruction and imi)rove- raent both to the inhabitants and to thousands of visitors from abroad. It has been the school in which many American artists have received their first impulses and their earliest inspirations. The writer of this article owes his first impressions of the power of painting and sculpture to his occasional visits in early life to this gal- lery; where the Apollo, the Laocoon,and the Diana first opened his mind to the wonders of ancient sculpture, and the Cleopatra of Gaido, the Flora of Titian, and the masterpieces of Washington Allston, became indelibly fixed in his memory. Many an American traveler, while enjoy- ing the lavish wealth of ancient and modern art displayed in the great gal- leries of Europe — absorbing, as they do, the greater part of the tour- ist's time, and contributing more than anything else to the pleasure of travel — looks back with gratitude to the comparatively small and hum- ble art museum of the Boston Athenteum as the training school to which he owes in a great degree his power to appreciate the rich treas- ures of sculpture and painting in the Old World. Not that other collections, or occasional exhibitions of a kindred char- acter in othercities, especially in New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Chicago, have not also done much for the improvement of our national taste ; but the gallery of the Boston Athenaeum was the earliest Ameri- can collection of works of art designed to form a permanent exhibi- tion possessing a high degree of excellence. It is also the only art museum in our country connected with a public library ; and on this account claims particular notice in an article on this subject. 434 Art Museums and their connection with Public Libraries. 435 WE ARE BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES IN ART EDUCATION. It is a matter of surprise that the idea of establishing museums of art, whether or not in connection with public libraries, has not been adopted more geiierally by the cities of our land, or, at least, by private corporations of citizens. We entertain a just pride in the excellence of our popular education, especially as compared with the state of popular education in England. During the last decade, however, England has been making rapid progress in educational work of every kind, and es- pecially in opening to her youth of every class and rank facilities for the study of art. In this direction she is decidedly in advance of us. She has opened museums of industrial and fine art in connection with free libraries as a new and legitimate instrumentality for educating and elevating the people. Already the beneficial effects of this movement are perceptible, not only in the improved tastes and manners of the large numbers who visit the museums and libraries for the purposes of study, reading, and recreation, but also in the improved training of young persons for the arts and trades. THEY SUBSERVE THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIES. For this subject has also its economical aspect; and the growing- superiority of continental manufactures, especially of those fabrics whose value depends largely on excellence in design acquired by the workmen of the continental nations in their schools of art and design, has awakened England to the importance of opening similar opportu- nities to her youth, and of thus affording to her manufacturers the means of competing successfully with France, Germany, and Switzer- land. As an illustration of the estimate put by some communities on the practical and economical value of art study the example of the Swiss canton of Berne may be cited. In this canton the art of carving in wood is recognized as a branch of national industry, and is accordingly fostered by the public authorities. Thus, such of the youth as exhibit remark- able gifts for art are educated at the public expense in schools of de- sign either at home or abroad ; and thus the greatest possible amount of taste and skill is acquired by the inhabitants of the Bernese moun- tains and valleys for the production of those tasteful works in wood carving, those elegant articles of furniture, figures of animals, and artistic ornaments in wood, which have made their way throughout the world, and which yield no small return to the ingenious skill of these secluded mountaineers. No argument, indeed, should be needed at the present day to prove that sesthetic culture, at least to some extent, that some degree of development in the way of artistic taste and skill, is necessary to the progress and perfection even of the industrial arts. Not only the buUder and the engineer, but the mechanic, the calico printer, modelers, designers, workmen of almost every kind, are better prepared for good 436. Public Libraries in the United States. aud successful work by some acquaintauce either with the principles of art or with works of art. And so, a due regard even to the material interests of the nation, and to the successful prosecution of our national industries, should awaken in every community a lively interest on this subject. We should not rest contented with a state of culture in this direction inferior to that which has been attained by England, and far inferior to that enjoyed by some of the nations of the Continent. THE NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE WOULD BE IMPROVED. Among the most direct advantages to be expected from the founding of popular museums of art, is the improvement of the national taste in architecture and architectural decoration. And certainly there is noth- ing in our external civilization which more emphatically calls for im- provement. It is a frequent criticism, aud altogether too just, that many of our professed architects, some would say a majority of them, are im- perfectly acquainted both with the principles of construction and of architectural propriety. If the buildings which are erected according to their plans 'do not fall upon our heads, they will stand too often as unsightly monuments of a vicious taste. But so long as the people ^t large remain without the means of art culture and of testhetic develop- ment; without access to those forms of true symmetry and beauty, and those models of excellence in every art which it is the aim of a museum to bring together, there will be no demand or vocation for the genuine architect; because the people, that is the employers, will in general determine the style of their dwellings and public buildings, and will accept only the designs which square with their own tastes. Corpora- tions and building committees do not, on the whole, exhibit a judgment superior to that of the community which they represent. The architect, therefore, must often modify his design to meet their requirements As a rule he can carry out no plan which rises above the level of their intelligence. Hence, in the too general lack of*the right kind of knowledge, and of the correct standard of taste, almost every village and city is disfigured more or less with architectural mal- formations. Hence, our "Carpenter's Gothic," "Carpenter's Doric," and our crude combinations of Komauesque and Byzantine, and Greek and Gothic; and hence the nondescript designs, consisting of incon- gruous reminiscences of all styles, foisted upon us as "original" Ameri- can architecture, which, perhaps, in truth it may be called. A more correct taste, however, is beginning to make its way, though it is still in advance of the times. Immense sums are still expended upon piles of brick, iron, stone, stucco, and wood, whicli have absolutely no architect- ural character but that which is akin to the meretricious rococco style of two centuries ago; structures which, if they escape the fire, will be looked upon hereafter as painful deformities, though, perhaps, too costly to be pulled down. They abound in incongruous members, false combina- Art Museums and their connection with Public Libraries. 437 tions, inapposite decorations, mnltiplied aud jumbled together for the sake of vicious display and foolish expense. Millions have been thrown away in this vulgar parade of costly building; mostly, however, in the direction of domestic architecture, for excessive outlay on public buildings is not in general the tendency of our times. We have not yet reached the period when the patriotism of citizens will lead them to be more ambitious for the sumptuousness of civic buildings than of their private dwellings. Now the correction of such errors of judgment is to be found in a more general cultivation of art. Men of genius should find in the uni- versities aud polytechnic schools of the country every needful help to a complete education in the principles of architecture and of the other arts which are inseparable from it. Then the taste of the public must be cultivated in the same direction, though not necessarily to the same degree, by the employment of kindred means. Otherwise, well educated architects will find little employment, will have but little influence, and will be set aside for those of superficial attainments, whose ideas will be more in harmony with those of the community. Jt was the cultivating influence of such men of true art as Adam Craft, Peter Fisher, and Albrecht Diirer, which led the citizens of old Nurem- berg to adopt that simple, elegant, and substantial domestic architecture, which has been lately reproduced in the residences of the new and beautiful Marien street of the modern part of that interesting city. This old architecture, so truthful, so free from sham, and from flashy display, has been adopted for the new city because none has been found so appropriate to the place, and nothing in itself superior, if equal. If we are to have types of architecture truly original and American, and worthy of our country, and destined to endure, they are to grow up in various localities, under the influence of the peculiar circumstances of the place, its climate, its native materials, and particular wants; all controlled by the tastes both of architects arid communities thoroughly imbued with the principles of genuine art. But while economical considerations would of themselves justify the founding of art museums for the benefit of the public at the public ex- pense, these are by no means the only arguments in favor of their estab- lishment. INNOCENT AND IMPROVING KECREATION. Most of our principal cities are laying out large sums on parks and pleasure grounds, for the purpose of affording better opportunities to their crowded populations for healthful recreation and enjoyment. And here, too, a large share of attention is most properly bestowed on art in the direction of landscape gardening. The gratification of the eye and of the (esthetic sense here also is not neglected. But all this ex- penditure is lost to most of the people for one-half of the year on account of our long winters. Yet if the principle of providing at the public ex- 438 Public Libraries in the United States. pense for the innocent recreation of the citizens is recognized as correct, some elevating means of enjoyment should be afforded for the winter as well as for the summer months. What an unfailing resource is the Louvre or the London gallery in the hours when recreation is needed, and when an inclement sky forbids all out-door enjoyment ! Such a resource, no matter though it be on a smaller scale, is within the reach of every considerable city in our land. EDUCATIONAL AKD REFINING INFLUENCE. But above all, there is the educational advantage. We are willing to be taxed for the support of common schools ; some States tax them- selves for universities ; almost every city is taxed for one or more high schools, and many for the support of public libraries. But the same mind that finds* its aliment in schools, and books, needs also for one of its best faculties the nutriment afforded by the creations of the artist. Without this aid that faculty remains dormant. Its power to enhance the value of individual and social life is lost. Now, can any just reason be given why the aesthetic faculty should be left out of our plans for public and popular education? why money should be expended for in- structive books, and not also for instructive and elevating works of artr ^The followiug extract from a letter by the late John Stuart Mill, iu 18(39, to a com- mittee of the American Social Science Association, (Journal of Social Science, No. 5, 1873, pp. 137, 138,) is given because of its pertinence to the subject under discussion, though it was written especially to encourage art education in public schools : "The multiplication of casts of the finest works of ancient sculpture, i« very useful as one among many means of educating the public eye. Both in art and in nature, a certain degree of familiarity is necessary, not merely to the intellectual appreciation, but to the enjoyment of the higher kinds of beauty. Every one who takes pleasure in a simple tune, has the capacity of fully enjoying Weber and Beethoven, but very often he derives little or no pleasure from a first hearing of them. It is a great inistake to thinkjthat children are not benefited by living and growing up among models of beauty. They are, on the contrary, more benefited than any one else, though not, at the time, conscious of the benefit. I can trace a great influence in my own development to the accident of having passed several years of my boyhood iu one of the few old abbeys which are still inhabited, instead of a mean and graceless modern house, and having at the same time and place been familiar with the tapestries from Kaphael's cartoons, which peopled my imagination with graceful and dignified forms of hum9,n beings. "There is a great want of this training of the perceptions and taste in our modern societies, but it is not by any one help or stimulus that the want can be supplied. The great desideratum in America, and, though not quite in an equal degree, I may say in England too, is the improvement of the higher education. America surpasses all countries in the amount of mental cultivation which she has been able to make uni- versal ; but a high average level is not everything. There are wanted, I do not say a class, but a great number of persons of the highest degree of cultivation which the accumulated acquisitions of the human race make it possible to give them. "From such persons, in a community which knows no distinctions of ranks, civiliza- tion would rain down its influences upon the remainder of society, and the higher fac- ulties having been highly cultivated in the most advanced part of the public, would give forth products aud create an atmosphere that would produce a high average of the same faculties in a people so well prepared, in point of general intelligence, as the people of the United States."— Editors. Art Museums and their connection tvith Public Libraries. 439 FEASIBILITY OF FOUNDING ART MUSEUMS IN THE LARGER TOWNS. Maoy, perhaps most of our citizens, will at first give but little heed to the idea of public aud free museums of art, partly because the idea is new, or at least foreign, and partly because it will seem impracticable. But when it shall be understood how easily the project can be realized ; with what comparative facility and at what moderate expense the objects necessary for an interesting and very complete museum can be obtained, we may hope that many, if not all, of our principal cities will iay the foundations of such collections. EXAMPLES OF MUSEUMS CONSISTING OF C(JPIES OF ART WORKS. Some of the most interesting museums in the world, some of those most valuable at once for the artist, the scholar, and the tourist, consist mainly of copies ; copies, made in plaster or other material, of the great masterpieces of statuary, and well executed copies of the great painters. To these are sometimes added collections of engravings and photographs. As examples of such, I may point to the new museum of Berlin, the large museum of statuary and painting at the Sydenham palace, and the fine gallery of copies of the ukl masters from every part of Europe gathered together in the Exposition building at Paris. INEXPENSIVE, IF ESTABLISHED BY CITY GOVERNMENTS. Now, for any of our cities containing fifty thousand inhabitants, I might say even twenty-five thousand, it would require an addition to the school tax scarcely appreciable, to raise the small amount of money necessary for the nucleus or first beginbings of a gallery of this kind ; and an annual outlay still smaller would secure its growth and comple- tion. Such an institution once established in any place would gradually accumulate, by donation and otherwise, original works of art as well as copies ; and it would also in many cases become the depository of his- torical, archasological, and ethnographical objects. Such has been the result in the few experiments of this kind which have already been tried in our own laud. COULD BE ESTABLISHED BY VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS. Even independently of any municipal action in aid of such objects, it would seem to be one of the most attractive and useful enterprises for the general good which could be presented to the public spirit and local patriotism of the wealthier class of citizens. How easily and with how little inconvenience to themselves, financially, could men of means by organized eifort promote this most desirable object. They would thus become public benefactors and would greatly increase the attract- iveness of the places in which they reside. They would supply one of the most painful deficiencies of our American cities — the want of what 440 Public Libraries in the United States. we may call internal or intellectual interest. For a city like most of those of our country, without scientific museums and treasures of art, however beautiful externally, contains but little to interest and detain the stranger. In an hour or two he easily takes in all that is worth seeing in the way of public and private buildings, and passes on his way without any disposition to make a second visit. He finds no food for the mind; nothing to make a lasting and pleasing impression upon his memory. Every one experiences this baldness of American cities as compared with European. It arises, of course, in part, from the lack of old historical associations ; but certainly in no small degree from the want of scientific and art collections. ECONOMY OF CONNECTING MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES. The propriety of connecting such museums, if established at all, with public libraries, is too obvious to need any lengthy discussion. Their aims are kindred, indeed identical. Both are designed to promote the intellectual culture of the people.^ Their association under one roof would naturally follow from their internal relation. It is evident, too, that the placing of the museum and library in one building would sub- serve the public convenience by saving time and trouble to visitors ; and that thus both would be much ,more frequented than if they were situated in separate localities; and so both would accomplish much more eflfectually the purposes of their institution. Considerations of economy also favor this connection. A library building can be easily planned in such a manner that an upper tioor, ' The creation of art museums ia many of the British free libraries has been attended with the happiest results. One feature of the plan therei is the loan of works of art by the patro,n3 af the library and museum. Mr. Emerson, in an essay on Domestic Life, (Society and Solitude, pp. 117, 118,) advocates the formation in a similar manner of art museums in connection with American public libraries : "1 do not undervalue the fine instruction which statues and pictures give. But I think the pubHc museum in each town will ond d£ty relieve the private house of this charge of owning and exhibiting them, I go to Rome and see on the walls of the Vatican the Transfiguration, painted by Raphael, reckoned the first picture in the world; or in the Sistine Chapel, I see the grand sibyls and prophets, painted in fresco by Michael Angelo — which have every day now for three hundred years inflamed the imagination and exalted the piety of what vast multitudes of men of all nations ! I wish to bring home to my children and my friends copies of these admirable forms, which I can find in the shops of the engravers ; but I do not wish the vexation of owning them. I wish to find in my own town a library and museum which is the property of the town, where I can deposit this precious treasure, where I and my chil- dren can see it from time to time, and where it has its proper place among hundreds of such donations from other citizens who have brought thither whatever articles they have judged to be in their nature rather a public than a private property. "A collection of this kind, the property of each town, would dignify the town, and we should love and respect our neighbors mdre. Obviously, it would be easy for every town to discharge this truly municipal duty. Every one of us would gladly contribute his share ; and the more gladly, the more considerable the institution had become." — Editoks. PUBLIC LIBRAKT, NORT H AM PT OTs , MASS. Art Museums and their connection with Public Libraries. 443 admirably lighted for galleries of painting and statuary, can be made available for this purpose, at very little additional expense. At the same time the current expenses of library and museum, for obvious reasons, would be considerably less when combined than if established in different localities. WHERE ART WORKS CAN BE OBTAINED, AND AT WHAT COST. I add a few examples of the prices for which certain works of art can be purchased, iu order to illustrate the feasibility, in a financial point of view, of founding such art collections as are here advocated. Among the casts of statuary first placed iu the new museum of Berlin, and forming the nucleus of that collection, are the copies of the famous statues from the ancient temple of ^Egina, now in the Glyptothek at Munich. These groups may be said to form the beginning of Grecian sculpture iu its higher development. The figures, which are of the size of life, are fifteen in number. Exquisitely finished copies of these can now be had from the Royal Polytechnic School at Munich, more perfect than those iu the Berlin Museum, at $ J5. The Ilioueus, the best statue in the Glyptothek, is copied for $28. Other important works can be obtained from the same department of the Munich Polytechnic School at equally moderate prices. At the Moulage, iu the Museum of the Louvre at Paris, the Apollo Belvedere, copied with great exactness, is sold for $30; the Augustus robed, for $24; the famous Aristides of the Naples Museum, at the same price ; the colossal group of Laocoon and his sous, for $80. At this establishment, indeed, very many of the most valuable statues and groups, ancient and modern, can be obtained at similar rates. Admirable copies in bronze, mostly reductions of different sizes, approved by the best artists of Europe, can be obtained from the well known works of F. Barbedienne in Paris. The prices are moderate for this material. The Venus of Milo, of half the original size, costs $140 ; other figures in proportion. Then the reductions made iu plaster, terra cotta, and other material, exceedingly perfect, and quite inexpensive, afford a good opportunity for supplementing a collection which cannot at first be made complete with copies of the full size. Such reduced copies, as well as busts of the life size, made under the sanction of the French National School of Fine Art, can be obtained at very reasonable prices from A. Desachy, who superintends the work of casting for the Academy of Fine Arts, the average cost of busts of historical personages being $3 ; that of reduc- tions of half the life size, about the same. At the same institution are to be found also copies of statues of the original size, at prices corre- sponding to those at the Louvre. The small reductions in terra cotta, mostly of classical statuary, made at Naples by Giovanni Mollica, are exceedingly perfect. The entire collection embraces nearly one hun- dred and fifty pieces, consisting of groups, statues, and busts. Properly arranged in cases, they form a very valuable and attractive addition to 444 Public Libraries in the United States. any museum, and are useful even to artists. The statues have an aver- age height of one foot. The material is durable, and the colbr is very agreeable to the eye. The cost of the entire collection is about $185. At Copenhagen, at the establishment of Biug & Grondahl, reductions of all the works of Thorwaldsen on a similar scale to that of the terra cottas above mentioned, but cast in biscuit, an exceedingly hard and durable material, and capable of very delicate finish, can be obtained at prices quite as reasonable for the relative cost of the material and labor; for example, the group of figures on the pediment of the church of St. John the Baptist is sold at about $55, and the celebrated group of Christ and the Apostles, at $72. Copies of paintings exactly representing the originals, in oil colors, are, of course, more expensive. Good artists will furnish copies of most of the masterpieces in the galleries of Florence, containing one figure of the life size, at about $100, and others at proportionate rates. I need not add here any particulars as to the importance of engrav- ings and photographs ; their relative cheapness, and the unlimited facili- ties they aftbrd for bringing together correct and beautiful representa- tions of works of art in all its departments, and of supplementing the galleries of museums which may not possess the means of purchasing many expensive productions. CHAPTER XXII. FREE TOWN LIBRARIES. BY THE EDITORS. Frke town libraries defined — The outgrowth of social and school libraries, — Early social libraries — Early free town libraries — State laws axd REMARKS THEREON— In NeW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS — MaINE — VERMONT — Ohio — Wisconsin — Connecticut — Iowa — Indiana — Illinois — Texas — Vote ON library tax in thirty-seven towns in Illinois, Iowa, and Massachusetts — Patronymic libraries. Free town libraries, as here considered, comprise those partly or wholly supported by a direct or indirect tax, or by municipal grants under authority Of a general State law; and do not include that class represented by the Astor Library in New York, the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, the Peabody Library, Peabody, Mass., which, though free, derive their entire support from the endowments of individuals. Several such libraries have existed for nearly fifty years, but, as a class, they have been formed within the last half of that period, and are, generally speaking, the outgrowth of social libraries — some of which still existing are uearly a century old — and of the public school libraries that flourished in many of the States a quarter of a century ago, and which in some of the States still form an important and influential factor in education. They are designed to furnish to all without cost the means for instruction and recreation which the, social libraries provided for their members only, and to perform the functions of public school libraries in the education of the people ; and are so planned as to avoid certain difficulties which the latter met and could not overcome. During the first half century after the Revolution, social libraries held an important place among tlie resources for culture of the American people. Books were in all respects relatively infinitely more difficult to get then than now, and the collections of the book clubs and social libraries, insignificant as they may seem to us, were in those times held in no mean estimation. It is impossible now to ascertain accurately how many books were contained in the public libraries of all classes in the United States in the year 1800, for all traces of many of the smaller collections are lost, but the most thorough investigation enables us to say, with reasonable certainty, that there were, in that year, not more than 80,000 volumes altogether in the public libraries, or about one volume to seventy persons. Such glimpses as we can catch of the early social 445 446 Public Libraries in the United States. libraries are interesting, and indicate that the value of public collec- tions of books was fully appreciated. The following articles of association present briefly and pointedly the reasons for forming a social library in Maine seventy-five years ago : Castine, November 17, 1801. It is proposed by the persons whose names are here subjoined to establish a social library in this town. It is greatly to be lamented that excellent abilities are not unfrequently doomed to obscurity by reason of poverty ; that the rich purchase almost everytiiing but books ; and that reading has become so unfashionable an amusement in what we are pleased to call this enlightened age and country. To remedy these evils ; to excite a fondness for books ; to aftbrd the most rational and profitable amusement; to prevent idleness and immorality; and to promote the dilfusion of useful knowledge, piety, and virtue at an expense which small pecuniary abilities can afford, we are induced to associate for the above purposes; and each agrees to pay for the number of shares owned and annexed to his name at five dollars per share. Thirty-five names are subscribed to the articles. About the year 1827, the shares were all transferred to the town of Castine, which has regu- larly granted money since that time to support and increase the library. A yearly tax of twenty-five cents on each poll is assessed, and the avails, amounting to about $75 each year, are used to buy new books. The w^ngesof the librarian, cost of repairs, and incidental expenses, amount- ing to an equal sum, are paid by the town. The library now numbers more than 1,700 volumes, is fsee to all the inhabitants, and, according to the last report, about one thousand borrowers were registered. In the year ISO.'i, the pioneer settlers of Ames, Athens County, Ohio, met to consider the subject of roads ; that disposed of, their intellectual wants were discussed and it was decided that a public library would best meet their needs. Money was almost unknown in the infant settle- ments of Ohio in those days, but sufficient to make the first purchase of books was raised during the year, by dint of great industry and self- denial. The late Hon. Thomas Ewing, then a boy of fourteen, was a contributor to the fund. He writes : ^ The neighbors in our and the surrounding settlements met and agreed to purchase books and to make a common library. They were all poor, and siibscriptious small, but they raised in all about one hundred dollars. All my accumulated wealth, ten coon-skins, went into the fund, and Squire Sam. Brown, of Sunday Creek, who was go- ing to Boston, was charged with the purchase. After an absence of many weeks, he brought the books to Capt. Ben. Brown's, in a sack, on a pack horse. I was present at the untying of the sack and pouring-out of the treasure. There were about sixty volumes, I think, and well selected ; the library of the Vatican was nothing to it, and there never was a libraiy better road. This, with occasional additions, furnished me with reading while I remained at home. The preamble to the articles of association adopted February 2, 1804, sets forth that — considering the many beneficial effects which social libraries are calculated to pro- duce in societies where they are estabTished, as a source both of rational entertainment 1 History of Athens County, Ohio. By Charles M. Walker. Cincinnati, Ohio, Robert Clarke & Co., 1869, p. 399. Free Town Libraries. 447 and instruction, we, the subscribers, wishing to participate in those blessings, ajjree to form ourselves into a society for this purpose, under the title of the Western Library Association in the town of Ames. This library, sometimes distinguished in later years by the title " Coon Skin Library," prospered during a long period and exercised a marked influence on the intellectual habits of the community. Among its pa- trons were Judge Ephraim Cutler, to whom the friends of education in Ohio were largely indebted for the common school law enacted in 1825, and many 6ther men distinguished in the history of the State. An aged citizen of A thens County, Ohio, who in early years enjoyed its privileges, wrote in September, 1875, as follows: Although this time honored library has now gone down, and really has no claim 1o present existence, it did in its day perform a noble mission in the dissemination of knowledge. A social library, the first in the northwestern territory, was formed at Cincinnati in March, 1802. A notice of it will be found in the sketch entitled Public Libraries of Cincinnati, in Chapter XXXVIII, Part VI, of this report. The public school libraries described in (]haper II of this report are practically free to all the inhabitants, and derive their support from taxation and State grants ; they were, therefore, really the pioneers and progenitors of the important and rapidly growing class of free town libraries. In Massachusetts the school libraries did not, as we have seen, meet the wants of the people,^ but they served to help prepare the way for the town libraries which have multiplied and increased so rapidly in that State during the last twenty five years. Free town libraries appear to have been formed in some places by the towns assuming the power to levy taxes and grant money before the enactment of any general State law authorizing the levy of a tax for that specific purpose. Thus the town of Orange, Mass., in 1846, five years before the enactment of the general law empowering towns to levy a tax for libraries, voted $100 to establish a town library, and has since that time always paid the librarian and the incidental expenses of the library, besides granting occasional sums to buy new books. The shares of the Social Library of Castine, Me., became the property of the town about the year 1827, while the State law author- izing towns to levy a tax for library purposes was not enacted until 1854. The town of Salisbury, Conn., also voted money to a library at an early period,^ though the State law authorizing grants by towns to libraries was not enacted until 1869. In some instances special laws have been enacted, giving certain cities and towns power to establish a free library by taxation. All these facts pointed to the desirability of general legislation empowering towns and cities to raise money for library purposes. NEW HAMPSHIRE. New Hampshire gained the honor of leadership by enacting a law in 1 Ante, p. 42. s yee ante, p. 45, note. 448 Public Libraries in the United States. 1849, authorizing towns to grant money to establish and maintain pub- lic libraries, the amount of such grants being fixed by the voters of the respective towns. Libraries so formed and maintained are exempt from taxation. Before the passage of this law the town of Peterborough had, by a vote of April 9, 1833, established a town library, and in that year set apart from its share of the bank tax, the proceeds of which are distrib- uted among the towns of the State to be used for literarjr purposes, $66.84 to buy books. The grants for books have been continued from year to year since that time, except for the year 1863, in varying sums, the largest in any one year being $150, and the whole amounting, up to the year 1876, to $1,762.25. Besides this sum, the town has regularly paid for the care of the library from fifty to one hundred dollars a year- The library numbers nearly 4,000, and circulates about 9,000 volumes a year. Thirteen town libraries in ]S^ew Hampshire received grants to the •whole amount of $7,510 in the year 1874-'75. They contained alto- gether 51,842 volumes, and the aggregate circulation reported was 191,601 volumes, or nearly 370^ per cent. 3IASSACHUSETTS. As "we have already seen, at least one town in Massachusetts assumed the power to grant money in aid of a town library as early as 1846, though no statute authorizing such grant then existed. In 1847, the late President Wayland, of Brown University, desired to help the town of Wayland, Mass., to a town library, and gave $500 on condition that an equal sum be raised in the town by subscription for the same pur- pose, which was done, and the gift accepted at the town meeting March 6, 1848. At this point, the question arose whether the town could, in its municipal capacity, grant money to buy books and support a town library. The right of the town to compel tax-payers to pay money for this object was doubted by the friends of the project, and they recom- mended " that it be optional with the individual tax-payers either to pay or not to pay their respective assessments for said item." By common consent, measures were taken to prepare a building and purchase books, and early in August, 1850, the library was opened to the public. A citizen of Wayland had suggested to a member of the legislature during the session of 1850 to procure the enactment of a State law authorizing any town to grant aid to a town library, but no such action was taken. The next year Rev. John B. Wight, a member of the legislature from Wayland, familiar with the doubts that existed as to the powers pos- sessed by towns in respect to libraries, introduced a bill which became a law May 24, 1851, authorizing any city or town to grant a sum not to exceed one dollar for each of its ratable polls the first year, and not exceeding twenty-five cents for each of its ratable polls yearly there- PUBLIC LIBRARY WOKCESTER. MASS Free Town Libraries. 451 after, for tlie establishment and maintenance of a pnblic library. By an amendment enacted in 1859 the limit of twenty-five cents for each poll yearly for the increase and maintenance of the library was changed to fifty cents. An act of May 9, 18GG, authorizes any town at a legal meeting to grant any necessary sum for the establishment, maintenance, or increase of a public library therein and for necessary buildings. Branch libraries may be established and maintained in the same man- ner. Any town may receive, hold, and manage any devise, bequest, or donation for the establishment, increase, or maintenance of a public library within the same. An act of June 10, 1870, provid'es that — Any town, at a lawful meeting, having an article in the warrant for the purpose, may authorize a village or district in such town, containing not less than one thousand inhabitants, the limits of which shall be accurately defined, to organize under such name as may be authorized by such town, for the purpose of . . . establishing and maintaining public libraries. An act of May 23, 1873, empowers any city or town to make grants to a free reference library within its limits. A State law provides that 'the net proceeds of licenses for keeping dogs shall be paid yearly towards the support of public schools or town libraries, and in many towns the money is used for the latter object. Thus, of twenty-seven free libraries in Worcester County, including the Public Library of the city of Worcester, teu received aid from this source in the year 1874-'75, amounting altogether to $5,386.18 ; twenty four received in all $23,793.50 from municipal grants and taxation, making the income from these two sources $29,179.68, or a little more than ten per cent, of the amount, $284,754.10, raised by taxation that year in the same towns for the support of public schools. According to returns published in the report of the secretary of the Massachusetts board of education for the year 1872, there were in 1861) forty-five free public libraries in the State, containing 201,706 volumes, with yearly additions of about 22,000 volumes, and a circulation of more than 500,000 volumes a year; six years later, fifty libraries, with 345,588 volumes, were returned, the yearly additions being reported at about 20,000 volumes, and the number lent to readers at 886,172 vol- umes; in 1872, there were reported eighty-two libraries, containing 564,479 volumes; the number of volumes added in 1871 was 50,130, and 1,345,179 volumes had been lent to readers. Of the free town libraries in Massachusetts, (not including any that are wholly supported by private endowments,) one hundred and twenty-seven reported for the year 1874-'75 a total income of $273,861 from municipal grants and taxation. These libraries numbered alto- gether about 920,p00 volumes, had added more than 132,000 volumes within the year, and 3,026,000 volumes had in the same time been taken out by readers. It appears by comparison of the above returns that in fifteen years the number of free town libraries has been nearly trebled ; 452 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. the number of volumes much more than quadrupled ; that the yearly additions have increased more than sixfold; and tliat more than six times as many books were taken out by readers than nine years before. MAINE. Any " city, town, or plantation " in Maine may, under an act dated April 20, 1854, grant a sum not exceeding $1 on each of its ratable polls to establish a public library ; and a sum not exceeding 25 cents on each poll yearly thereafter for its increase and maintenance. Eight public libraries under this act received altogether aid to the amount of $2,985 last year, when they contained in all 33,534 volumes, and reported an aggregate yearly circulation of 97,700 volumes, VERMONT, Between 1854 and 1865 no original legislation looking to the forma- tion of free town libraries was enacted, but in the latter year the Ver- mont legislature empowered towns to grant money for the establish- ment and maintenance of such libraries. The law was repealed in November, 1867, and a new enactment made authorizing any city, town, or incorporated village to grant a sum not exceeding one dollar on each ratable poll for the foundation, and fifty cents on each ratable poll yearly thereafter, for the increase and maintenance of a library free to all the inhabitants. Four libraries. of this class reported an aggregate income for the year 1874-'75 of $2,500 from taxation. The^' numbered 16,200 volumes, and circulated in that year 56,700 volumes. OHIO. Under an act dated February 24, 1868, any city of the second class is empowered to levy a tax not exceeding one-half a mill on the dollar yearly for a public library and reading room, provided that suitable ac- commodations be furnished without expense to the city. An act dated March, 1875, empowers any city or incorporated village to establish and maintain a free public library and reading room. The amount of the yearly grant for this purpose appears to depend on the discretion of the municipal authorities. Of the free public libraries in Ohio reporting for the year 1874-'75, nine contained, in all, 144,084 volumes; 815,373 volumes were lent to readers within the year, and the aggregate income from taxation was $62,600. An interesting sketch of the very successful Public Library of Cincin- nati will be found in Chapter XXXVllI, Part VI, of this report. WISCONSIN. An act of March 6, 1868, empowers towns to raise by taxation a sum not to exceed $150 in any one year for the purchase of books for town Free Town Libraries. 453 libraries ; and an act of March 21, 1872, authorizes cities and villages to levy a tax not exceeding one mill on the dollar for the establishment and maintenance of free public libraries and reading rooms. Four libraries organized under the law received a total income from taxation in the year 1874-75 of $4,400 ; three of them contained alto- gether 6,200 volumes ; and their aggregate circulation for the year was 27,000. The fourth was not opened until December, 1875, and no report of its circulation since has been received. It is gratifying to know that there is a revival of interest in libraries in Wisconsin, and there is every prospect that the unfortunate expe- rience undergone by the school libraries will not be repeated in this later plan to ad-vance the intelligence and happiness of the people. CONNECTICUT. The town library law of Connecticut, enacted July 8, 1869, empowers " towns, boroughs, and cities" to levy a tax of one dollar on each poll and fifty cents yearly on each poll thereafter, to establish and maintain public libraries. Four libraries, to which town aid was granted in the year 1874-'75, received a total of $1,110. They contained altogether about 15,000 volumes, and reported an aggregate circulation during the year of about 37,000 volumes. It is probable that the social libraries in the smaller villages, the con- siderable number of .libraries in tlie larger towns which derive their support from individual endowments, and the attention paid to school libraries within the last few years, have to some extent diverted atten- tion and effort from the plan of free town libraries, which has enjoyed such wonderful success in the neighboring State of Massachusetts. An act dated March 30, 1870, made it lawful for any city of the first or second class to raise money for a free public library, by a tax not exceeding one half a mill on the dollar, provided that a suitable build- ing be first presented to the city for library purposes. A more liberal enactment of March 20, 1872, provides that any city or incorporated town may levy a tax not exceeding one mill on the dollar in any one year for the purpose of procuring books for a free public library, and may receive donations for a library. One public library established under this law in January, 1873 received $1,000 from taxation in the year 1874-'75. It numbered 914 volumes, and nearly 12,000 volumes were taken out by readers during the year. There are a number of prosperous subscription or social libraries in the State, but the plan of free libraries supported by tax does not seem as yet to have attracted public attention and interest 454 Public Libraries in the United States. The first public library in Indiana appears to have been the Vincennos Library, established in the town of the same name in the year 1807, among' the incorporators of which was General W. H. Harrison, after wards President of the United States. It still exists and numbers about 2,000 volumes. In 1852 a la w was enacted for the establishment and maintenance of a free library in each county. It provided that 10 per cent, of the proceeds of all land sold by the county as its property, in the town where the county seat is situated, and 10 per cent, of all donations made' by any town to secure the establishment of the county seat therein, should form a fund from which yearly grants might be made by the county commissioners to buy books and pay the necessary ex- penses of maintaining at the county seat a public library free to all inhabitants of the county. A number of libraries was established under the law, and some of them still remain; but the reports are not encouraging as respects their usefulness. Of the eleven returned in 1874-75, only three rei)ort funds, which amount in the aggregate to $7,361, yielding a total income of $1,217.90 a year. The eleven contain 12,916 volumes; only seven fur- nish reports of circulation, from which it appears that but 3,710 vol- umes, or a little more than twenty-eight per cent., were taken from the shelves during the year, a striking and painful contrast to the use made of the free public libraries of the same State, the circulation of which for the same year was more than 625 per cent. In a number of towns in Indiana, and a few in other States, free libra- ries for workingmen have been established through the liberality of the late William Maclure, of Philadelphia^ whose gifts and bequests for this purpose amounted to about $150,000, in sums of from $400 to $500 for each library. With twoor three exceptions, these libraries have been un- fortunate, and many of them have become extinct. Seventeen of them in Indiana reported in all 11,405 volumes in 1874-'75, with a total circu- lation of 13,380 volumes. Only two reported a yearly income, which, for both, amounted to but $110. The administrator of the estate writes: As all the funds of the estate have been expended, and as there is no mode of forcing the societies to carry out the intention of the testator, the libraries will probably be lost. By an act approved March 3, 1871, the board of school commission- ers of any, city is authorized to levy a tax not exceeding one-fifth of a mill on each dollar of the taxable property in any one year for the establishment and support of free public libraries, to expend the funds so realized, and to make all proper regulations respecting the library. An act dated 1873 provides that any city incorporated under the law of the State may, by a two-thirds vote of the common council, raise by a tax of not more than two mills on the dollar, in any one year, money to be used iu helping to maintain a free public library. Free Totvn Libraries. 455 Three free public libraries in Indiana, organized under the above provisions, contained, in 1874-75, 25,585 volumes, and 159,558 volumes were lent to readers from two of the libraries; the third, opened in June, 1875, did not report statistics of circulation. Altogether they received $18,700 from taxation. ILLINOIS. A law enacted March 7, 1872, provides for the establishment and maintenance of free public libraries and reading rooms in incorporated cities, villages, and townships. Cities containing more than 100,000 in- habitants may raise money for this purpose by a tax not exceeding one- fifth of a mill yearly on the taxable property ; cities of less than 100,000 inhabitants may levy a tax not exceeding one mill ou the dollar yearly; and villages and townships a yearly tax not exceeding two mills on the dollar. In cities the libraries are to be managed by a board of nine directors, appointed by the mayor with the approval of the city council, one-third to hold office one year, one-third two years, and one-third three years; the directors are to be "chosen from the citizens at large with reference to their fitness for such office;" and not more than one mem- ber of the city council shall be at any one time a member of the board. In villages and towns the directors are elected by the legal voters. Thirteen free libraries, organized under the above law, received in all, in the year 1874-'75, the sum of $74,742.92 from taxation; they numbered altogether 76,595 volumes, and 301,538 volumes were lent to readers within the year. One other library, at Joliet, was known to be in process of formation in February, 1876, and there are probably others from which no information has been received. The activity manifested in the short period since the enactment of the law, indicates that Illinois will soon take a high position among the States that maintain free public libraries for the benefit of all the peo- ple. TEXAS. The frontier State of Texas is the pioneer in the free library move- ment in the Southern States, her legislature having passed a law, ap- proved February 26, 1874, authorizing any incorporated city in the State to establish a free library, and grant such part of its "revenues for the management and increase thereof as such city may determine by the action of the municipal government of the city." The free Public Library of Galveston, organized under the above law, receives $3,000 a year from the city. In 1875 it numbered 10,000 volumes, and 12,500 volumes were taken out by readers. TOWN LIBRARIES AND TAXATION. It is plain that the permanence and usefulness of a public library sup- ported by a general tax depend on the willingness with which the bur- den of taxation is taken up and borne by voters and tax-payers. It i s 456 Public Libraries in the United States. tlieiefore, desirable to know their sentiments on this subject in com- nniiiities wliere libraries so sustained exist. With this view, inquiries were sent to a number of towns where such libraries have been formed, asking, first, the number of legal voters in the town; second, the number voting for the library tax ; and, third, the number voting against it. Replies were received from thirty-seven towns in three dif- ferent States — Illinois, Iowa, and Massachusetts. In thirty-two towns the vote for was unanimous, or nearly so, no neg- ative votes being recorded. Of these towns, twenty-seven reported in the aggregate 20,304 legal voters; five of the towns did not report the number of voters. In five towns, containing altogether 3,702 legal voters, there was opposition shown by 515 votes against to 1,730 for the tax, being a majority of 1,215 in favor of the libraries. The fact that so little opposition was sliown in the representative towns to which the inquiries were sent, is sufficient proof that free libraries, according to present indications, are not destined to fail from lack of public support and sympathy. PATRONYMIC LIBRARIES. The Astor s^nd the Peabody Libraries have been already mentioned as representatives of a certain class of free libraries. The princely munifi- cence of such gifts as those of Peabody and Newberry, the former ap- ]>roaching two millions of dollars and the latter exceeding that sum ; of Lenox, the value of which cannot yet be estimated ; of the endowments of the Astors and of Dr. Rush, each of which approaches a million dollars, rightly attract the widest public attention. That four of the largest of these magnificent endowments have been made or have become available within the last twenty years, and three of them within the last five years, proves that the liberality of Americans is increasing in as remarkable a ratio in this direction as in any other. But even these gifts within the last quarter of a century are not all which may excite the just pride and emulation of Americans and stim- ulate the hopes of the friends of culture. In the single State of Massa- chusetts within the period last named, not less than sixteen patronymic libraries have been established that owe their origin to the benefactions of those whose names they bear. The aggregate sum thus given is more than $320,000; they contain altogether about 100,000 volumes; last year more than a quarter of a million volumes went out to their read- ers, and nearly 4,000 new volumes were placed on their shelves. It is to be remembered, too, that not all these benefactors are dead; a numberstill livetoblesstheir fellow citizensby their deedsof benevolence. Neither is it to be forgotten that such beneficence is not bounded by any lines of geography. An example only can be given of one State, because of the number. The new States have such benefactors; they are found on the slope of the Pacific, and in the farthest South, as well as in the Middle and Eastern States. CUKNELL LIBRARY, ITHACA, Free Town Libraries. 459 In many instances the buildings for these libraries have been finished under the personal superintendence of their donors; the books have been selected and placed on the shelves under their inspection, and then the keys have been given to the public. More than this, the foun- der has often paid for the service of caring for the books, and lending them to all citizens who choose to read, and also for placing new books in the library as needed. For the following interesting sketch of the Bryant Library we are indebted to Mr. O. C. Gardiner, of New York : Mr. William Cullen Bryant has established a free library for the benefit of the people of his native town, (Cnmmiuoton, Mass.,) at a cost of some $25,000. It includes a site of thirteen acres of land, with a stone building for the library, 30 feet by nearly 50, of the granulated hard mica slate found in abundance near it. It is a chaste, neat structure ; the library 30 feet in hei<;;ht, with three sides filled with shelves for the books, which form the active loan part of the library, with a gallery across the whole width of the building, over the entrance, for books of reference. The gift includes also a two story and attic cottage, built of concrete, for the use of the librarian, a barn, outbuildings^ and a commodious shed for the horses and carriages of those who visit the library. It was opened to the public about three years ago, and received a charter from the State in the present year. The library contains nearly six thousand volumes, and is probably one of the choicest collections for a small popular library to be found in the country. It was selected by the donor and the late George P. Putnam, with a supplementary selection by Mr. Bryant during the last two years. The library is shelved in thirteen sections or divisions — theology, religion, and philosophy ; education and text books ; history and biography ; voyages, travels, and geography ; political and social science ; rural and domestic economy; science; fine arts ; poetry and belles lettres ; fiction; juvenile books ; books of reference, and miscellaneous. The distance from Mr. Bryant's summer home to the library, one mile and a half, has been made easy by opening a now carriage road, to avoid the sharpest declivity of the bill, for the common benefit of himself and' neighbors. In this and another carriage road along the ridge, to promote easier access to the library and to the two villages, he has expended about $3,500. Thus, the library and the improvements around it at Mr. Bryant's hand will aggre- gate between $25,000 and $30,000. The library is free to the people of Cummington, while its benefits are extended to the surrounding towns within certain limits, at a small yearly charge for the improvement of the library. CHAPTER XXIII. FREE READING ROOMS. BY WIL,X,IAM: C. TODD. Influence of periodical literature — Its special value — Eeading rooms in CITIES — In towns — Cooper Union, New York — Newburypout, Mass. Free reading rooms, contaiuing the leading newspapers and magazines of the day, have begun to be recognized as important means of public education, and without a doubt will receive far more attention in future than they have in the past. They should go hand in hand with free schools and free libraries. Of all the wonderful changes in the last century none is more marked than those of the newspaper and periodical. The little sbeets, of some of which fac similes have recently been published, that told the people in 1775 of Lexiugton and Concord, were local in influence and circula- tion ; the same man was generally the editor and printer. Perhaps it is a mistake to say they told of the first British attack, as the exciting news of that day went from mouth to mouth long before it appeared in print. Of these journals. Dr. Franklin, in bis autobiography, says, " There are, at this time (1771) not less than twenty-five." He also erroneously states, strange as it may seem, that the paper established by his brother at Boston, in 1720 or 1721, was the second that appeared in America. If up to the time of the American Revolution the news- paper had exerted any influence on our history, it was comparatively unimportant. The prominence of the newspaper is one of the most characteristic features of the present age. The most remarkable discoveries and in- ventions of the past century have combined to render it a more com- plete agent for diffusing information and molding public opinion. It is the daily mirror of the world's events. Indispensable as are newspapers to the business of the world, they, with the numerous magazines that have been started, nearly all during the present century, are equally necessary to education. A nation with many papers and magazines must be well informed ; their circulation can almost be taken as an exponent of its intelligence. Not only does a first class journal contain a record of events, but the best thought of the day. What a noted man to-night mny say to a small audience, to- morrow will be read by millions all over the land. The substance of 460 Free Reading Booms. 461 whole volumes is published frequently long before its appearance in book form. Kecently such books as Schl iemann's Troy and its Eemains? with copious illustrations, Proctor's Lectures on Astronomy, Tyndall's on science and religion, Huxle;^'s ou the origin of life, and Agassiz's at the Anderson School, have appeared in a daily journal, costing a trifling sum, and have furnished instruction and delight to hundreds of thou- sands who would otherwise have remained ignorant of these works. The commander^ of our forces in a battle during the Mexican war stated to me that he could not have won his victory, and would have been led into an ambush, but for the clear idea of the locality gained from a map published in a newspaper. So great has become the demand for periodical literature, and so well understood its influence, that the best intellect is employed to produce it. Many brilliant writers of modern times have first become known through newspapers and magazines, and have continued to use this means of addressing the public. The essays of Macaulay first appeared in the Edinburgh Eeview, Bryant's Thauatopsis was first published in the North American Eeview, and Dickens became famous by his Sketch es by Boz in the London Morning Chronicle ; and nearly all his subsequent writings were for periodicals, his Household Words gaining a circulation in 1853 of 90,000 in London alone. Bryant has for years edited a paper, and Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier, Holmes, and others, the best known of our poets and prose writers, constantly contribute to periodicals. Much of the best poetry, romance, biography, criticism, discussion of every subject, and information ou every topic appears in our newspajiers and magazines, and scholars and men of science, as well as general readers, must read them or be left behind. Beautiful, accurate, striking illustrations, essentially a modern fea- ture of our periodical literature, attract attention and make clear what might otherwise be less perfectly understood. The influence of one of our best illustrated magazines over children and adults, in instruct- iBrig. Gen. B. Alvord, now Paymaster-General, U. S. A., and at the time men- tioned a captain in the Fourth Iafant^J^ In an interesting letter to the Commissioner of Education, describing the affair, he says : " Your reason for wishing rae to write it out was the emphasis I gave to the value of my possession of a good map of the ground, published in the New York Herald, on the occasion of the more important battle of Cerro Gordo, fought previously on the 18th April, 1847, under General Scott. I must premise that if there were advantages in this particular case from newspaper accounts and maps of that war, it must be remembered that the enemy in that war could not benefit by them from their remote^ ness and the difference of language. As a general rule, there can be no doubt that much inconvenience is felt by military commanders from publications in newspapers in the midst of active operations." After a detailed description of the fight, and showing the use of the map, General Alvord adds : " On reaching the city of Mexico I told General Scott that we had reversed his operations at Cerro Gordo. But none of the official reports ever all uded to the pos- session by us of that map of the field which, at a critical moment, proved quite inval- uable." — Editors. 462 Fuhlic Libraries in the United States. in^ and amusing them, it would be bard to measure. So uecessary are newspapers and magazines that it is difficult now to see how the people could keep abreast the times without them. As a means of influencing the popular mind there can be no doubt newspapers are now more powerful than books, and have for some years been, to an extent, superseding them. Everybody reads the newspaper ; the book readers are comparatively few. Let any one make inquiries on this point, and he will be surprised to learn how many of great intelligence (especially business men) do not read one volume a year. Some of our journals have from 50,000 to 100,000 sub- scribers, and each copy probably has, on an average, five readers — one of the oldest editors of New England estimated ten — so that every issue speaks to a quarter or a half uiilliou readers. Rarely does a volume attain a sale of 5,000 copies, and it has but few, if any, more readers than a copy of a newspaper. On a living question, like the cur- rency or tariff", a book can discuss the facts^ and arguments up to its publication, but there it must leave the subject. A newspaper returns to it day after day, meets difficulties, presents new arguments and new facts as they are developed, and influences the minds of its readers by persistency if not by reason. Hence every party in politics and iu re- ligion, every branch of science, every idea seeking root in the miuds of men, may do without its books, but never without its periodical. Granting the necessity of the newspaper and magazine, the practical question arises. How shall the popular want be met ? There is but one way, and that is by reading rooms. The masses have not the means, if the}" had the inclination, to buy many papers and maga- zines. One paper and one magazine do not suffice. Many papers and magazines from different sections, representing different phases of thought, are demanded, some for instruction, some for amusement, and the expense is serious, even for persons of means. In all but the larger centres of population, too, it is generally impracticable to obtain any but local journals unless for regular subscribers. Our public school system has made our people generally intelligent, and created a taste for reading. To gratify that taste, public libraries have been established within a few years in many of our large cities and towns, and the increase in such institutions is one of the most encour- aging signs of the times. To many of these admission is by membership, fee, or introduction, but there are reasons for believing that in a few years public libraries, free to all, will be found in every city and hamlet in the land. Not a few of the arguments for free libraries apply also to free reading rooms. Young Men's Christian Associations, in many of our cities, have aimed to supply the demand, and have done useful service. The institution needed is a room supplied with the leading daily and weekly papers, and with magazines, open to all classes of both sexes, day and evening, so that those who have but a few moments of leisure Free Reading Rooms. 463 as they g'o to aad from their daily toil, as well as persous wilh hours at their command, can use it. Just such institutions as are needed in all our towns are found in seve- ral of them, and the result has exceeded the most sanguine expectations of their friends. The best known of the kind, though of course larger and more complete than can be expected in most other places, has been established in New York City, by the munificence of Peter Cooper. One who visits that reading room will find it filled with readers, for the most part of the laboring classes, eagerly perusing the papers and maga- zines. The librarian of the Cooper Union writes : We have 318 papers and periodicals on file, and about 100 magazines in different languages, besides the books (about 12,000 volumes) on the shelves, which are given to readers on written application. The rooms are opeu from 8 a. m. to 10 p. m., and were visited last year by 581,798 persons. This will give an idea of the intlueuce exerted on the community. The class of readers is tliat of persons in the hu mbler walks of life. The Cooper Union is the largest reading room in the United States, if not in the world. In 1855 a free library was opened in Newburyport, Mass., by private benevolence, and among the subsequent donations was one of $15,000 by George Peabody, a former resident. In 1870 a gentleman offered to give a fund to supply a reading room with papers and magazines, if the directors would provide suitable accommodations. This was done, and for five years the reading room has been a complete success. The room is frequented by ladies and gentlemen equally, by the richest and poorest, and is felt to be one of the best intellectual and moral influences of the city. The superintendent thus speaks of it : Ever since its establishment, July 1, 1870, the number of visitors has constantly in- creased. Side by side the merchant, the minister, physician, factory boy, and factory girl have read the news. In the depressed condition of business of the last three years the benefit to the community of the reading room has been most clearly shown. Two -well -warmed, lighted, and carpeted rooms, made attractive by flowers aud in other ways, aud supplied with about seventy daily and weekly papers and magazines, a daptfcd to various tastes and degrees of culture, have been a help to the public such as benevolence in the form of no other charity could have offered. The direct benefits are readily seen. The free access to papers, magazines, maps, directories, bulletins of stocks, the latest shipping intelligence, from a luxury has grown into a necessity with the reading and business community. The indirect iutlueiices have been, too, most marked. The bringing together of both sexes and all classes has worked well for that portion of thtJ community most neediug h*;lp in softening their manners, drawing them from street temptations, and giving them higher aims ; and particular instances are known where the result has been most happy. Why cannot such reading rooms be established everywhere, either as adjuncts of free libraries or independent of them? Much as they are needed in the city, they are equally so in the country, where fresh read- ing is often difficult to obtain, and life has so few attractions that the young are anxious to seek the overcrowded cities. Books contain the 464 Puhl'ic Libraries in the United States. ripe wisdom of the past, but the constant craving for the new must at the same time be satisfied. Over $11,000,000 were given in 1873 for education by private benevolence, and Americans will cheerfully give to free reading rooms when the necessity is felt. As the friends of education have pressed the claims of free schools and free libraries, let them also urge those of free reading rooms, so that soon all three may be found evervwhere to the remotest hamlet of the land. CHAPTER XXIV. LIBRARY BUILDINGS. BY JL STIX WIXSOR, Superin'endent Boston Public Library. Site — Design — Economy OK space— Furniture — Numbering of cases — Labor saying devices — stations of officers — unpacking room — catalogue room — Bindery — Extra work rooms — Branch libraries — Room for growth — News- paper AND duplicate ROOM — EOOM FOR PATENT SPECIFICATIONS — CaBINETS — Students' room — Pamphlet room — Stock room — Janitor's quarters — Toilet ROOMS — Plans and description. To have a good library building, a sufficient area should be secured to leave it detached on all sides, and to provide for future additions. Its plan of administration should be decided upon, and in accordance with that its book rooms, public waiting rooms, official and service quarters should be planned to fall into the- most convenient relations one to the other. Describe this to the architect, and ask him if he cau build his edi- fice around these quarters without disturbing size or relative position. If he complains that the public apartments do not give sight of the books, and that he must fail of half his effects if he cannot have handsome bindings and vistas of shelving, tell him to fail ; that the public wants books to read, not to look at. If he says that your $100,000 will not build anything but an ordinary building, and that he cannot elevate the aesthetic conceptions of people who look at it unless he can spend $200,000, tell him that $7,000 worth of books annually purchased with the income of that extra $100,000 will be more than a match in the long run for his flutiogs and bas-reliefs in the production of sesthetic eff'ects. We have too many of these architectural enormities in library struc- tures already. Witness the public libraries of Boston and Cincinnati, the Astor in Kew York, and among the smaller ones that of Springfield, Mass. Men do not erect a building and decide afterward whether it shall be a playhouse or a hospital ; and yet these two are not more awkwardly interchangeable than the two kinds of library buildings needed, say by an antiquarian society and a municipality; still committees go on and build a building, leaving the question an open one whether their library shall be of one sort or another. The traditional form of a large library, of which we have examples in all the libraries named above, has come down to us with other old mo- nastic ideas, when the monks were the only users of books, and when 4G5 30 E 4(36 Public Libraries in the United States. the seclusion of alcoves comported with tlieir literary habits, and gave convenient access to the books shelved about the recluse. The alcove system, arranged about a central area, where the books are also to be used, is to this day the most convenient plan where a collection is de- voted to a small or solely scholarly use, aud where, as is the case with scientihc societies or other bodies of specialists, their members are allowed unrestricted access to the shelves. The alcoves being at the end of radial lines from the central tables, and each alcove carrying out the same principle in relation to its own central table, the service of the library, whether performed by one's self or by deputy, requires the mini- mum of time and strength. A like economical principle needs to be preserved, when we come to change the character of the library to that of a great collection to which multitudes have access, aud but few are psrsDually known to the libra- rians. Such a state of affairs, it needs no argum3nt to show, involves the shutting out of the public from the shelves. Rapid intercommunication has brought users of books to focal points in the world, where great libraries exist. The spread of literature has enlarged the bookish classes among stationary populations. Hence the new development of enormous use which great free libraries are making. Masses are impatient of delay and need to be served quickly in ordej? to be kept happy ; and to accom- plish it the page who goes for a book must not be obliged to scan titles along a shelf, or series of shelves, but must find a book at once by its number in its proper place. Thus to insure a certainty of the book being in its place, it is necessary to exclude the public from the shelves for the reason that most prowlers among shelves do not restore books they have taken down to the exact place from which they took them. These facts indicate the conditions which should be imposed upon an architect in building a great modern library : viz, that the service cannot be performed by the readers, but must be performed by officials ; that there is one point of contact between the readers and officials, which is the delivery desk, where the books are charged to the borrowers ; and that this delivery desk must be placed in the most convenient rela- tions both to the reading tables and to the books, or, in other words, between them. In the plan of a central area for the readers, with surrounding alcoves shut off from public approach, this is not the case; for the pages who fetch the books travel around the public and make the average distance to be run and the delay consequent fully double what it would be if the point of delivery were midway between the public and the books. The main Idea* of the modern public library building is, then, com- pact stowage to save space, and short distances to save time. This has been carried out in the new building in Roxbury, which is one of the branches of the Boston Public Library. Here we have a book room 27 feet wide by 55 feet long and 24 feet high ; the desk of delivery being midway on one of the longer sides, just without a door which opens Library Buildings. 467 into a waiting apartment. In the first place, the bottoms of the windows are 8 feet from the floor, giving an unbroken wall shelving around the room. Then two rows of ten double faced cases, each 8 feet high, are placed, standing crosswise, in the room, leaving a middle passage and two side passages 2 feet 6 inches wide along the length of the room. The passages across the room between the faces of the cases are at present 3 feet 6 inches wide. When required, lay a Hyatt light floor on top of these cases, after having moved them together till your 3 feet C inches cross passages are reduced to 2 feet 10 inches, except the one just back of the delivery, which is thus widened to receive the stairs. Repeat the same cases and shelving (only the windows will break the wall surface) on this floor, and again on a third floor, when required, deriving now additional light from a lantern on the roof. In this way your room (27 x 55 x 24) will give you three stories of 8 feet each, less the thickness of two glass floors, and will hold a hundred thousand volumes, all within a shorter distance of the delivery bj^ far than any hundred thousand volumes are placed in any other library. The cases are divided into sections not ov&r 3 feet long. There are no lengthwise partitions separating the two faces, but a bead on the uprights keeps the shelves from touching at the back by its thickness, allows a passage down for dust, and makes a current of air, which is necessary to leather bindings, since they deteriorate in a stagnant and foul atmosphere. The shelves are supported by common ring-head screws, such as are used for " picture eyes," which are easily moved as required. In cases 8 feet high, including base and cornice, you can get nine shelves, including that formed by the base, but all of these will not ordinarily be required, unless the shelves below the breast-level are kept so near together that the books must be pushed in on their fore edges, which does not hurt small books, gives better stowage, and enables the pages to read the shelf numbers on the bottom of the backs without stooping or kneeling. If the books are kept in this way, it is better that the shelves, from the base up to the level of the breast, should recede, one by one, an inch each^ counting upon having the shelves on which the books stand upright 8 or 9 inches wide. The cheapest and most easily adjusted arrangement for making books stand perpendicular on the shelf, is a block of hard wood; two of which can be made out of a cube of 6 inches each way by dividing it diagonally. They should be shellacked, when first made, to prevent checking. For numbering, give a number from 1 upwards to each face of the cases, and paint this number in large figures over the middle of the case ; put secondary numbers, 1, 2, 3, &o., over the tops of the ranges, (or spaces between uprights.) Then number your shelves from the bot- tom up, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 — painting the proper figure on each shelf edge, range by range. Your shelves are now easily designated : 3825, for instance,. meaning the 38th case, the 2d range, and the 5th shelf; and it has the advantage that shelves 1725, 2325, etc., will always be 468 Public Libraries in the United States. in the same relative position in the 17th, 23cl, cases, etc. Next num- ber your books on the shelf in the order in which they stand, and book No. 5, so marked, will be designated 3825.5, which means 5th book, of the 5th shelf, of the 2d range, of the 33th case ; and if the 5th book (or title) has several volumes, any particular volume will be designated by its proper figure after a second dot; as, for instance, for a third vol- ume of the above book, 3825.5.3. A number arranged in this way con- veys to the attendant the exact position of the book before he leaves to fetch it, and he can almost find it in the dark ; he certainly could if all the books on the shelf were in their places, and none had more than one volume. This is on the supposition that all the cases are uniform, which is de- sirable, as thus the contents of two cases can be transposed bodily, with- out alteration of numbers, except so far as transposing the case numbers on the cases themselves. This is sometimes of importance, since the books in a case near the delivery may in time cease to be much used, while the fresher books in a more distant case take their place in com- mon demand. If a transposition takes place, then much time will be saved in the service. It may break temporarily the order of position, but as other classification requires a similar change, the change of all becomes, in the end, like that of the rear ranks of a platoon stepping to the front, whil^ the foremost fall back, and order is re-established. Of course there will be books of exceptional sizes which must be accommodated with cases and shelving to fit. In the case of very large libraries, some partially automatic system of fetching books will naturally follow. The number of the book can be struck by the desk attendant on a keyboard, and be shown in a signal frame, within sight of all the stations of the pages. The proper page will find the book, deposit it in one of a succession of boxes journeying on an endless band towards the delivery, where, as it goes around the barrel to return below, it will throw out upon a cushion the volume in question or a card containing its number, which indicates that the book is not in its place. These same boxes are used for returning the books to the shelves after assortment, their procession being reversed. If this latter service needs to be supplemented, trucks should be used of two or three stories each, resting on four wheels, one at each end and two at the center, which, being a trifle larger than the end ones, serve as a pivot, on which the truck can be easily guided through the narrow passages. The Boston Public Library, for many years before the establishment of its six branches, (at distances of from one to five miles from the cen- tral building,) consisted of two separate libraries in one edifice ; and they still exist, one having the higher classifications of books, and the other the more popular literature. This dual system has the disadvantage of making the habitual frequenter of one of the departments prone to overlook the other, for the two of necessity somewhat overlap, and I Library Buildings. 469 both need to be examined in many instances of inquiry; but its great advantage is that it separates in large measure the mere pastime readers from the studious ones, and insures such prder and quiet in the higher department as would not be possible if the two were made one, beside collecting and putting under better observation the bor- rowers of the more expensive books. But in order not to repel from the lower department adults and girls, by reason of the,contact they must have with crowds of boys, particularly at hours between schools, it would be well to confine the boys in their approach to the desk merely to one side of a rail, as they need to be dealt with by the same officials, since as messengers of adults the record of the loans they reed to cancel or make afresh must be made at the same desk. This could, not be satisfactorily arranged if they were confined to a separate waiting hall and used an entirely separate delivery. The official headquarters of a library should be situated as nearly as possible in the center of the system, so that the controlling power shall come with the shortest possible delay into relations with every part, whether devoted to the staff or the public; and there should be every convenience of dumb-waiter and speaking tube to bring all parts into easy communication. In enumerating further the variety of apartments necessary to the thorough appointing of a great library, mention must be made of many that can be dispensed with or euibodied with others in lesser in- stitutions. Books received in cases should be unpacked in an apartment adjoin- ing an elevator by which they are raised to the catalogue room. This should be a large hall, with stalls about the circumference, the head of this department being situated on a raised platform in the middle, where he can control every section. These stalls should be occupied in suc- cession by the different attendants through whose hands the books suc- cessively pass in their processes of fitting them finally for the shelves. Trucks on tramways, or some other means of passing quantities of books on from stage to stage, should be provided. The order of these stalls (and in large libraries each will be occupied by several attendants under one head) will fall more conveniently in a sequence which shall assign h (see plan^ of main story) to the ordering clerk, who makes out the lists of books to be ordered, dispatching these lists to the library agents, keeping records of them, and who watches the publication of all serials to see that successive numbers are promptly supplied. This stall should have room for a small bibliographical appa- ratus, and be provided with ample room for pigeon-holes, and other conveniences for assorting, as the details of the work are numerous. To this department all books received are first committed, so that the order lists may be checked and the books marked for their proper destina- tion. In G the work of collation should be done, and the collator of each bbok should be required to put his initials in a given place in it. 1 The plans here referred to will be fouud ou pages 473-5. 470 Public Libraries in the United States. In F the accession catalogue is kept and each book is entered, and acquires a consecutive number, which is attached to it, with the date. In E such as need to be bound are arranged for the bindery, entered ''on schedules, and dispatched to the binder, and, when received back, are pushed on with the rest. In D the pasting in of the proper book plates, (showing purchase by- fund, acquisition by gift, etc..) and impressing the library stamp, take place. In c (and b, a, m, l, etc., according as the space is required, and the different departments of thelibrary have the cataloguing assigned to different attendants) the books are catalogued. These stalls, as well as H, should be in convenient proximity to an adjacent apartment devoted to the working bibliographical apparatus and to the cases of the official card catalogue; or these may be arranged in the middle of the hall, as in the plan. In K (if that comes next) the custodian of the shelves should deter- mine the position of the books on the shelves, give them shelf numbers accordingly, and enter them in the shelf lists, which are used in the periodic examination of the shelves by this officer, and which constitute in some degree a classed catalogue of the library. This officer takes from the books the cards which come in them from the cataloguers, and marks both on them and on the book the shelf number which he has given the book. He delivers the cards to the alphabetizers, who put them in their proper places in the official and public card catalogues, (they are made in duplicate,) and the books to boys, who on trucks wheel them away to their shelves. If the cards are printed, as is the case in the Boston Public Library, other work intervenes growing out of such substitution for manuscript which need not be described here. There should also be an extra workroom, where any work of unusual extent, such as a large donation or extraordinary purchase, can be man- aged without interrupting the processes of the ordinary service in the catalogue room. If the library has branches, communicating daily with the central department, the business of receiving and dispatching the boxes that go between, answering the branch librarians' requisitions and trans- mitting the books and periodicals designed for the branches, should be in charge of an officer, who will need considerable space for the details of his work, conveniently situated for the access of the expressmen. This officer will also attend to the express-service of the library, which grows with the collection, and pertains to the distribution of catalogues the receiving of exchanges, and all other packages, other than from the librarj^'s agents. Every great library will find it of importance to have a considerable area reserved for contingent growth, in which large collections, bought or received as gifts, may be kept separately when desirable; and the Library Buildings. 471 possibility of giving tlietn such seclusioQ from the bulk of the library will oftea decide the question of beuefactiou, when the claims of other libraries, which caunot so provide a separate space, are uader consid- eration. The officer in charge of the circulation of the library should have his station separated only by a rail or counter from the public whose serv- ing ho is to look after, and with whom he can thus more readily hold the necessary communication. It would be well that the public card catalogue should also be under his immediate sui)ervisioa, as he will need constant access to it, in assisting readers in finding or choosing books. A newspaper room and duplicate room can profitably be made one and the same, reserving the lower spaces for newspapers, and the upper spaces, where from their distance from the fl.oor large volumes like newspapers will be inconveniently shelved, for duplicates. Tliis room should have conveniences for the attendant to do the work of assorting and collating newspapers for the binder, and should have tables for consnlting them. Newspapers are best kept on their sides, not over three volumes on a shelf; but if kept on end, the uprights should not be over 18 inches apart, and then jacks should be used for holding the volumes up, if the spaces are not nearly full. If a library is going to make a newspaper collection, it shouM be remembered to make the space for it ample. If the library is furnished with the patent specifications of Great Britain, Prance, and the United States, an apartment at least 30 feet square should be provided for the present extent of these collections, and for the next ten years' growth, which amounts to about one hun- dred and fifty large volumes annually. A counter shelf, for consulting the volumes for brief examination, should run in front of the shelves, while tables are provided for the centre of the apartment. Cabinets for holding the rarities of , the collection, large volumes, and portfolios of engravings, and maps, should be kept in an apartment where they can have the constant supervision of a custodian. A large room with stalls, or a series of small apartments with tables and shelf conveniences, should be provided for students making pro- tracted investigations, and wishing to keep the books they use at their desks from day to day. The officer in charge of this room should see that in such cases dummies are put on the shelf in the place of the books thus appropriated, to show where they are, if wanted by others. A large room, with tables and shelf conveniences, should be appropri ated to the assorting of pamphlets, and making up volumes of them for the bindery. These volumes, when bound and catalogued, pass into the general catalogue, so that this room should be conveniently near the catalogue room and the official card catalogue, as the curator must have constant recourse to these apartments in his work. In connection with the reading room for periodicals there should be 472 Public Libraries in the United States. an anteroom, in which the back numbers of magazines are pigeon- holed until they are prepared for the binder, and when bound they are passed on, like other books^ to stall H of the catalogue room. The circulating department should have a room where the work of inspecting books needing repairs or rebinding, (and the covering, if practiced,) can be done, and where they can be scheduled for the bind- ery, and received and manipulated when returned from the binder. A stock room will also be necessary for storing catalogues and docu- ments of the library, blanks, stationery, etc. The janitor will need living quarters and store rooms for his supplies, etc. It is desirable in a large library to have a bindery in the building, which should be amply provided for. Appropriate toilet rooms, with washing arrangements, water closets, and wardrobes should be provided ; and for each sex, if women are also employed on the staff. PLANS FOR A LIBRARY OF ONE MILLION VOLUMES' CAPACITY.^ The main Book Room, marked A, is to have seven stories, with glass floors between and a glass roof, each story 8 feet in the clear; the walls to be shelved; the cases, double faced, to stand on each floor in rows, with passage 2 feet 10 inches between ; spiral stairs to connect the floors; dumb-waiters and inclined planes, with stations on each floor, to deliver the books at the space marked F, whence pages are to take them to the Delivery Counter at C. The section for Popular Books, B, is to be similarly arranged, but of only two stories, while the five stories above B, extend over the Popular Delivery Eoom as shown in K, (second floor plan,) and so connect also with the room A on each story, forming a component part of the same. A spiral staircase somewhere near the passage D should render these upper stories readily accessible from the Delivery C, while additional staircases will render the second story accessible to the pages attending the Delivery G. The Students' Room is intended for tables for such as make protracted investigations, and need to have the books they use kept from day to day. A side entrance is arranged for such as visit the library for popular books only, and the noise attending the larger concourse of such readers is kept apart from the greater quiet of the more studious frequenters of the General Delivery Room. An attendant at E would have oversight of the rooms on either hand, the popular reading room being given to the more commonly used of the magazines of the day for old and young. The General Deliverj' Room is the main consulting room of the more permanent collection of the books, and should have tables for readers and the cases for the public 'The accompany iiig plans are tlie joint production of Mr. Winsor and the architects Scurgis and Brighani; of Boston, Mass. — Editous. Library Buildings. 473 catalogues. Additional light should be provided by wells in the floor above. These wells could be made circular, with readiug shelves ou their rails. The Catalogue Eoom is developed to the requirements of a large work- ing force. It should, however, have connection with the space C by a door. The stall h should open on the elevator, so that books can be directly PLAK OF MAIN STORY. received from the Unpacking Eoom below. They then pass from stall to stall round the room, a separate process being gone through with in each, until they are at last put upon trucks to be wheeled to their destined shelves. A Librarian's lioora is ordinarily placed to best advantage in the center of the system, but a sub-executive officer stationed in the center of the Catalogue Eoom will exercise the needful personal supervision of the whole establishment, leaving the head of so large a library the greater freedom for superior direction. It would 474 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. be well to connect his secretary's office with his own without necessi- tating passage through a public hall. The Reading Roonion the second floor is for the higher and less popular periodicals, which are delivered at the counter, while the back volumes, which have been shelved as books, are reached by the passage X in the Book Room L. There should also be a door at O for access to the upper floors of K. A door at P should giv^e access to the Newspaper Room. Bound volumes of news- papers can be delivered through the door P over the counter in this PLAN OF SECOND STOET. room, for use on the tables in the Reading Room. With this arrange- ment there will be no occasion for the public use of the space adjacent to the Newspaper Room, (marked Hall,) which could be converted into another contingent apartment. The elevator should also open into the Newspaper Room. A door for official use should open from the Pat- ent Specifications room to the Book Room K. In the basement plan the Transmitting Room is intended for the express service of the. library, Librarij Buildings. 475 which, if it has a system of branches, needs considerable space. This work conld, however, be done in the Unpacking Room if the bindery should require, as it probably would, the space. The apartment marked Pamphlets would i>robably have to be extended over the adjacent Cellar, and the whole building should stand high enough on its founda- tions to give the basement both light and dryness throughout. It is not unlikely that the range of rooms on the other side of the building PLAN or BASEMENT. will be needed for library purposes, and there would still be room enough in the Boiler Room and under the entrance steps for fuel. There needs to be distinct accommodation for wardrobe and toilet use for the two sexes of the library service. The Stomge Rooms X and VV might be devoted to this use in connection with the adjoining water-closets, if they are light enough. Otherwise, such arrangements could be made on the side of the porch, that entrance being made the official entrance of the library staff. CHAPTER XXV. THE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES.^ BY ^VILLIAM r. POOLE, Librarian of the Chicago Public Library, author of Index to Periodical Literature, rfc. General statements and considerations — Preliminary steps in organiza- tion — Selection of books — Purchase of books — Rooms — Shelving — Desk AND counter — Librarian — Cataloguing — Covering books — Binding— Stamp- ing AND LABELING — Classification — Arrangement- Shelf marks — Tags — Shelf LISTS — Card catalogue — Finding lists — Methods of Delivery — Eegistek of books borrowed — Record of circulation — Examination of LIBRARY — Conclusion. The librarians of city libraries are constantly receiving letters from communities where no public library exists, or where a new one is in progress, inquiring into the methods by which such a library may be organized and conducted. Such information, when it is directed to specific points, is freely given ; but in the midst of pressing official duties, it is often a severe tax upon a librarian's time to answer these inquiries. It is also impossible, in the brief space of such a reply, and without knowing the resources at command and the special conditions of the enterprise, to give much useful instruction. Many persons have written about public libraries, but there is no treatise giving that rudimentary and practical information which is needed, and to which the parties making these inquiries can be referred. In view of the pressing necessity that appears to exist, the writer has prepared the following paper, embodying some practical suggestions on this subject which, it is hoped, will partially supply the want that has been named The term "public library" has come to have in our country a re- stricted and technical meaning. The Library of Congress, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Astor Library are, in a general sense, public libraries 5 but they are not the class of institutions we are to consider. In the Library of Congress, the Senators and Representatives and the chief officers of the Government are the only persons who enjoy its full privileges. By courtesy, the public are allowed to use its books on the premises. The Boston Athenteum is a stock company, and only pro- prietors and those whom they introduce enjoy its benefits. The Astor Library, though accessible to all persons for reference only, was founded and is maintained by private munificence. The public has never con- tributed to its support, and has no voice in its management. Free libraries and free town libraries have existed in Europe for three cen- 1 Copyright. 1876. By William F. Poole. Orff animation and Management of PiihUc Libraries. All turies ; but they are libraries for scholars and not for the masses of the people, and are not supported by popular taxation. The Free Library of Hamburg, in Germany, was founded chiefly from monastic collections in 1539, and in 1809 had 190,000 volumes and 5,000 manuscripts; but during that year only 4,000 volumes were taken out. The Free Library of Frankfort-on-the-Main, with 84,000 volumes, issued 2,000 ; and that of Leipzig, with 113,000 volumes, issued 1,500. The books which these libraries contain are not of the class which 'interest the people at large The " public library" which we are to consider is established by state laws, is supported by local taxation and voluntary gifts, is managed as a public trust, and every citizen of the city or town which maintains it has an equal share in its privileges of reference and circulation. It is not a library simply for scholars and professional men, as are the libra- ries which have been named, but for the whole community — the me- chanic, the laboring man, the sewing-girl, the youth, and all who desire to read, whatever be their rank, intelligence, or condition in life. It is the adjunct and supplement of the common school system. Both are established and maintained on the same principles — that general educa- tion is essential to the highest welfare of any people ; and, consid- ered simply as a question of political economy, it is better and cheaper, in the long run, to educate a community than to support prisons and reformatories. / It is now about a quarter of a century since the first institution of the kind existed. The idea originated in Massachusetts and England nearly at the same time, the Massachusetts enterprise having a slight priority. These libraries now number several hundred, and their number is rap- idly increasing. Their surprising development within the last few years is one of the most interesting features of educational progress in our time. In England these institutions are called " free libraries." It will be the purpose of this paper to state somewhat in detail, and in the simplest manner, the methods and plans of procedure which experience has tested in the establishment and arrangement of a public library. PRELIMINARY STEPS IN ORaANIZATION. The first question to be considered is this : Is there a statute of the State which authorizes a tax to be levied for the support of a public library ? Without a legal authority for taxation, a public library of this kind is an impossibility. Active operations must be delayed till such a law is enacted. If a petition, supported by the influence of the local representative, be sent to the legislature, a public library act can proba- bly be obtained. In Massachusetts, cities and towns are authorized to lay any tax they see fit for the support of a public library. In Ohio, cities may lay a tax of one-fifth of a mill on the dollar valuation for the purchase of books. Salaries and running expenses are paid out of the local school funds Boards of education in Ohio have the control of public libraries, appoint- 478 Public Lihrarles in the United States. ius:, however, for their more immediate supervision, a board of managers, whose powers are scarcely more than that of a committee. Managers can make recommendations and nominate the employes of the library, but can make no appointments and vote no money. All their action may be supervised and reversed by the board of education. "The board of managers so constituted," says the statute, " shall at all times be under the control of the board of education, both as to their authority and tenure of office." The statute of Indiana is similar to that of Ohio. The obvious objection to this system is that the real control of the library is with a board of many members who were appointed for other duties, and have not the time or inclination to make themselves familiar with the details of library management. They are required to vote upon subjects on which they have little or no practical knowledge. The library statute of Illinois in a measure obviates this objection. It creates an independent board of directors, who have full control of all the affairs of the library and of its funds. This board is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. In cities of less than 100,000 inhabitants, a tax of one mill on the dollar may be levied, and in cities of more than that population one-fifth of a mill. This tax would give in Chicago an in- come of $65,000 a year to the library. The city council may, however, cut the levy down to a smaller sum than the law allows as a maximum. The income of a library, be it larger or smaller, should be uniform, and not subject to the vote of a department of the city government which is liable to have fits of liberality and economy. Xone of these statutes has any validity unless accepted by the city or town. It seems hardly necessary to remark that a board of directors should be selected from the most intelligent, cultivated, and influential citizens of the community. It is very desirable also that a liberal private sub- scription and partial endowment, if possible, should be made at the outset with which to make the first purchase of books. The regular tax levy wdl not be sufficient for this purpose' unless it be allowed to accumulate for several years; while it will be sufficient to meet the running expenses from year to year and keep the library supplied with new books. Communities are impatient when taxed year after year without seeing the results. There is danger, if a tax be laid, and the opening of the library be postponed for a long period, that the interest in the enterprise will decline and the citizens withdraw their consent to be taxed. Never buy books on credit ; never embarrass the library by anticipating its income; and do not open to the public till there are books enough on the shelves to make, in your community, a respectable collection. If there be a stock or subscription library in the town, or a literary society possessing books, bring such motives and arguments to bear upon their owners that they will present them as the foundation of a public library. One well furnished and thrifty library in a town, under good management, is much more serviceable to all concerned than several Organization and Management of FuUic Libraries. 479 small and scattered collectious. Before anj- selection of books is made it is well to give a general and urgent invitation to the citizens to send in, as donations, sacU books as they can spare from their household libraries. Erery family has books and pamphlets which they have read, and which thrifty housekeepers can spare without feeling that the gift is a sacrifice. This general contribution will furnish a large amount of excellent reading, and will save the expense of purchasing these books. SELECTION OF BOOKS. After all the donations have been made, the bulk of the library must be carefully selected by the directors, or their library committee, and purchased with ready money. There was probably never a board of intelligent gentlemen appointed i'or such a service who did not suppose, when they first came together, that the selection of books for the library would be one of their simplest and pleasantest duties. They soon find, however, that it is anything but an easy and harmonious task. The more varied and pronounced the individual qualifications of the several members, the more difficult the selection often becomes. If they start out with different theories of what the library shall be, agreement upon any selection of books is well-nigh impossible. Even without a conflict of theories, committees usually find, after they have made some progress in the work, that they have not that knowledge of books, editions, and prices, outside of their own line of reading, which will enable them to make a selection in the various departments of literature, science, and art, which will be even satisfactory to themselves; and they are ver}' glad to turn their lists over to an expert for revision and completion. There are, however, some general principles by the observance of which a committee can make an excellent selection of books for a library. They must first divest themselves of the idea that their own individual tastes must be represented in the selection, except so far as their tastes harmonize with those of the public at large. The wants of the great masses of the public must be kept constantly in view. One of the pri- mary objects of a public library is to furnish reading for all classes in the community, and reading which shall be adapted to their various capacities. The masses of the public have very little of literary culture , and it is the purpose of a public library to develop it by creating in them a habit of reading. As a rule, people read books of a higher in- tellectual and moral standard than their own, and hence are benefited by reading. As their tastes improve they read better books. Books which are not adapted to their intellectual capacity they will not read. To meet, therefore, the varied wants of readers there must be on the shelves of the library books which persons of culture never read, al- though it is quite probable they did read such books in some stage of their mental development. Judged from a critical standpoint, such 480 PuU'ic Libraries in the United States. books are feeble, rudimentary^, and perhaps sensational ; bat they are higher in the scale of literary merit than the tastes of the people who seek them ; and, like primers and first-readers in the public schools, they fortunately lead to something better. The wants of the young must also be considered. If a habit of read- ing is not acquired in youth, it is seldom developed in later life. The press of our day teems with entertaining and instructive books for the the young, which are not simply stories, but books of travel, biography, natural history, and elementary science. Especial mention has been made of these classes of popular literature because they are foreign to the mature and cultivated tastes of committees, and hence are likely to be overlooked. They need not be reminded that their selections should include the standard histories of our own and of foreign countries, biog- raphies of eminent men, the best vo^^ages and travels, the latest and most authoritative works on the arts and sciences, political economy, and social and political science, a good selection of poetry and the drama, etc. These are subjects which would suggest themselves to any committee. The wants of the more cultivated persons in the community should also be attended to. If the real wants of all classes are kept in view, the committee will not be likely to make an injudicious selection. The catalogues and finding lists of some of our larger libraries will be of great service to committees in making their lists. In making the first lists for purchase, it is desirable, in case the funds at the disposal of the committee are limited, to select such works as will come into immediate use, and to postpone the purchase of expen- sive books which are rarely called for to a later period. The first de- mand in a public library is for its popular books ; the demand for tech- nical works and those of a higher and more scholarly grade comes later. There should be made, however, at the start, a collection of encyclopaedias, dictionaries, gazetteers, and scientific compendiums, which should be accessible in the library as works of reference, and not to be taken out. The extent of this collection will depend on the means available for this purpose; but no library, however small, can dispense with such books of reference. Many of the books desirable for a circulating library can be obtained in the best and cheapest form in collections ; as Bohn's libraries, the Tauchnitz collection of British authors, Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, Constable's Miscellany, Murray's Family Library, the Library of Enter- taining Knowledge, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, the Traveler's Li- brary, Knight's AVeekly Volumes, Weale's Rudimentary Series, and sev- eral other similar collections. If any or all of these collections be or- dered, care must be taken that the titles contained in them are stricken from theother lists; for, otherwise, these works will be dui)licated. The Tauchnitz collection is very desirable, as it contains the works of nearly all the popular English authors, as Dickens, Thackeray, Mrs. Craik, George Eliot, Carlyle, Macaulay, Shakspere, and many of the lighter Organization and Management of Public Libraries. 481 authors. It is priuted and bound at Leipzig in about 1,300 volumes, at a very small cost, and obviates the purchase of these writers in more expensive editions. Of this collection and of Bohn's libraries selections may be made. Weale's Series is also cheap and very desirable, as it gives practical informatiou as to trades, processes in the arts, and the elements of science. These volumes are always much sought for iu libraries. The science of Lirdner'sCyclop.B lia was gooJ authority some years ago, but is not up to the stand.ird of the present da3^ It is not, however, obsolete; and these volumes, especially those relating to his- tory and biography, are still read with interest and profit. Is it desirable to purchase duplicates of popular books ? That depends on circumstances. In a small library, with limited means, it may be better policy to have a larger selection of gojJ b,:)oks than to duplicate those which are most in demand. In the larger libraries the practice of duplicating popular books is universal. They do not attempt to supply the first and temporary demand for a new book ; but the permanent demand for a book of real merit they do endeavor to supply. Such a number of copies is purchased at first as will be likely to be in constant use after the temporary interest in the book has subsided. If attention and good judgment be given to this matter, a library need have but few useless duplicates. A well selected and judiciously pur-chased circulating library-, with such works of reference as are needed, will cost, on an average, $1.25 a volume. A library of 10,000 volumes will cost 812,500. A large portion of these will be imported in substantial morocco binding, and the American books will be chiefly in muslin binding. A committee, therefore, knowing the amount of money it has to expend, may know the number of volumes it will buy. Such a collection will contain books which cost ten times as much a volume as the general average price. PURCHASS OF BOOKS. The lists of books to be purchased having been made, the next ques- tion is, how shall they be bought ? As a rule, it is best to make all purchases of English books in London, and of French and German books in those countries, because better editions can there be procured, and at cheaper rates, than in this country. The binding, also, can be done in a better and more durable style abroad than in this country, and at half the cost. By the revenue laws of the United States, books for public libraries can be imported duty free. The method is to employ skilled and reliable agents in London — and there are several such agents who make this business a specialty — who will buy books in that market, they having no stock of their own, at the lowest cash price, will cause them to be bound, and w^ll ship them directl}^ to the library, invoicing them at the original cost price, and chargihg a reasonable commission for their services. In France and Germany, though the customs of the trade are somewhat different, the metho.l is much the same. All the large li 31 E 482 Public Libraries in the United States. brai'ies in this country buy their books iu this way, and find it greatly to their advantage. The smaller libraries, when they make their orig- inal purchases, or make considerable additions, can do the same. Ap- plication to any of the principal libraries will furnish the inlormation that is needed for securing all the advantages of making purchases in a foreign market. Separate lists must be prepared of the American and foreign orders; and each, for convenience of consultation, should be arranged in alphabetical order under the names of authors. The foreign invoices will come arranged in the same order. As to the purchase of American books, arrangements can be made with a bookseller to furnish the current American books at a certain rate per cent, from the trade discount. Ey current American books is meant such works as are on tlie latest lists of American publishers, and not subscription nor special books. Special books are those on which the usual discounts are not given ; they are often published on account of the author, and are indicated as "special*' in the lists. It is well to offer a written proposal in this form to different booksellers to fill up the blank left for the rate of discount. Tdl recently it has been customary for enterprising booksellers to fill up the blank with discounts ranging from 25 to 35 per cent. Some contracts have been made as low as 40 per cent, discount. In the summer of 1874, the book- sellers of the country, at a convention at Put-in Bay, entered into a combination by which the discount to libraries was cut down to 20 per cent. That combination still exists, and nearly all the leading houses Lave gone into it. There was no exigency, except their own pecuniary interests, which required such a combination, and it is one which no library is bound to re'spect, provided anybody outside of it can be found who will furnish books at the old rates. Publishers have not reduced their discounts to the trade, and except for this combination, books could be bought by libraries as cheaply as formerly. Some of the rules adopted by the Put-in Bay convention were needed and were judicious ; but the one relating to libraries was a blunder, because it was suicidal. Ko other influence is doing so much in cultivating a taste for reading and a desire to own books as public libraries, and they are the most efficient mode of advertising good books without expense to the publisher or the trade. INFore books are sold, and private circulat- ing libraries do a better business, where there is a public library than where there is none. The largest discounts should, therefore, be made to libraries. Arrangements can also be made with the bookseller who supplies the current publications to supply special and subscription books at rates considerably below the trade j^rices. Rare books and books out of print — and this class includes a large portion of American history and biography — must in each instance be matters of special agreement as to price. Let the person who supplies the general list furnish these books, when he will do it at fair prices ; but the committee must be free Organizatmi and Management of FiihUc Libraries. 483 to reject any of the books offered the price of wbicli seems to tbem too high. This part of the purchase calls for considerable knowledge and tact on the part of the committee. If the books are ordered of second-hand dealers, (and none others keep them in stock,) they will cost twice as much as if collected ia a more judicious way. These books are constantly appearing in the auction sales in ]N'ew York and other cities. The auctioneers will send their sale catalogues to any library which makes the request for them in season to send orders. There are responsible men who make it a business in the large cities to attend these sales and buy books, charging a commission of fire per cent, on the amount of the purchases, and giving the library the benefit of their experi- ence as to prices, editions, condition of copies, etc. The books bought will be billed and shipped by the auctioneer direct to the library. As auction sales are for cash, it is necessary that prompt remittance should be made. There are a few auctioneers of such established reputation for integrity that it is safe to send orders direct to them, and they will bid honestly and charge no. commissions; but as a rule, it is better to employ an agent, limiting the bids in some instances, and in others authorizing him to use his discretion. An application to any experi- enced librarian will give the needful information as to responsible agents in New York and elsewhere. The writer is well aware that the foregoing recommendations as to the purchase of books will not meet with the approval of some persons en- gaged in the book trade, especially those who import books for libraries. These suggestions will appear to them penurious and niggardly. The writer has often had this inquiry addressed to him by gentlemen engaged in the foreign trade : " If libraries import their own books, how is our business to live ?" He replies to this inquiry that he is not now writing for the information of importers, but in the interest of libraries who are purchasers. The suggestions here given are based on an experience of more than twenty-five years in purchasing books in our own and the foreign markets. ROOMS. The plan of a building or the selection of temporary rooms for the library is one of the first questions which engages the attention of a board of directors. If the board has ample or special funds for this purpose, it will, of course, consider where and what sort of build- ing shall be erected. Its location should be as central as possible, and a lot should be secured much larger than the present wants of the library demand. The plans should be made with reference to the future enlargement of the bnilding. Libraries, by a constant accretion of books, increase more rapidly than is generally supposed. A library starts with 10,000 volumes, and has an annual accession of 5,000 vol- umes ; in twenty years it will have 110,000 volumes, and long before that period has elapsed the original building will be wholly unsuited to its use. Kearly all the large libraries of our country have passed, or 484 Public Libraries in the United States. are passiug, through this experience. A library of 100,000 volumes needs uot only a larger building than one of 20,000 volumes, but a differ- ent kind of building. It is, therefore, a risky undertaking for a board of directors, in the first stage of their enterprise, to erect a building, even if they have special funds for the purpose. It is prudent for the directors to make haste slowly in this matter, to invest their money and allow it to accumulate until the library has developed its wants in tem- porary quarters, and they have bad more experience in these matters. The construction of library buildings is a larger theme than can be dis- cussed in the limits of this paper. No library board should attempt such an enterprise without taking counsel of some one who has made the subject a special study and has had experience in library manage- ment. There have been few public libraries in this country which had the means for erecting a library building in the early stage of their exist- ence. They are usually cramped for means to buy the books which are needed at the outset. Rooms of peculiar architectural design are not required for the original occupation and organization of a library. The essential requirements are a central location, easy access, ample space, and sufficient light. The space for the library and reading room should be, if possible, on the same floor. The lower floor, if all the other con- ditions are secured, is the most desirable. But the second floor in build- ings designed for mercantile purposes can be obtained at a cheaper rent, and for that reason may be preferred. The light there is often better than on the lower floor. A reading room, in which the current periodicals are kept, is a neces- sary adjunct of a public library. Whether newspapers should be kept on file is a question which each board must settle for itself. The literary and illustrated weeklies may be included with periodicals. The local and the leading newspapers of American and foreign cities are usually supplied in reading rooms, but the custom is not universal, it being thought in some libraries that the expense of these newspapers could be better applied to other purposes. In reading rooms where uot a large number of periodicals is taken and experience shows that they are not stolen, they are usually placed on tables, where readers can con- sult them without application to the attendant. Where there are many readers and a large number of serials is taken, experience has shown that it is better to place them in pigeon-holes behind a counter, to be delivered by an attendant. The applicant writes the title, or the num- ber from a printed list, on a slip and signs his name and residence. The slip is placed in the pigeon-hole as a voucher, and removed when the periodical is returned. At first sight this seems a slow and cumbrous process, but practically it savxs the time of the applicant and the attend- ant. When several hundred serials are laid upon tables and handled by every comer, it is not easy to find the one that is needed, or to ascer- tain whether it is in the hands of a reader. A superficial area of 1,200 square feet will be sufficient space for fifty readers at one time. Organization and Management of Public Libraries. 485 A room well lighted and with a superficial area of 2,000 feet will accommodate a library of 20,000 volumes, with sufficient space for counters and the delivery of books. A library of 40,000 volumes will require double the space. In selecting rooms it is well to provide at least three times the space and shelving required for the close stowing of books actually possessed. The rule is that every hundred square feet will contain 1,000 volumes. The reading room should be a separate apartment from the library room. Both should be well lighted on two sides, the north light being the most desirable. SHELVING. The common mode of building the bookcases against the walls is not an economical arrangement of space, and scatters the books too much. The problem is to economize space and bring the books as near as possi- ble to the counter from which they are to b6 delivered. The time and steps of the attendants are saved by shortening as much as possible the distance they are required to go for books. This is done by construct- ing cases open on both sides and placing them at right angles to the wall, and yet so far distant from the wall at which the light enters that there is a free passage around them. The length of the cases will depend on the space available. They may be from 10 to 13 feet long. Five feet between these cases is sufficient, and they should be placed to the best advantage with reference to the light. By leaving a space of 2^ or 3 feet between the ends of the cases and the wall, there will be sufficient cross light for cases which stand between windows and do not receive the light direct. The cases should not be so high but that a person of full stature can reach the books on the top shelf without steps. Their general dimen- sions may be as follows: Base, 4 inches j space for books, 7 feet 6 inches ; cornice and finish, 8 inches; total height, 8 feet 6 inches. The depth of the cases need not be more than 16 inches. A thin paneled partition passes through ths middle of each case separating the books on the two sides. The shelves will be 7^ inches in width, and their length must not be more than 3 feet 6 inches. The shelves sRist be all of the same length, so that they will fit in any locality. They must also be movable, in order that they may be adjusted at any dis- tance from each other. This is best attained by supporting them on pins, the square heads of which, cut into the under side of the shelf, are out of the way and not seen. The holes for the pins, three-eighths of an inch in diameter, one inch from the outer and inner edge, and one inch apart from centre to centre, are bored in the standards by machinery when the stock is prepared. The pins, of hard wood, are also made by machinery. A skilful mechanic who has machinery will take a contract to make such cases as cheaply as if the shelves were fixed. Some wood harder than pine should be used for the cases, though the partition panels may be made of pine. Ash is an excellent wood for this purpose, and 486 Public Libraries m the United States. in some parts of the country is as cheap as piue, thongh the working is somewhat more expensive. Whatever wood is selected, use no paint, but varnish with three or four coats, and rub down and finish the ends and cornices. Plate I. \ ^ ^ '% r-^ \y "^S ^^=~^=^ ^ f c ' 1 o c ''ci' c c c c c ^ &. } c A lateral view of the case described is shown in Plate I, a; an inside view of the end standard, showing the partition, shelves, and pin holes, is seen in h. In c a section of the standard and pin supporting the shelf is shown ; in d, the end of the shelf, with the notches cut out to receive the head of the pin ; in c, the under side of the shelf, showing the same. In / the pin is shown edgewise and flat, and in g the shelf and the pins in place. The ends of the cases should be paneled. The partition need not Organization and Management of Public Libraries. 487 be thicker than half-inch stufif. The front edges of the shelves should be rounded, as shfirp edges will cut the binding of the books. Xo glass or wire doors are needed in front of the cases, as the public does not have access to them. The cases which have been described will hold only octavos and smaller volumes, and these comprise nineteen-twentiethsof the volumes of a circulating library. Other provision must be made for quartos and folios. If cases were made deep enough to accommodate all sizes, they would be expensive and cumbersome. Itisbetter, therefore, that books larger than royal octavos should be kept by themselves in cases pre- pared especially for them , even if it separates some books from others of the same class. One or more wall cases with a ledge may be provided for these books. Below the ledge the depth may be 16 inches, which will take in folios, and above the ledge 10.^ inches, which will ac- commodate quartos. These wall cases will be of the same height, general construction, and finish as the other cases. If bound newspa- pers are kei)t, cases of even greater depth than these must be made One advantage in constructing cases in the manner described is, that if the library has occasion to change its quarters, its entire furniture and equipments may be removed and set up without reconstructing. DESK A^D COUNTER. In the further arrangement of the library room there should be a desk at which books are returned, and a counter over which the books are applied for and delivered. The extension of the desk and counter, with such side railing as is necessary, will shut out the public from contact with the bookcases. There should be a space of 6 feet between the counter and the ends of the bookcases, and 8 feet between the desk and the bookcases, in order that there mi\y be room for a table on which to place the books received. The desk should be 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, •with a flat top, and 3 feet 8 inches high. It should have drawers on the inside, and an iron railing on the outer edge, with an opening 18 inches wide at one side of the front, through which books are received. The register, hereafter to be described, stands on the top of the desk, and the iron railing is to protect it. The opening is at one side in order to give space to work the register. The front line of the desk will, there- fore, be thrown 3 feet in front of the line of the counter. The counter will be 2 feet wide on the top, 3 feet G inches high, and may have shelves on the inside. Its length will depend on the amount of business to be done. It should be at least IC feet long, and twice that length may be needed. The Chicago Library has 80 feet of counter, and that space is often filled. If there be a large circulation, the business of the library will be greatly facilitated by having, instead of a single desk for the return of books, two desks, or rather a double desk, 12 feet long, each half of which will have its ovrn register. At one of these desks men will return 488 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. their books, and at the other women. The delivery room, for this pur- pose, will be divided into two parts by a rail extending from the middle of the double desk to the opposite wall, and the different sexes will enter this room by different doors. There will with this arrangement be two counters extending right and left from the double desk, the women being supplied with books at "one and the men at the other. This arrangement also better accommodates the women, as they are not incommoded by mingling with the mass of applicants of the other sex. Twice as much work can be done with two registers as with one. This subject will be further explained under the head of "Arrangements." Plate II. E in q COUNTER.. In Plate II is shown the general double arrangement which has been described. The number of bookcases, the length of counters, and the size of the delivery apartments will depend on the size of the library, and may be enlarged as the library increases. Shelves for catalogues may be placed on each side of the central rail, or wherever the light is most favorable. LIBRARIAN. Even before the lists of books to be purchased are made and a place is provided for their reception, the board will have received a score of applications for the position of librarian. Every one of these applicants is abundantly qufllified (in his or her own opinion) for the duties, and will furnish mauv testimonials to sustain this claim ; and yet probably Organisation and Management of Public Libraries. 489 not one of them has had any experience in the work. The directors, if they use the same good judgmentwhich they apply to their own private business, will appoint a person who has had experience ; and such a per- son, can be obtained at a moderate salary if inquiries be made at some of the large libraries where young persons of both sexes have been regu- larly trained. The local prejudice that the librarian must be a resident is absurd, and one which the individual members of the board do not observe in conducting their own affairs. The business of a librarian is a profession, and practical knowledge of the subject is never so much needed as in starting a new enterprise. If a person of experience can- not be found, the best material that offers, resident or otherwise, must be taken. Persons who have failed in everything else are usually the local applicants for the position. Broken down ministers, briefless law- yers, unsnccessful school teachers, and physicians without patients, especially, are desirous to distinguish themselves as librarians. The same energy, industry, and tact, to say nothing of experience, which insure success in other avocations are quite as requisite in a librarian as book knowledge-. A mere bookworm in charge of a public library, who has not the qualities just named, is an incubus and a nuisance. RECEIVING AND ENTERING BOOKS. The librarian, whoever or whatever he or she may be, is appointed, and the books begin to arrive. The first duty of the librarian is to com- pare the books with tlie invoices and the original order, (of which a copy should be recorded,) and certify to the accuracy of the invoices, if they be found correct. The books must then be collated to ascertain if they be complete copies and that no signatures be missing or transposed. Incomplete copies must be returned. The books must then be entered in the "accession catalogue," which is usually a folio volume with printed headings and ruled especially for the purpose. This record furnishes a perpetual history of every book that comes into the library, and gives the date, accession number, author, title, place where published, date when published, number of volumes, size, number of pages, binding, of whom procured, and cost. If the book be presented, the word "gift" is written in the cost column. Specimen forms of this accession book can be had by applying to any-experienced librarian. Every work entered has its accession number. These follow each other in numerical order. The accession number is written in some fixed place in every volume — usually on the back of the title page — so that immediate reference can be had at any time to its history, as recorded in the accession catalogue. It is a serious mistake for a library to put its books into circulation without having first entered them in the accession catalogue. The mis- take, if made, will be discovered when it is too late to rectify it. CATALOGUING. The next process is to catalogue the books on cards. The cards will be ruled to order and may be of any size or shape desired, but the size 490 Public Libraries in the United States. most used, and the oue recommended, is 5^ by 2^ inches, of fine cal- endered paper, folio post, twenty-six pounds to the ream. Some libraries use a much thicker paper, which is more expensive, takes more space, and has no advantages over the quality named. The British Museum and some other libraries use a thinner paper. Every work must be catalogued under its author or under the first word of the title not an article, in case the author be not known. It must also be catalogued, under its subject, or, if it be a work of fiction, under its title. Two cards must, therefore, be written for each work, and more if they be required ; the purpose of the cataloguing being to show what the book is, who is its author (or authors), what it contains, and its imprint. If the title be long, it is abridged. The place aid date of publication, the size, the number of volumes, and the accession number must be given in every instance ; and cross-references, when necessary, must be made. Th£re are many technical rules for cataloguing which should be thoroughly mastered before one undertakes to catalogue a library, and yet are too extended to be set forth in this paper. The modern rules are based on the system used at the British Museum. The rules prepared from that system by the late Prof. C. C. Jewett, for the Smithsonian Institution, and since printed with some improvements by the Boston Public Library, have been till recently the best code that was procura- ble in this country. The " Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue," lately pre- pared by Mr. Charles A. Cutter of the Boston Athenublic for ten cents a copy, the price at which they are furnished by the printer. The actual cost is about twenty-five cents a copy; but the printer, in consideration of the privilege of inserting un- exceptionable business advertisements at the beginning and end of the volume, can afford to furnish them at the price named. Three editions have been issued, each of wiiich contained the titles of all the books received at the date of publication. When the collection of books is more complete it is the intention to print a catalogue of the library. The plan of these finding lists ma^' be of interest to some librarians. They are made, with very little trouble, from the shelf lists; and hence the arrangement follows the general classification of the library : as history, biography, voyages and travels, etc. History is subdivided into ancient history, Greece, Rome, Jews, England, France, etc. Biography, poetry, Orfjauizat'wv and Manarjemerd of PuhUc Lilrarit'S. 41J7 and lictiou are arranged alphabetically. The several sciences and prac- tical arts have each a separate arrang-euient, and there is a general index to the several subdivisions. The size of the type is brevier, and the l)aper used is a calendered and well made Manila paper, which costs only one-half as much as* a good book paper of the same weight and thickness; and for use on the library tables will stand six times as much weai'. The paper has a pleas;\nt tint, and makes a very neat volume. The printer will hardly need to be told that the piper must hi worked dry. CATALOGUE, The librarian should have in view the printing of a regular catalogue, and at as early a day as is practicable. If the books intended for imme- diate purchase have beeu received, it is well to priut the catalogue before the library is opened to the public. The public at large and coniiiiittees often do not appreciate the amount of work there is to be duiu' in getting a library ready for use. They do hot see why books received at a library may not be j/iven out as soon, and with as rule formality, as in a bookstore ; ai\d hence they are impatient, and dci-jaud that the library should be opened before it is ready. It is often necessary to yield to this pressure and adopt a substitute for the regu- lar catalogue. When the time for printing arrives, the tirst question M'illbe: "What style of catalogue shall we print?" Au inspection of the latest catalogues which have been issued by the best public libraries will furnish a great variety of styles, and the compilers of each will claim that theirs is the best. Some are in single columns, and some afe in double columns. Some «re in readable type, and some are in tyi)o which many persons cannot read without painful exertion or the use of a magnifving glass. Xone have full titles, but some have titli's so extended that they fill one, two, or three lines as the case may be: and others have tit^ s so abridged that they come into one line. Tl.e iMji'.its on which these ci.talognes differ are too iiumerous to be e\ . u mentioned, much less discussed. A few general principles may be suggested which will aid in determining the style of catalogue to be selected, A catalogue of a libn:.ry is expensive in any form or style, and if the collection be i.ipidly growing must be susperseded in a few years by a new and more complete edition. But few copies will be sold to the publrc if offered at the cost price. A large edition will not be needed; for a library of 10,00D volumes, 5;>0 copies will be enough, and 750 copies for a library of 20,000 volumes. Its chief use will be by readers and book borrowers in the library, and for exchange with other libraries. If a subscription for copies be circulated before the cata- logue is printed, a considerable number of copies may be sold. As the edition is small, the main cost will be for "composition" or type-setting, and not for paper; hence there will be no economy in using small type. The writer prefers brevier type, and a single column, on a common octavo page. Very few titles require more than a single line. There is 32 E 498 PiiUk Llhrarirs In tJic United States. no ecoiiouiy iu using double columns, on a royal octavo page, with smaller type, and the matter is less clear and legible. Nothing is saved in expense by omitting from the subject-reference the place and time of publication, the size and number of volumes, an omission which is made in many catalogues. In subjects like geology, chemistry, and natural history, which are rapidly advancing, tlie edition and date of the pub- lication is of much importance. The eye more readily takes the names of authors and subjects in lower-case letters than iu small capitals, unless the lines turn. The turning of lines is to be avoided, as a matter of economy ; but if the lines frequently turn, it is better to use a full-faced lower-case letter than small capitals. The plan of catalogue with refer- ences under the authors and subjects, in one alphabetical arrangement, is the one which is now almost universally used, and is preferable to the classified plan. The principles of this plan have already been treated brietly under the head of " Cataloguing."' If a library has plenty of money to spend on a catalogue, and the librarian is ambitious to make a contribution to the art of bibliography, he needs different instructions from those which have been given. There are many technical points connected with the subject, which, for want of space, cannot be discussed here. The librarian who has not expe- rience will take counsel of some one who has, when questions of difti- culty arise. 3IETII0DS OF DELIVERY. Our attention thus far has been directed to the collection, preparation, arrangement, and cataloguing of the books, with reference to their future use by the public. We are now to consider the methods by which the public may have access to the books. A code of regulations or by-laws, defining the qualifications of book borrowers, and the conditions on which books shall circulate, must be adopted by the managing board. Application should be made to existing libraries for their by-laws, blanks, and other forms for doing business. In a library supported by public taxation every resident must have an equal opportunity to use the books. There must also be some security or guarantee that the books loaned will be well treated and returned promptly. If books be given out without some such regulations, the library will soon disappear. The custom in the English libraries is tlia the book borrower shall make a money deposit, or file a written guar- antee signed by a responsible taxpayer, stating that he will be respon- sible for the return of the books taken or fines incurred by this person, and will make good any injury or loss the library* may sustain in conse- quence of this certificate. This is a wise and judicious provision, and is now generally adopted iu this country. There is iu every large commu- nity an unsettled and roving population, who cannot safely, on their- own responsibility, be intrusted with books ; and yet they are persons who desire and ought to read, ^yith the guarantee of their employers, landlords, or other known persons with whom they have business, they Orficmization and Managrment of FnhVic Lihraries. 490 become trustworthy aud diligent readers. Tiie fatit that some person wbose good opinion they desire, and who will be informed of their deliii- qnencj^ if it occurs, is responsible for them, will induce them to return books and pay tines ; which they would not do from a sense of duty and personal self respect. In some of the Eastern libraries, in lieu of a written guarantee, the names of one or two known citizens are reriuired to whom application can be made as to cliaracter and responsibility, if it be required. The city police make these inquiries. One library re- ported that the police made three thousand of these inquisitorial visits in a single j^ear. Few public libraries are so fortunate as the one alluded to, in having the city police at its beck and call. Without such a police visitation, a simple reference amounts to little ; whereas the written guarantee is sutiticient, and spares book borrowers the annoyance and mortification of being inquired after by patrolmen. Blank forms of guarantee are issued by the library, and when returned filled with a responsible name as guarantor, the applicant signs his or her name and residence on the register, with the name and residence of the guarantor. A register number is given, and a library card is issued, on which are the register number, name, and residence of the person. Tliis card en- titles the holder to draw books from the library. The names of all registered book borrowers will be indexed with reg- ister number, residence, and name of guarantor. The most convenient form of indexing is on separate cards, to be arranged alphabetically in drawers or boxes, like the catalogue cards. The names of guarantors will also be indexed in the same manner, with tlie names of persons guaran- teed. In case a guarantor fails to respond to his obligation, all the cards guaranteed by him are to be canceled, and the persons so guaranteed notified. The register in which book borrowers record their names is a book especially prepared and ruled for this purpose, with printed head- lines, and a promise that the undersigned will observe the rules of the library. One row of figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., may be printed against each line on the page, which will aid in obviating errors in numbering. The left-hand figures may be filled in with a pen. If two such registers are kept, one for men and the other for women, the former will use only the odd numbers and the latter the even numbers. The register number of any card will then show whether it be a man's or a woman's card, and where the ticket of a book charged may be found ; as will appear more clearly after the method of charging books, which we are now to con- sider, has been explained. REGISTER OF BOOKS BORROWED. The account with book borrowers may be kept in ledgers, several accounts being on a page, and in as nearly alphabetical order as possible. In a small library, where few books are taken, and where the borrowers are nearly the same from year to year, and are known to the librarian, there is, perhaps, no better plan than the ledger system. Delinquent 500 Fahlic Libraries in the United States. books, however, cau be ascertained only by exaiuiiiiiig' every account. In libraries of larger circulation this plan has been found to be cuuiber- vsome and dilatory, and has gone out of use. Several plans have been devised to take the nlace of ledgers, in all of which the book is charged on slips of paper of uniform size. It is not practicable in the limits of this paper to describe all these plans. A few of their peculiarities will be touched upon and a full description given of the plan which the writer uses and recommends. We will suppose that a library has ten thousand book borrowers. The vsame number of stiff cards (say -I by inches) are provided and arranged in ten boxes, which are designated A, B, C, D, E, etc. Five of these boxes, each containing one thousand cards, are placed on a table at the right, and five at the left of the person who attends to the register. Each card is marked in numerical order in its box, and is inscribed with the name and residence of a borrower, and such other particulars as the rules require. The order of names at first may be al[thabetical, but as old names drop out and new names are added, this order is soon dis- turbed. Each borrower knows his box and number. Behind each of these cards the account of the borrower is kept, but on a different slip. The library furnishes blank slips, on one of which the borrower writes his register number, the title or shelf mark (as the rules may require) of the book returned, and of the book or books desired, and hands it, with the book returned, to the person in charge of the register, who checks off the book returned, and passes the slip to au attendant to get the book wanted. Both slip and book are hand'ed to the person at tha register, who removes the old slip from behind the register card, examines it, puts the new slip in its place, and delivers the book to the borrower. This is the plan of the IsTew York Mercantile Library. The most im- |)Drtaiit objection to it is that it does not readily show the delinquents. These cau only be ascertained by examining every slip in the boxes. Another and better plan is that of the Boston Public Library. Printed slips are provided, on which the applicant writes his name and resi- dence and the shelf marks of such books as he desires. The si ip, with the person's card, is taken by an attendant, and the first book on the list which is in is delivered, the other shelf marks are erased, and the slip is retained as a voucher for the book. The date of the delivery is also stamped upon the person's card. All the slips of the day are arranged alphabetically, and are placed by themselves in one of the compartments of a drawer, which compartments are numbered with the several days of the mouth. The book is returned with the person's card, which, bearing a date, shows the compartment in which the corresponding slip can be found. The slip is removed, and the date on the card is stamped out. Slips remaining in compartments more than fourteen days are delinquent, and the parties can readily be notified. The facility with which delin- quents can be ascertained is one of the merits of the system. The plan' which is in use at the Chicago Public Library is in its main Organization and Management of PuhUc Libraries. 501- features the system just explained, bat with some modifications, which were first applied by Mr. William I. Fletcher, now of the Watkinson^ Library, of Hartford, Conn., and formerly one of the writer's assistants in the Boston Athenaeum. Without modification, so rigid a method would not be practicable in a Western library. Applicants are not required to fill printed blanks, and are not limited to any specific method of applying for books. They may do it verbally, or they may give a list of shelf marks of such books as they desire; and often they need and receive assistance from the attendants in selecting their books. They usually api)ly with a list of shelf marks. The first one found is crossed off and the list returned. All the writing for the registry is done by the at- tendant, which saves the applicant this trouble and secures a more legi- ble record. For the register, i^lain slips of uniform size (2 by 2i inches) and "blocked," that is, attached by glue at one end, are provided. The attendant writes on the slip the register number o* the applicant's card, the shelf mark of the book taken, the date, and the attendant's initial, that each one may be held responsible for his own work. The slip when prepared will read as follows: 17,259 G. 534 5—24 M The date is also stamped on the back of the applicant's card. The slip is separated from the "block" and dropped into a box. Before the day's work is closed, all the slips of the day are arranged in the numer- ical order of the register numbers, and placed together in the proper compartment of the registry box, which stands upon the desk. This box is 20 inches long, 10 inches wide outside, and 1^ inch deep inside. The box and its partitions are made of one-half inch black walnut. Lengthwise, on the right-hand side, are two partitions with a space 2i inches in the clear between them, into which the slips of each day are placed on edge, with blocks w^iich are free to slide through the space between them. These blocks, which are not as high as the slips, have each a projection of half an inch over the side of the box, on which are placed the days of the month. Tbere are thirty-one blocks, and each has its own date. The end block is secured by a wedge. If the r)()2 ruhJic Libraries in the United States. jiverage circulation 1)C not over COO volumes a day, the riglitband vspace will contain all tlie slips, with their proper blocks. If the cir- culation exceed this number a portion of the second space can be used. As each new day's slips are added, those remaining in the com- partment with the oldest date are one-day delirKjuent, and ar« removed to the second si)ace, where the delinquent slips are kept. It is cus- tomary to let the delinquent slii)s stand for six days in the registry box, and such as then remain are removed, copied into a book, and delinquent notices arc sent. If the books are not returned in a week, notices are sent to the guarantors; jninted postal cards are used for this l»urpose. The mode of returning books is the same as already described. No book will be delivered on a card until the date is stamped out. Two hundred books have been received at one register, the slips found, re- moved, and the cards stamped in one hour. If no time were lost in ad- justing fines and answering questions, a larger number could be received. With two registers 400 books can be received in an hour. Tlie limit of business that can be done at a circulating library is determined by its ca[)acity of receiving books, and not of delivering them. Any number of books can be delivered if there be sufficient counter space, sufticient attendants, and sufiicient books. With one fegister only about 2,000 books can be taken in during the hours of one working day. That circu- lation has seldom been reached in this country, except in the Chicago Library, where 2,031 volumes have been taken in on one day and with- out difliculty, as it has three registers. The third regL^ter, for youth, has been i)rovided with a separate desk and counter, where only cards stamped "Juvenile" are received, and such books are delivered as are in- The plan a(h)i)te(l by the writer is to have a tin box made 10 inches ioni;, .'J inches wide, and 3 in(;hes liijrh, divided into eight compartments, seven of whicli have a funnel-sliaped cover; and the eighth, which is larger than the others, is an opcm receptacle for peas. 4'lie seven have tliese inscriptions on the front: Fiction and .Juveniles; History ;iud Jiiograpiiy; Voyages and Travels; Science and Art; Poetry and Drama ; German and Freiu^h Literature; iMiscellaneous. As each book is deliv- ered, the attendant drops a i)ea into such ('om|)artment as tlui book l)ropei]y belongs to in its classilication. There is a slide in each com- l)artm(!nt on the back side of the box, by which the peas are let ■out. At night tlicy arc counted, and a record of each elassiliciition is 504 Public Lihrarles in the United States. kept, from whicli the number of. books issued can be ascertained, aud also the percentage of each class. The total number of the daily issues is also ascertained by counting the slips. This count, which is likely to be the more accurate, should correspond to the count of the peas, and serves as a check to the neglect of attendants in noting the classification of every book as it goes out. Weekly, monthly, and yearly averages are made of percentage of the circulation, which show the taste and improvement, if any, of the public in its reading. EXAMINATION^ OF THE LIBRARY. Once a year, at least, the library should be thoroughly examined by comparing the books on the shelves with the shelf lists, noting every missing book, and later accounting for the absent volumes, so far as can be done. It was formerly the custom to call in the books, and to close the library for two or three weeks while the examination was going on- The closing of the library is a serious inconvenience to the public, aud is not necessary for the purpose of the examination. By going over the shelves while the books are in circulation, noting by shelf marks such volumes as are out, and repeating the examination several times at in- tervals of a week, the list of books not found will be greatly reduced. The binder's schedule and delinquent list in the mean time will be ex- amined, and, finally, the slips on which books not returned are charged. The same results will thus be secured as if the books had been called in and the library closed. Before the examination is begun the books should be dusted, the shelves cleaned with a wet sponge, and the books arranged in their proper order. The dusting of books may be done by slapping two vol- umes together smartly two or three times. Xever dust the tops of books by using a brush or cloth, which drives the dust into the book, whereas the smart concussion described disengages the dust from the leaves, and the book retains its clean and fresh* appearance. The tops of books, which are cleaned by brushing and rubbing, as is commonly done by servants, have a grimed and soiled look, and the gilding is soon de- stroyed. CONCLUSION. We have now considered briefly the more important practical questions connected with the organization and management of a public library. There are other topics relating to the subject which it would have been desirable to touch upon iu a more elaborate discussion. If the sugges- tions contained in this paper shall serve to clear up any difficulties, or to lighten the labors of committees aud librarians upon whom the duties of organizing a new library are thrown, its purpose will have been attained. It does not necessarily follow that a method or system which is adapted to one library is the best for all. There are no quali. ties which will supplement even a little technical l^nowledge so effi- cieutly as good judgment and practical common sense. CHAPTER XXVI. COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION. BY PROF. OTIS II. ROBIXSOX, Librarian of t'tc Unlccrnty of Kachcster. General coxsidkratioxs — Principles of Gitowni — Classikicatiox — Auraxgr- MEXT — Cataloguing — Indexing — Old books and pami'iilets — Privileges to BE granted to officers; to students— Taking out rooks — Access to the shelves — Instruction TO students in the use of the library by the LIBRARIAN ; BY PROFESSORS. INTRODUCTION. After what Las been said by sucli men as Bacon, Wliately, Charles Lamb, Carlyle, Emerson, and President Porter on the choice of books and how to read them, I shall not presume to give advice to the general reader. In the presence of so many rules and suggestions, however, it is natural lor a librarian to inquire how many of the readers in his library pursue the best methods, and how many drifc here and there without regard to rules, and with very little profit. This question is especially pertinent in a college library. Here the reader is at the same rime a student. The librarian is, with the faculty', in some degree responsible for his healthy intellectual growth. He is not at liberty to permit a waste of energy for want of method by those who are inclined to read ; nor may he be indifferent to the neglect of opportunities by those who are not. A library for the use of students requires such an administra- tion as to inspire the dullest with interest and give a healthful direction to the reading of all. The object of a society or club library may be the cultivation of science, the general diffusion of knowledge, or the mere pastime and amusement of its stockholders. Their tastes and aims must determine its administration. Librarians in such libraries work for their employers, and, right or wrong, are accustomed to boast their ability, after a few years, to know the reading habits of their patrons so as to select for them just what will suit their fancy. The tastes and aims of stockholders will also determine the influence of such institutions. Towards the close of his life, Dr. Franklin claimed that this class of libraries, the first of which he himself founded, had " improved the general conversation of the Americans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen in other countries, and perhaps contributed in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defense 505 bOG PuhJic Llhrarics in the United States. of their privileges." lu the absence of newspapers and other periodicals the libraries vrere the great sources of information. This indeed was probably Franklin's principal object in founding thera. Discipline and general culture followed naturally. Public or town libraries are, except as to their supi)ort, very much like those of the early societies. Their object is g'eneral information and profitable, pastime. A i)rofessionaI library is little more than a treasury of strictly professional knowledge. It is more or less limited b}' the i)ractical wants of a single business or pursuit. Before renching such a library a reader is sup[>osed to be quite independent of the supervision of a librarian. Now, a college library is none of these ; it is something more than all of them. It is the door to all science, all literature, all art. It is the means of intelligent and profitable recreation, of profound technical re- search, and at the same time of a complete general education. Well supplied in all its departments, it is a magnificent educational apparatus. How shall the student of to day -become the scholar of to-morrow? It will depend little upon teachers, much upon books. He must learn to stand face to face with nature, with society', and with books. He will get access to nature and to society best through books. Without them he will ever be wasting his time on the problems of the past; with them iilone can he get abreast with his age. Carlyle has pointed out the true relation of the teacher to the book. "All that the university or final highest school can do for us is still but what the first school began doing, teach us to read." And yet how few of the multitude who annually <3arry their parchments from our colleges can be said to be intelligent readers. The importance of properly teaching to read is vastly increased in this country during the last half century by the rapid increase of libra- ries and other reading opportunities all over the land. Whoever will take the pains to compare the statistics of libraries and of publishing houses and importations of books which have been published since 1825, will see that the young man who enters the lists for scholarship to- day has a very difterent field before him from what one had then. It is not too much to say that, even so short a time ago, books, to the great majority of our population, were exceedingly rare; and that there were not more than two or three places in the whole country, possibly not one, where a scholar could properly investigate a difficult subject. The ra])id growth of population at hundreds of centres has given rise to thousands of libraries, many of them of considerable size. It is no ob- jectiorn that the number of readers has increased with the number of books. The advantages of each reader are proportional to the size of his library, suffering little or no loss from the presence of other readers. Besides our public libraries, the country is full of private collections, large enough to be centres of infiuence. And then we must add innu- merable periodicals, which fill every avenue of public and of private life, crowding upon us unbidden in business and retirement alike, with everv College Librarfj Administration. 507 possible variety of subject aud style, and demandiug that we take a daily survey of every nation and kingdom under heaven, Christian and heathen, savage and civilized. Fitty years ago most of the graduates from our colleges had to settle down to their life work where they had access to very few books, and among men who had never seen a library. They had to content themselves with the purchase of a few standard authors, an occasional addition of a new volume, and a few leading periodicals. Now the majority, of those at least who give j)romise of becoming scholars, soon tind themselves in communities where books and magazines are as necessary for the mind as bread for the body. A constant stream of printed matter sweeps along with it public opinion. All read and think more or less. Our young graduate to be a scholar, an intellectual leader, must rise among men who have such advantages and such habits. The standard of scholarsliip is pushed upward by the intelligence of the masses. In view of these facts, one can hardly over- estimate the importance, to those whose aim is above mediocrity, of learning to read during student life. The question as to how the colleges are using their libraries to pro- mote this kind of learning is one which may well receive the attention of those liberal patrons of higher education who create library funds and build library buildings. Rapid as is the increase of libraries, still all are clamoring for more books. It is as if excellence were in numbers alone. How many volumes ! This is always the question ; never, How much and how well do you use what you^havef Now and then an old man, more practical than scholarly, and a hundred years behind the times, stares around at your alcoves, seriously doubting whether you use all the books you have, and asks how you can possibly expect any one to give you more. The question is not an impertinent one, if only intelligently asked. That the measure of ou'r having should be determined by the mode of our using is asjold as the New Testament. Five thousand well selected volumes judiciously and constantly used will ser^'e the purjioses of education better than twenty-five thousand used only at the capiice or fancy of inexperienced young men. Far be it from me \o discourage giving to increase libraries, but I would have those who give consider whether part of their endowments had not bet- ter be directed towards such a vigorous^administration as to render the libraries most efficient. What, then, should the administration be? The question naturally divides itself into three, which I shall consider separately. First, as to the preparation of the library itself, its growth, classifi- cation, arrangement, and other facilities for making it accessible. Second, as to the nature and extent of the privileges to be granted to ofhcers and students. Third, as to the instruction in its use to be given to students. 1 shall purposely omit all reference to the use of a college library by others than those connected with the college ; for so far as its privileges 508 Public Libraries in the United States. are extencletl, by courtesy or otherwise, to clergymeu and scientific and literary residents, it partakes of the nature of a public librarj^, and does not come within the scope of this paper. GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY. In considering how a college library shall be prepared for use, the mode of its growth demands our first attention. It must be constantly borne in mind that the object of a college is education, not mere infor- mation, nor amusement, nor in general professional training. For the purposes of general education, teachers, students, and books are to- gether. Any department of the library filled for any other purpose is filled amiss. Ephemeral literature on the one hand, and strictly profes- sional works on the other, will properlj' occupy but small space, as the object of the library embraces very fe^v of them. Now, theoretically at least, a college education extends to the elements of all the different departments of human thought, literature, science, art, history, with their various subdivisions. Each of these departments requires its share in the library, which shall be for that department the best attain- able expression of its historical development and present condition. To manage the growth of any part of the library, therefore, one must be fa- miliar both with what it contains and with the trade. Ttie books ojie buys are to take their ijlaces among those alre.idy on the shelves, so that the whole taken together shall form the best possible educational apparatus. In managing its growth an active librarian and purchasing committee can do much, but they cannot be expected to know the whole library thoroughly, and, so to speak, also to read ahead of its growth, so as to know which of all the books published each department needs. Outside of what they happen to be familiar with, they will be apt to trust too much to numbers. But every teacher knows that the number of books in an alcove has very little to do with their educational value. Take chemistry, geology, almost any science — ten good new books may be worth more than a whole case twenty-five years old. Whatever we do with the old books, it is certain that the greater part of them must be excluded when the working power of a library is to be estimated. And then there will always be a large percentage of books, both in the library and in the trade, which have the general appearance of value, but which would really render little or no service either to teachers or to students. So far as the administration of the library relates to its growth, it is clear, then, that it must be directed in its different parts by masters of those parts, men who shall know perfectly its true relation to the prog- ress of thought. Fortunately, in a college library such men are always at hand. The officers of instruction are in general the ^nly persons capable of determining wiiat books their several departments need. It is assumed that each will keep his eyes open both to the state of the library and to the growth of ideas, at least in his own special field of Collefje Lihrarij Administration. 509 inquiry. The growth of the library lor the special benefit of the officers of instruction themselves, will properly come up under the head of priv- ileges granted to officers, and need not be considered here. CLASSIFICATION. What the classification of a library should be, is a question niucli more easily asked than answered. There are objections to all plans. A difficulty sometimes arises out of the tendency, where the i)lau adopted does not prove perfectly satisfactory, to change it gradually as new books are distributed. This will woik ruin to all order. A slightly im- perfect plan strictly followed is far better than two plans at once. To avoid all occasion for this confusion, and, what is perliaps more impor- tant, to have the successive generations of students carry away with them proper notions of the relations of books to each other, the classi- fication should be very carefully considered, once for all, by men of the widest experience with libraries, and of good practical common sense. Much has been said and written on this subject, and many plants care- fully prepared, but it is evident that beyond certain general outlines no classification can be made which would be suited to all libraries. It would be somewhat foreign to my i)urpose to discuss this subject at length. It is proper, however, to add a word as to the classification of a college library best adapted to its proper administration. Here, again, the leading question is. How shall the library become the most perfect educational apparatus? JSTow, I have tried to show that it should grow up around the different departments of instruction. I think also that no better i^ractical classification can be devised than that whose general plan is based upon the classification of instruction under the several officers. Not that the number of classes should be incomplete, nor the classes mixed, because at any given time the faculty was not all that might be desired, but that the division of books should correspond on the whole to that division of the instruction which is best suited to the aims and purposes of the institution. Such a classification cannot be said to be unphilosophical, and it serves the purposes of both teacher and student admirably. Each teacher has his own class of books where he can examine it, and watch its growth most easily, and add its full force to the means of instruction in his depart- ment. Students, having become familiar with a certain division of thought in their daily studies, if that of the library corresponds, can enter upon the use of it with very little difficulty. Whatever classification he adopts, every librarian is constantly per- plexed with books which belong in no class in particular, but which would go equally well in several. I know no better rule for such cases than to ignore the title, examine the book in detail, and put it into that department in which it is likely to be most extensively used. This method has the merit at least of being prr.ctical. 510 Puhlic Libraries in the United States. ARRANGE3IENT. Were the readers always to call for books from tbeir catalogue numbers, and tbe librarian to act as a mere servant to take them down and pnt them up, it would make little difference how they were arranged, pro- vided only that the catalogue referred to their shelves. But if both officers and students are to make a study of the books collectively as well as iiulividnally, and the librarian is to be a teacher of their use, they must be arranged with these ends in view. Dictionaries, cyclopaedias, gazetteers, maps, and other works of reference are best kept where every reader can have free and easy access to them during all library hours. If the management of the [library should involve the use of a separate reading room they might be kept there, where also the better class of reviews and magazines could be used before the volumes to which they belong were complete for binding. It should be remarked, however, in passing, that a miscellaneous reading room, where all sorts of periodicals are regularly received, is at best of very doubtful educa- tional value. Where no room is specially devoted to general reading, reviews and magazines are best treated in every respect as books. After the works of reference, and the periodicals, the arrangement should follow the classification as far as possible. Then the reader can pursue the study of a subject or the examination of a class of books with ease and the librarian and his assistants, when experienced in the classi- lication, can manage the library in all its departments intelligently. To facilitate the finding of books the shelves in each class or depart- ment should be numbered, and the class mark and number of the shelf of each book entered in the catalogue. The class and shelf should also be very clearly marked on the cover of the book inside. Labels on the outside would be preferable if they were not so easily worn off. To number the books on a shelf seems to me an unnecessary labor, as a shelf is so easily looked over. OLD BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. One is often in doubt as to what to do with the old books. The growth of college libraries does not contemplate the accumulation of large quan- tities of strictly ephemeral books, and yet many which are very useful for a time are eventually left behind by the progress of the sciences. Some of these, like the moraines along the path of a glacier, are valu- able to mark the progress of thought and discovery; but many of them mark nothing in particular but the bookmaking spirit of their authors. Now, a public library is not to be treated as one would treat his own private collection. If one's habits of reading do not require him to keep a book which he has outgrown, or which has been superseded by a new edition, or which never was worth its room on his private shelves, he is likely to sell it or give it away. As to his own wants he can judge pretty accu- rately, both for the present and for the future; but this can never be CoUefje Lihraiij Admiulstyation. 511 done for tbe reatlers of a public library. Some circuiustauee wbolly apart from the merits of a book, as tbe family association of the author or the donor, may put it in great demand by men who would be justly offended at findin^;- it consigned to the society of rubbish ; and it is quite as impossible to predict the future demand for a book. It may stand on the shelves a decade untouched, and then, by some event in the literary or scientific world, be called forth and wantetl by everybody. For these reasons, and others which might be given, it is generally thought better to suffer a little inconvenience from a mixture of the useful with tbe apparently useless volumes than to attempt a separation. It may be remarked just here, for tbe encouragement of readers in new and well selected, though small, libraries, that it is not by count- ing the number of volumes in different collections that the facilities they enjoy are to be compared with those offered by tbe large, old ones. As libraries grow old, the decay of value is enormous. One suffers great dis- appointment when be visits tbe old libraries, and finds that their numbers, magnificent at a distance, are largely made up of books which are, to every one but a historian or bibliographer, as dead as the Egyptian kings. Closely related to tbe disposal of the old books is the question, what shall be done with tbe pamphlets? Unquestionably tbe most useful and the most useless parts of a library are to be found among its pam- phlets. A ripe scholar may condense the results of years of study into a monograph, which is published unbound. You receive it in tbe same mail with the harangues of a dozen half fledged politicians and the circulars of a score of quack doctors. What shall be done with them ? It is the fashion in some large libraries to reject nothing. Tbe adver- tisement of every new sewing-machine is said to have its place in history. It is not difficult in such places to get up a magnificent show of numbers. Various methods of classification have been adopted for pamphlets. In my owu opinion, if a pamphlet is worth saving at all, a pile large enough for a thick volume is worth a cheap binding. I can strongly recommend tbe method which I have ujyself practiced for some years, and to which few objections have arisen. I classify all my pamphlets precisely as I do my books. Having my departments of books numbered, I fix the classification by writing the number boldly with a colored pencil on each pamphlet. The better class, those which are eventually to receive a good substantial binding, are then dis- tributed in cases likewise numbered. Tbe contents of these cases are kept indexed in alj^babetical order. The poorer class, which contains tbe great majority, are kept with less care in piles according to their numbers, and without indexing. While they remain unbound it is not difficult to find any pamphlet if its subject is known. This is the casitr since tbe collection is never allowed to become large. When a case of the valuable or a inle of tbe less valuable ones contains enough of a suitable size they are bound together. Tbe references in the pamphlet 512 Public Libraries in the United States. iiuk'x are tlien truiisfeiTed to tlie index of miscellaneous'literatare. By tbe oiij;inal classification of iLem all tbe parts of each belong to tbe same department in tbe librarj- ^Ybere tbe book now finds its place. Witb very little attention I am able to prevent tbe accumnlation of a great pile of miscellaneous pampblets wbicb it is so difficult to manage. Tbe less valuable volumes can be bound at an expense of tbirty or forty cents eacb, and wben tables of contents are arranged tbey are often very useful. Xearly every department in tbe library under my cbarge contains some of tbese, some departments a great many. CATALOGUING. It is witb cataloguing as witb classifying, tbe objections to any plan are so numerous and so forcible tbat notbing but an imperative demand will induce one to undertake it at all. Some years ago I wrote to Mr- \V^. F. Poole, tbe autbor of tbe Index to Periodical Literature, for prac- tical advice about cataloguing. He encouraged me iu bis answer by saying, '' Whatever plan you adopt, you will not go far before being- sorry you did not adopt some otber."' As it turned out be was not altogether wrong. As one studies tbis subject it seems more and more strange tbat tbe making of a catalogue sbould not bave become, after so many centuries of tbe existence of libraries, like tbe binding of a book, an operation perfectly well understood. It bas great difiSculties, and there seems to be little progress in the work of removing them. Every librarian bas to take them up almost anew. It is as if every man sbould insist on making bis own coat because bis back is sligbtly different from every otber man's. It is not my purpose to discuss tbe subject of cataloguing at length, but merely to point out wbat seems to be tbe present tendency, and make a practical suggestion. In some of tbe largest libraries of tbe country tbe card system bas been exclusively adopted. Several of tbem bave no intention of printing any more catalogues in book form. In otbers, cards are adopted for current accessions, with tbe expectation of printing supplements from them, from time to time. I tbink the ten- dency of tbe smaller libraries is to adopt the former plan, keeping a manuscript card catalogue of books as they are added, without a tbougbt of printing. I bave bad tbe pleasure of visiting, within tbe last few months, four large libraries in New England. All were busy making cards; only one expected to print. Turning over tbeir annual reports, quite a large percentage of their several working forces was put down in tbe cataloguing department. On comparing tbe cards, they were found to contain substantially tbe same thing. Coming home, my own regular work required the preparation of tbe same kind of cards. At tbe library of tbe Rochester Theological Seminary, a few blocks from me, they are doing tbe same tbing. ]S^ow, consider tbe waste of energy throughout the country if the card system is to prevail, as seems prob- able. Everv book bas its card or cards, and every library that has tbe College Library Administration. 513 book wants those cards ia substantially the same form. But, instead of that cooperation which would have the cards made by men of expe- rience ab the great libraries, and printed once for all, and sent upon order throughout the country, the different libraries are paying men, often inexperienced, to make them in manuscript each for itself. Let the directors of a library of 10,000 volumes determine to-day to make a card catalogue de novo, they can take no advantage whatever of the fact that nearly every book they have has had its cards made over and over again at great expense. And further, the librarian who has his catalogue complete to date, can take no advantage, when piles of new books are received, of the cards which scores of other librarians are making of those same books. Now, without further words, it would seem that a simple plan might be devised by which it would be possible for a thousand libra- ries to order their cards by number, carefully prepared and neatly printed, whenever required ; and that too for a very small sum compared with the expense of making them. This method would be free from many of the objections which have arisen against the plans for co-operation' in cata- 1 The great advantages of co-operation among librarians, in the preparation of a card catalogue, seem to have become apparent in Europe as well as in this country. Thus the Loudon Times of March 18, 1876, contains the following : "A correspondent of the Academy writes: . . . 'When I was librarian myself, I always wondered at the extraordinary waste of power in cataloguing new books. While I was writing my slip, according to the rule followed in most English libraries, 1 felt that there were probably a hundred people doing exactly the same work which I was doing, not only in England, but in every civilized country of the world. Yet, what would be easier than to have my slip printed, and any number of copies sent round by book-post to every library in Europe? With a little arrangement, every English book might be catalogued at the British Museum, every French book at the Bibliothiique Nationale, every German book at the Royal Library at Berlin, every Russian book at St. Petersburg, etc. At a trifling expense these printed slips might be sent to every small or large library, and each of them might have three or four kinds of catalogues : an alphabetical catalogue of the authors, a chronological catalogue, a local catalogue, a catalogue classified according to subjects, etc. Even when a library is too poor to buy a book, the slip might be useful in its catalogue. The saving that might thus bo eltected would be very considerable. The staff of librarians might be greatly reduced, and the enormous expense now incurred for catalogues, and mostly imperfect catalogues, would dwindle down to a mere nothing. There are, of course, other ways in which the same object might be attained, if only the principal libraries would agree on a common line of action. Each author might be requested to write a proper slip of his own book, and the publisher might forward copies of these slips with the book itself. All this and much more could be done if a general understanding was once arrived at among the heads of the principal libraries of Europe. If we look at the balance-sheets of these libraries, the differences are very great. The expenses are, of course, much greater where books are lent out than where they are not. But even where the expenses are lowest, the chief item of expenditure is always the catalogue. A few resolutions, carried at an international congress of librarians, might cause a saving of many thousands of pounds annually, and would certainly give us better catalogues than we find at present, even in the best administered libraries.' " Mr. Justin Winsor, of the Boston Public Library, several months ago suggested, through the Publishers' Weekly, that publishers might send out with each book a card, on which should be printed the title and a bibliographical notice of the book in proper 33 E 514 Public Libraries in the United States. loguing heretofore proposed. Here is a real work to be done, which the library economy of our country greatly demands even now ; the future demand cannot be estimated. To insure profit to a publisher needs only the co-operation of a few leading libraries. Is there not some influential publisher who can organize such a co-operation ? As the practice now is, I am not sure but it would be betterfor half a dozen colleges to agree upon the form of a card, and unite their usual cataloguing expenses to secure a more skilful preparation and a printed card. Whatever local data the cards would require could easily be added with a pen. But the card system is comparatively new, and perhaps not yet general enough to expect from it so great results. INDEXING. The extent to which a library should be indexed depends upon the value which is set upon monographs. Clearly the best ones, whether found in separate pamphlets, in periodical literature, in miscellaneous essays, or in reports of learned societies, are of sufficient value to justify some expense in making them easy of access. An alphabetical index to this class of writings is especially valuable among students, who, in the investigation of subjects, wish to supfdemeut their study of elaborate treatises by the briefly stated views of the essayists. There may be danger of a tendency to substitute the reading of essays and reviews for careful and consecutive courses of reading. But it is not an intelligent mode of checking this tendency to set au obstacle in the way of the reader's choice. Better make the whole library accessible, and then take a little pains to teach the relative places of its several parts in the estimation of true scholars. A well written essay is often all one can find it practicable to read on a subject. Three or four hours of such reading will often give him what, without the essay, he would never get at all. And further, as a preparation for, and a supplement to, a form, to be inserted in the catalogue of a library. Ttie following from the same journal of May 20, 187G, shows that the plan meets with favor; and, doubtless, if once adopted by a few of the leading publishers it would soon become the general usage : " Tlie plan has already received some indorsement from the trade, but we are pre- senting it now chiefly in its relation to the libraries. "If such a slip were printed, the libraries could get as many copies as they desired ■without difficulty from their local bookseller or from the publisher ; and it is even sug- gested that such a slip can take the place in small libraries of the book, until the library itself be in a condition to purchase it directly. It would also be very useful to the library and to the publisher alike by encouraging members of circulating libraries to order books. In fact, as we have before said, it seems to us it would be both profit- able to the publisher and useful to the libraries, and we should be glad if the sugges- tion should call forth the opinions of practiced librarians." In justice to Professor Robinson it should be said that whatever merit attaches to priority of conception in this plan seems to belong to him, inasmuch as his views were matured and presented to many leading librarians of the country, as well as prepared for publication, more than two years before the writer in the Academy made his plan public. — Ei>iTOi{s. College Lihrary Administration. 515 course of readiug of the great standard works on any subject, mono- graphs have a very important place. They are often written by the ablest specialists of the age, and generally .published where they have the indorsement of scholarly editors. Whether the rapid increase of writings of this class is evidence of intellectual growth or decay, a col- lege library at the present day must possess the best of them at least 5 and a librarian ought not to let their use be governed by chance. They can be made eminently useful. It is best, then, to index all that have the appearance of being permanently valuable. Having undertaken this work somewhat vigorously years ago in the library under my charge, and seen how useful a large part of the collection which had previously been almost useless at once became, I have thought it better of late to err on the side of indexing too much rather than too little. I may dis- miss this subject now by reference to the lull description of my method, contained elsewhere in this report/ only adding a hope that the time may soon come when by the co-operation of libraries the fruits of this work, as well as of cataloguing, may be more widely enjoyed and the expense greatly reduced. LIBEARY PEIVILEGES. Having prepared the library for use, it is proper to consider next the privileges to be granted to its readers. For the oificers of instruction I have treated the library as an apparatus. It is theirs to use, both to in- crease their own personal efficiency and supplement and illustrate their teaching. The only special privilege accorded to them which should be mentioned here is the purchase of books for their special use which do not bear directly on their daily work in the lecture room. Ko one will doubt the propriety of furnishing teachers with the means of keeping in the front rank of their profession. The cause of education is best served thereby, though it require the purchase of books which no student is likely to touch. How far a college should promote science by equipping its professors for original investigations outside of their official duties, must depend upon its general purposes and the extent of its means. Certainly no one can rightfully claim this for one department till the others are reasonably provided for. The duty of a teacher to watch over his part of the library requires him to do it, not for his own purposes, but for those of general education, directly or indirectly. SHALL STUDENTS TAKE BOOKS OUT ? Among the first of the privileges to be granted to students is that of carrying books to their rooms, to be used there. To this there are many and serious objections which, I learn, are allowed to prevail at several colleges of good standing, viz, the books are worn out j some are never returned ; they are not in the library when wanted for consultation. These and other similar objections might have been forcible when books were rare enough to be a luxury. It was doubtless wise, then, to regard 1 Sec Chapter XXIX, Indexing Periodical Literature. — EorroRS. 516 Public Libraries in the United States. the preservation of a library as the chief end of its administration. But now the chief end is its use. If properly used, the wearing out of the good books is the best possible indication. As to the loss by failure to return, I quote from the last annual report of the Boston Public Library : The whole uuniber of persons who have made application to use the library since lR(i7 now amounts to 90,782, of whom 14,599 were entered during the last year. . . . The number of books lost daring, the year was 85, or about 1 to every 9,000 of circula- tion. After such a report it is clear that if books are lost among a few hun- dred students, who are nearly every day together, it must be due to ill management. The objection that books are not in the library when wanted for reference can apply with force only to a very limited num- ber, which it is customary to reserve from the circulation. What is wanted is the greatest possible benefit from a library, but a large per- centage of its most useful books will be of very little account to young men if their use is to be confined to a public reading room. ACCESS TO THE SHELYES. In seeking for the highest working power of a library, our questions come up in this order : First, what use will increase its power ? Then, what restrictions must be placed upon that use for the sake of preser- vation ? Whatever privileges were granted or denied when books were scarce and newspapers and magazines few, the time has come to pre- pare students for the intelligent use of many books and the society of many readers. With that end in view, for many reasons the bars should be taken down under proper regulations. First of all, because the study of the library, as such, is a very import- ant part of a student's education. The complaint is made, and it is doubtless well founded, that the present tendency is to drift away from the solid reading which made the scholars of past generations, and be contented with the easy reproductions of thought in the newspapers and magazines. How many men are satisfied with one or two reviews of a book, when the book itself is within their reach and might far better speak for itself ! In the multiplicity of subjects to be studied and things to be learned, we grow impatient. Turning over books leisurely and brooding over subjects till one grows familiar with the great authors of the past, and learns to love them, is seldom indulged in. The daily or weekly newspaper is ever before us. If this and succeeding generations fail to produce scholarship commensurate with their advantages, will it not be largely due to the frittering away of time which might be spent on good authors over short and carelessly written paragraphs on insig- nificant current events ? A young man who is ashamed to be igno- rant of the common newspaper gossip, who is ever placing the trifles of the present before the great events of the past, is never found hunger- ing and thirsting for scholarship. He has little time and less disposi- tion for thoughtful and protracted study of the masters in science and College Library Administration. 517 literature. Now, by all means, let this tendency be counteracted by an introduction to the library. Eeniove the barriers and make familiarity with well chosen authors as easy as practicable. No habit is more uncertain or more capricious than that of a student in a library. He wants to thumb the books which he cannot call for by name. It is not an idle curiosity. He wants to know, and has a right to know, a good deal more about them than can be learned from teachers. and catalogues. Deny him this, and he turns away disappointed and discouraged ; grant him this, and his interest is awakened, his love for books increased, and the habit of reading will most likely be formed. Another reason for opening the doors and encouraging familiarity with the library is suggested by the question so often put by young graduates, especially young clergymen, What books shall I buy ! In the ordinary use of a library where books are referred to by teachers, or .selected from a catalogue, a student will rarely handle more than four or five hundred volumes in a course of four years. He will learn some- thing, but very little, of a few more which he does not handle. During his professional study he may become acquainted with as many more. Of all these he will care to possess but a very small percentage. How, then, supposing him to have acquired in any way a taste for books, is he to learn what to buy ? He can generally spare but little from each year's income for his library. It is said that the next thing to possessing knowledge is to know where to look for it ; it is also true that the next thing to owning books is to know what books to buy. Besides the pur- chase of his own library, many a young bachelor of arts or science finds himself, soon after graduating, in a town where a new public library is to be founded or an old one enlarged. He is supposed to have had advantages which the general public have not had. They are glad to avail themselves of what he knows. He ought to be able to lead them intelligently and keep the best books before the purchasing committees. To my mind, at least, questions like these, of constantly increasing importance as they are, are wftrthy of the careful study of librarians and library committees. A young man who spends four or seven years of student life where he can see a library", but cannot reach it, generally just fails of the only opportunity which is ever possible both to acquire the tastes and habits of a reader himself, and to prepare himself to mold the tastes and habits of others. Again, in college life every young man has constantly before him two or three, perhaps four or five, subjects of study. Generally text books are prescribed, which with the lectures make up the required work. Now there is a school-boy way of going through such a course of study from term to term, learning precisely what is assigned, and never look- ing to the right hand nor to the left for collateral views of different writers. Servility and narrowness are the result. There is also a manly and scholarly method of making the required study only the nucleus about which are to be gathered the results of much interesting and prof- 518 Public Libraries in the United States. italic investigation — the pathway of thought through a very wide field of inquiry. This is the true method of a higher education. Take as- tronomy for an illustration. From twelve to twenty weeks are devoted to the usual course of lecture, recitation, and examination — just enough to teach the leading facts and principles of the science, solve a few illus- trative problems, point out the intellectual value of its processes, its historical development, and practical bearings. The teacher who at- tempts even these finds himself limited at many points to mere sugges- tion. The reading student usually acquires the facts and solves the problems of the lecture room very readily. He comes then to the sugges- tions. He soon makes this collateral work his own field. He feels a manly self-dependence as he turns over for himself the authors whose opinions have been accepted or rejected by his teacher. He raises per- tinent and exhaustive questions. He learns the names and something of the lives and scientific places of the men who have made the science what it is. He makes memoranda of works valuable for their breadth and accuracy of scientific statement, or for the clearness of their pop- ular method, or their historical places in the growth of astronomical ideas. When the term of study is ended he is fitted by his knowledge, and mucb more by his method, to serve the public wherever his lot is cast on all general questions involving the study of astronomy. What I have said of astronomy may be said of every other department of col- lege study, and of some of them with much greater force. But the con- dition of all this work is a proper relation to the library. No student can do this work well, and few will undertake it at all, by calling for books from a catalogue. A reference is to be made, a date to be fixed, a question of authority to be settled, the scientific relation of two men to be ascertained, a formula to be copied, and a thousand other almost indefinable little things to be done, the doing of which rapidly and in- dependently and with a purpose is the very exercise which will go far to make the man a broad and self-reliant scholar. To do them, however, a man must stand face to face with the books required. Then there are books to be selected for more extended reading, apart from the alcoves. One can be read carefully out of half a dozen of nearly equal value. An hour spent in turning over the books and making the choice is, perhaps, better than any two hours spent in the reading. Something is learned of the five which cannot be read, but which may be of great service for future reference; and, besides, the very act of making the choice — where assistance can be had in case of special difficulty — is a valuable educa- tional exercise. Notwithstanding the great advantages of the use of a library in the manner pointed out, if I mistake not, it is not usually contemplated by college library regulations. How to use books is not so ranch studied as how to get and preserve them. It is seldom or never made itself an end to be attained by study. I have seen a college library of 2.j,0:)0 volumes or more, all in most beautiful order, everything looking College Library Administration. 519 as perfect as if just fitted up for a critical examination, where the read- ing room was entirely apart, and the books could be seen by students only through an opening like that of a ticket office at a railroad station. The reading room contained dictionaries, cyclopcedias, newspapers, and magazines, and, it was said, a well kept manuscript catalogue of the library. The result one can easily conjecture ; the students read the newspapers, and the librarian preserved the books. At another college, which has good claims to rank among the first in the country, a friend residing as a student, after complaining of the great difficulty of using a library by means of a catalogue and with no access to the shelves, writes that he knows it contains plenty of good books, for he got in through a window one Sunday and spent the whole day there. It is pertinent to inquire whether the interests of education would not have been promoted by allowing such a young man to ascertain that fact on a week day. In short, it is the usual regulation conspicuously posted, " Students are not allowed tro take books from the shelves." This is reasonable, perhaps necessary, as a general rule; but when one inquires, as I have in several of the most prominent college libraries of the coun- try, what provision is made for the student to look through the cases, and study the library as a whole, the answer is either that there is no such provision, or that the privilege is sometimes granted as a special favor to very worthy young. men. Now the preservation of the books is a very important c3nsideratiou, and the general regulation guarding the shelves a most healthful one; but the proper use of boDks, collectively as well as individually, is quite as important, and hence the propriety of some special provision to that end. Granted that in order to have books in condition to be most useful, as well as to preserve them, they must be protected from too promiscuous handling by inexperienced or merely curious persons. Whatever order or arrangement is adopted, it is of the highest impor- tance that it be rigidly observed. Still I cannot believe that regula- tions the most adequate for protection are at all incompatible with suitable provisions for use. The extent and kind of such provision practicable, or even desirable, would differ widely in different places. In small colleges two or three hours set apart one day in each week, with the privilege extended to all the classes, might be practicable and sufficient; in larger colleges it might be better to have hours set apart for particular classes, that the number might not be too large at once. Or it migbt be still better to provide for such work at certain hours regularly each week, and let the admission be regulated by previous arrangement with the librarian or other officer. The number to be pro- vided for at once could thus be adjusted to the convenience of the rooms and the working force of the library, and what is quite as essential, the students admitted could be definitely put upon their honor in the enjoy- ment of such a privilege, and excluded if found untrustworthy. I have tried to be very explicit on this point, because I am satisfied 520 Public Libraries in the United States. that this privilege, when it is extended without proper restrictions, operates to the great injury of a library, especially as to good order : and secondly, because I believe that the supposition that such injury is unavoidable, is far too ofDen allowed to stand in the way of the privi- lege altogether. I have written earnestly, almost in the style of an advocate, because in ten years' experience I have seen the best results from such a use of books as I have described. Tlie two hours' work done regularly every Saturday in this library by an average of forty or fifty stu- dents, does them more good than any two hours' instruction they re- ceive through the week. It is work which develops their powers, and begets the habit of independent research and the love of books. The questions which have been suggested by the lectures of the week are then chased down ; books are selected to be consulted at the library, or drawn for reading at home during the coming week. All the advan- tages I have spoken of above, and many more, I have seen growing out of this privilege in the library over and over again. And further, it is a noteworthy fact that this privilege is sought and this work done by the best students. It is a proper supplement to the prescribed curricu- lum of studies, for men who are capable of extra work. In no case lias it been suspected of dissipating the energies and causing a neglect of other regular duties. The injury to books is mainly that of misplace- ment, which with suitable instruction and safeguards, can be reduced almost to zero. The temptation to carry away books without permis- sion is probably diminished rather than increased, as the privilege of using them is extended. INSTRUCTION BY LIBRARIANS. Having prepared the library for use and considered the privileges to be granted, we come now to the assistance needed. Is it practicable, or even possible, to give such a systematic course of instruction as to make a considerable number of every college class bookish men. Everybody knows that some men have a certain facility with books which others fail, even with their best efforts, to acquire. I do not refer to book- worms, those men to whom reading is an end in itself, whose minds are mere channels for a stream of other men's thoughts. I mean the men whom reading makes full, to use the thought of Bacon; men who have a kind of intuition of what to read and how to read it. Clearly, what- ever can be done in this direction can be done best in connection with the library; and it is not certain but it cau be done most successfully by the librarian. I am aware that a librarian is not always ranked among the principal educators of a college or university. In-the large institutions, his business qualifications are what chiefly recommend him; in the smaller ones he is often a regular professor, having charge of a department of instruction, and is expected, as librarian, only to look after and direct the work which is done by assistants. In either case, his character as librarian requires of him no instruction. He is a College Library Administration. 521 curatorof the library, rather thao — what Emerson says is much wanted — a "professor of books.'' But let us look at some of the things which might be done, which doubtless are done, in a loose and irregular way, and consider whether there is not a demand for regular and systematic instruction in the use of the library. First. A brief course of lectures on books; how to get them, how to keep them, and how to use them, would come from a scholarly librarian in a systematic way with much better effect than in desultory talks from the heads of different departments. It is in his power to know the reading habits of students much better than any one else. "Are you not reading too rapidly to remember what is in these books ?" said I to a student once, who was taking and returning heavy volumes of his- tory in rapid succession. "You may examine me upon them, if you please," wa^ the somewhat curt but satisfactory reply. Xow, why not let the librarian follow up his systematic instruction by constant personal examination, which is the most successful of all teaching ? Let this be understood, by officers and students alike, as part of his regular duties. Let students feel individually under his direction and influence in their reading and investigation, and let him also be held in som3 degree responsible for their success in this work. If inexperienced young men are, as a rule, most likely to fall into errors and make blunders in their use of a library, and thereby lose much time, or become discouraged altogether — and it cannot be denied that they are — then there is great need of the work I have tried to describe. And further, the need appears much greater when we count up the number of students whose only blunder in relation to the library is that they pass and repass it for four or more years without ever making one serious effort to make it serviceable to themselves. Hitherto I have spoken only in general terms of the importance of doing something to encourage reading, correct mistakes, and so make a library attractive and useful to students from the beginning of their course. I cannot leave this part of the subject without giving two or three examples of what has constantly to be done in addition to public lectures in carrying out this plan, and what, moreover, can be done well only by a man who is on the spot when the books are consulted or se- lected for reading, let him be librarian or professor. It is assumed all the while that the assistance is to be given, as is always the case among students, to young men of little experience with books. First of all, one has to explain the importance and the mode of learning something of a book before reading it. Before spending many hours over a book, an in- telligent reader should know either its reputation and its place among books in its department; or, if anew book, something of its author; or, if new, and the author unknown or undistinguished, he should be ac- quainted with these facts as well, and then read it in some degree as a critic. By learning these things first, he knows whether the book is to be received entire as a possession to him for all time, or to be subjected 522 Public Libraries in the United States. to eliminations and restrictions. How many young students of law sit down to Blackstone with the best intentions, delighted with the first few lectures, which present general principles, and then wade on day after day through all the technicalities and intricacies of English common law, and awaken to the fact, when it is all ov^er, that what they have been reading is to them, and to the writers of to-day, hi^s- tory. So it is generally, in history, science, art, or literature, one must have his eyes open to a book before he reads it. This is not impractica- ble; such questions as who the author was, what were his qualifica- tions for writing, his purpose in writing this particular book, the side of the questions involved towards which his religion, or his politics, or his philosophy would incline him, can nearly always be got up by ref- erence to a few cyclopedias and dictionaries. The further questions regarding the judgment which the reading world has passed upon a book, and the general effect it has produced in its department of thought, questions which the most careful reading could never answer, are of sufficient importance to the scholarly reader to justify a more difficult research. I will not pursue this subject further here, as I have treated it more fully in another place,^ and pointed out the demand for a library manual which should contain these facts about books in the form of a cycloptedia. In the absence of any such manual, however, the librarian must point out, by general instruction and by private assistance, how they are to be found, both from sources outside of the books and by the earmarks of the books themselves. Another example of what a college librarian has always before him to do, and in which his service may be of very great value, is found in the investigation of subjects. A theme is chosen or assigned for an essay, which to the student becomes as real a subject for careful investi- gation as if on his discussion of it depended the faith of a church or the fate of an empire. Should he consult an officer of instruction, he would very likely get a good list of works to be read through or consulted upon it, with perhaps some opinion as to their respective merits ; and this would generally be all. He would get no idea of order in his reading, nor learn how to hunt up material under enigmatical titles, nor how to exhaust his resources on any point whatever. What he wants, to en- courage him in doing such work well, is to be shown how to take hold of it in the right way and do it easily. He wants not results but a method. Let the librarian take up his subject in one or two cases, and show him how to put questions to a library. Take a subject, for example, say coinage. Let the librarian turn it over as if it were new to him. It is historical, we must look over the books on general history ; it is an art, the cases on the useful arts; it is very ancient, the cases on antiquities; it fur- nishes a circulating medium, the cases on political economy and finance; these books have been reviewed, the index to periodical literature; it has been the subject of essays, the index to pamphlets and miscellaneous ' See Ubapter XXXI V, Titles i)f Hooks.— Editors. College Lihrarij Administration. 523 literature. Get this analysis out of the student if possible, and then show him how many different parts of the library must be laid under contribution for the exhaustive study of one subject. Accept or reject or hold subject to criticism as you go the books which bear upon it, ac- cording as they appear to be good, bad, or doubtful. Such a method •cannot be taught by rules; it must be seen a few times to make it easy. I remember reading a passage some years ago in Littell's Living Age which illustrates this subject admirably. It is worth while to turn to it. The subject is University Education in Germany. It is notliing uncommon for the lectures, even public lectures, to be given at the pro- fessor's house. Five or six of us attended f^hrenberg's lectures. He received us in his study, in the midst of his microscopes, his books, and his menagerie of infusoria bottled in tubes. We woiUd talk about the last meeting, ask the explanation of some matter which would cause a long digression ; in looking for one creature in the tubes, we would come upon another, and the lecture had to be begun anew ; or else it was some obscure reference that had to be explained, and we rummaged through the library, and the result was that, with all their interruptions and irregularities, these lectures were most excellent and profitable. . . . The professor teaches as he works ; his courses are onlj"^ an exposition of his method. He explores and shows how a subject is to be explored. It has been said that a German professor " works aloud" before his pupils ; the phrase is very accurate. Students need the continual oversight of the librarian also in apply- ing the common rule of Bacon, that " some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." The rule sounds well. A young man gets it and thinks he has a key to the use of a library. The better class soon learn that it is like reading a general rule to an apprentice about the relative use of the different tools in his chest. The question is who, and what, and when? AVhat is to be tasted by one is to be chewed and digested by another; and the same person must taste a given book at one time and chew and digest it at another. Mistakes here are most likely to beget loose and careless habits of reading, which in the end destroy a taste for it altogether. Large plans are likely to be laid out which can never be followed ; great expectations to be formed which cannot be realized. Some professor, who has devoted his life to a subject, gives a lecture full of enthusiasm, sets forth men and events and principles like a panoramic view; goes over authors and books with his praise or censure, and sends a score of yoang men to the library fully determiued to read all they can get on that subject. The professor even thinks his eloquence is doing much for the reading habits of his class. Next week another professor moves the class in a similar manner on another subject, and another class of books is demanded. Many drift thus from book to book, leaving all unfinished. Others resolve to follow the rule sometimes given to stu- dents : "Finish every book which you begin — either as a penalty for rashly beginning it, or because you ought to be, and may become, inter- ested in it." After laying aside in this way a few unfinished works, or paying the penalty of beginning them, a large percentage, even of those 524 Public Libraries in the United States. who are disposed to read, drop off from the library, simply because they have not counted the time required to chew and digest a book. . They have no plan. One or two volumes properly selected and thoroughly read, and a score of others properly tasted of, would perhaps have been practicable in each case ; and this process repeated, as occasion should require, throughout the course of study, would accomplish very much. How many of the elaborate histories, such as Grote's Greece, Gibbon's Kome, and the Pictorial England, have had their first volumes at the binder's over and over again, just because students, guided by the unqualified references of the professors, have resolved upon reading these great works through by course. Had they sat down beforehand and counted the cost, they would either have taken some other advice, or provided time to get beyond the first volume. Xow, it may be said that all this work belongs to the several depart- ments of instruction, a"nd that each officer must see that the students read aronnd his own lectures. The answer is, very well, if they will only do it regularly and systematically and give all the assistance required, following the student till he has the right books, and has opened them at the right jilaces; and if they will make a business of directing every one who needs it, whether he requests it or not, and of inspiring him with a love for a library, not in one department only, but as a whole; and if they will work upon a plan, so as not to cross each other's track, one advising to read Grote and another to finish it as a penalty ; in short, if a dozen men or more will do what requires the care and thought and personal attention of a single man. But everybody knows how that work is done which it is the duty of many to do, but for which no one is made responsible. It may be further objected that, in so many and so diverse depart- ments of learning, no one man is capable of giving advice as to what and how to read. The objection, as soon as started, shows the impor- tance of- its being done somehow, for all the better class of students are expected to choose and to read something in all these departments. Now, no man is able in his intercourse as a teacher with several hun- dred students to reach his ideal of usefulness in any sphere. The instruction of the most scholarly librarian will not be perfect, but it will be much better than no regular instruction at all. Let him be chosen as an educator ; let it be his recognized duty to do this work for students as well as he can, to make a study of it for life, as a pro- fessor of Greek studies language; let him make reputation for himself and for his college by it; give him credit when he is able to make use- ful reading attractive to young men, to win them over, from the habit of gazing listlessly at the backs of books, to an intelligent and pas- sionate longing to learn all that it is possible for them to know of and about them ; give him such duties and such rewards, and though some mistakes will be made, very much good will be accomplished. College Library Administration. 525 INSTRUCTION BY TEACHERS. When the librarian has done all he can, there will remain much instruc- tion to be given by the teachers. I have assumed that the professor shouM know something of all the books which touch his course of instruction, and that it is his business to use them, not as the librarian does, to teach what a library is and how to use it, but as a part of the apparatus of his department. His object is science, or language, or some other part of the general course of study. The books are his tools ; students are using them as well as he. In their hours of free access to the shelves scores of questions will arise about books and their contents which will crop out in his lecture room. He must pass judgment upon them cor- rectly, answering questions relative to authorship, contents, style, lit- erary or scientific value, when perhaps he least expects them to come up. Besides, he will be expected to direct the reading on all the more technical and difficult points connected with his instruction, where the librarian, from the general nature of his work, or his lack of minute reading, must necessarily fail. In doing this it is best, so far as pos- sible, to refer to the library. It is not enough to mention works which he happens to possess himself, but which the student is ill able to buy. ISTor is it sufficient to Yefer to any books in the library that contain the subjects under investigation. He should be able to lay his hand at once upon the very best material that can be had for the purpose of the stu- dent, and to state why it is the best. Otherwise he does injustice to the man who is to spend his time in the reading. Let any professor who would encourage reading, and make the library supplement his instruction with the best effect, undertake to do it, not by public lec- tures, however eloquent, but by making the best references in the proper way, in the first j)lace ; and also by meeting his students singly or in small classes in the alcoves, and guiding them patiently through all their most difficult investigations. CHAPTER XXVII LIBRARY CATALOGUES. BY C. A. CUTTER, Librarian of thr Lofton Athen I. What kind of cataloguk : general remarks : 1. autiiou-catalogue ; 2. subject-catalogue: a. general remarks; 6. classed ; c. dictionary ; d. alpha- RETICO-CLASSED ; €. COMBINED; /. SOMK OTHERS; g. COJIPARISON ; h. SOME OTHER POINTS.— II. Whether to print: 1. advantages and disadvantages of both courses; 2. some details of >l\nagement. — III. Tables: 1. classification op catalogues; 2. comparison of catalogues; 3. cost of printing; 4. chrono- logical list of American catalogues. I.— WHAT KIND OF CATALOGUE. It is fortunate for those wlio have the use of a library if their number is so small and their character so high that they can be admitted to the shelves and select their books on actual examination. As that is often not the case, a catalogue becomes necessary, and, even when it is the case, if the books are numerous there must be some sort of guide to insure the quick finding of any particular book. The librarian can furnish some assistance, but his memory, upon which he can rely for books in general use, is of no avail for those which are sometimes wanted very much, although not wanted often. And a librarian without a cata- logue would be utterly overpowered by the demands arising with a large circulation. In a library used entirely for desultory reading, like most private circulating libraries, and many town libraries, the catalogue may be very simple ; as soon as the books begin to be used for study it must become more elaborate. The latter is alone worth considering, for of the few difficulties of the simpler plan the greater part will be found in the more complex.^ A catalogue is designed to answer certain questions about a library^ and that is the best which answers the most questions with the least trouble to the asker. It may, however, for reasons of economy, decline to answer certain classes of inquiries with very little practical loss of utility, and different libraries may properly make dilierent selections 'It iiiaj' be as well to say now that iii the following pages reference is had chiefly to our larger town and city, and to our college libraries. Many statements would be totally inapplicable to the great European libraries, which count their funds by ten thousands and their volumes by hundred thousands, and many things need modification with reference to very small town libraries ; but it is impossible to hedge round every sentence with the necessary limitations, and the reader is requested to bear this note in mind. 52G Lihyanj Catahgiies. 527 of questions to be answered. There are two sets of probable inquiries, tUe first asking what books the library contains; the second relating to the character of the books. Of the first set the most common and the most important — those which a catalogue must answer or be an im- perfect guide — are these : 1st, Has the library such a book by a certain author ? Have you Bell on the Brain ? Have j'ou John Brent, by Theodore Wiuthrop ? 2d. What books by a certain author has it f What other books by Wiuthrop have you '? 3d. Has it a book with a given title ? Have you John Brent ? 4th. Has it a certain book on a given subject P Have you a pamphlet on the bull-frog, by Professor — I've forgotten his name? otb. What books has it on a given subject ? Have you anything on glaciers ? What have you on philosophy ? I wish to see all the books. 0th. What books has it in a certain class of literature?. What plays have you ? What poems ? 7th. What books have you in certain languages 1^ What French books have you ? How well provided are you with German liter- ature ? 8tb, &c. Similar questions may be asked with reference to certain other classes, as is shown in Part II, p. 10-12, in a note on classification, but they are of less importance, and may be passed by now. The enumeration of the systems that have been devised to answer these questions would be as long as Polonius's list of plays. We may have a catalogue of authors or of subjects, or both, or of authors with a sub- ject-index, or of subjects with an author-index, and each of these may be divided into two varieties by the presence or absence of title-entries, and lists of kinds of literature introduce another source of variation.* 'The answer to the first question would of course be included in the answer to the second ; the question itself, however, is made with a different purpose. In the first case, the inquirer wauts a definite book, and uses the author's name as a clue to find it by ; in the second, he is interested in a particular author, and wishes to select one of his works. - It will be seen that the word subject is used, as it commonly is in this connection, to indicate on the side of the book the theme, whether special or general, on which the author wishes to give information, and on the part of the inquirer the matter on which he is seeking information. It does not seem to me desirable to extend its use so as to include classes of literature, and confound the fourth, fifth, and sixth questions, still less to make it synonymous with title, as some cataloguers appear to do. ^ The seventh question is not really distinct, but is included in previous ones, accord- ing to the purpose with which it is asked. A man may want a book with a certain llavor — the French flavor, the German flavor. With this meaning the question might be included in the sixth. Or he may want to study the language ; in that case the language is his subject; and books in a language being practically on it for his pur- pose, the question is included in the fifth. '1. Author-catalogue. One in which the entries are arranged alphabetically according to 528 PuUlc Libraries in the United States. ISTow, as it is evident that a subject-catalogue by itself can answer the first and third questions (have you a book by a certain author or with a certain title) only when the book has an unmistakable subject by which it can readily be found, and even then answers in a roundabout way, and as it cannot answer the second (what books have you by a certain author) at all unless one knows the subjects of all that writer's books, this kind of catalogue may be at once rejected. And as an author-catalogue by itself cannot answer the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth questions, (for how many persons will look through a list of 20,000 or even of 1,000 titles to see if there is among them a book with a given title or on a given subject ?) this kind of catalogue is equally unsatisfactory. An author-and-title cata- logue with a subject-index, or an author-catalogue with a title- and sub- ject-index, or a subject-catalogue with an author-and-title index, answers the first four questions; and if it contains lists of classes of literature, (as fiction, poetry, German literature,) it answers all seven. The chief difference between them is this : in the first a book is entered in full once under the author and once briefly under the title ; and then appears briefly in the index under as many subjects as the book may treat of. In the third the book is entered in full under as many subjects as it treats of, and appears only twice briefly in the index, once under the author's name and once under the title. There is yet another — the author-, subject-, title-, and form- catalogue — which answers all the seven questions. In this the full entries are made both under author and subject and form, and perhaps under title. They will differ a little, it may be, because under author should be given all the bibliographical description of the book, and special pains taken to identify the author, whereas under the subject these details can be omitted or abridged, and their place taken by greater fullness of title, or notes designed to show how the book handles its topic. And the author-entry would give in full the contents of collections of essays, whereas in the subject-entry only those parts of the contents would be mentioned which concern that particular subject. The entry under the the names of theauthors, (a dictionary of authors.) 2. I'iile-catalogue. One in which the entries are arranged alphabetically according to some word of the title, especially the first, (a dictionary of titles.) 3. Subject-catalogue. One in which the entries are arranged according to the subjects of the books, either alphabetically by the words selected to denote those subjects (dictionary arrangementj or philosophicallj' according to the scientific relations of the subjects, (logical, classed, or classified arrangement, the sub- jects being formed into classes.) 4. Form-catalogue. One in which the entries are arranged according to the forms of literature and the lauguages in which the books are written, whether alphabetically or according to the relations of the forms to one another. 5. (?) catalogue. One in which the entries are made according to the kind of people for whom the books are designed. To this belong the classes "Juve- nile literature" and " Sunday-school books," which include works on various subjects and in various forms, and often have a subclassification by subjects. Either of the first two, or of the second two when not classed, or a combination of two or more of them, is a rf(c<('o«ar^ catalogue. The third, or the last three together, when logically arranged, forms a classified catalogue. The fourth is often published in a single or with two or three classes, or in combination with the fifth, (the unnamed catalogue,) as a class-list of "Novels," or of "Drama and Poetry," or of "Fiction and Juveniles." Library Catalogues. 529 title would be very brief, and miolit for economy of room be reduced to a mere reference. But setting tiiese minor variations aside, tlie dis- tinguisbiug characteristic of this catalogue, which makes it sui)erior to the others, is that the inquirer tinds under subject as well as under author a sufficiently full title, and the details which show him whether the book is old or new, in what language it is printed, and where and when, whether it is compendious or voluminous, portable or not.' For these facts, often of great importance to Irim in choosing his book, he does not have to turn to another part of the catalogue. Now, such turn- ing, although it is a slight matter for a single book, becomes intolerably wearisome afler a few repetitions, and most peoi)le would rather go away without the information which they want than take the tronble to search it out at such an expense of time and perseverance. Indeed, it is impossible to compare titles so widely separated. While one is looking for and at a tenth he forgets the first five or six. And the loss of time, which can be borne when one is using a single printed volume, would be utterly unendurable with the complete catalogue of a large library, especially if in manuscript. The method upon which the author and title parts of the catalogue shall be made is tolerably well settled except in regard to some details. But in regard to the subject i)art there is no such agreement. Two great principles of arrangement dispute precedence, the logical and the alpha- betical, and the adherents of the latter are divided as they prefer class or specific entry. Among the logically arranged (classed or classified) catalogues there is a difference, according as they are more or less minutely subdivided. The larger the collection of titles the greater need of division. For it is plain that if a hundred thousand titles are divided into only sixty or sevent;^ classes, some of the larger divisions will contain several thou- sand, all of which the impatient reader must look through to find what he wants. Generally an attempt is made to bring all books under a strictly philosophical system of classes, with divisions and subdivisions* arranged according to their scientific relations. It is a very attractive plan. The maker enjoys forming his system, and the student fancies he shall learn the philosophy of the universe while engaged in the simple occui)ation of hunting for a book. And there are more real advantages. One who is pursuing any general course of study finds brought together in one part of the catalogue most of the books that he needs. He sees not merely books on the particular topic in which he is interested, but in' immediate neighborhood works on related topics, suggesting to him courses of investigation which he might otherwise overlook. He finds 'These things of course are of no iin[)ortauce in a title-entrj', the object of which is simply to enable a man to find a book which he already knows of, not to select one among many. Imprints under the author are indispensable in the interior working of a library, to avoid duplicates, identify copies, etc. But if I were obliged to choose solely for the public between giving imprints with authors only and with subjects only, I should choose the latter. 34 E 530 Public Libraries in the United States. it au assistance to have all these works spread out before him, so that he can take a general surv^ey of the ground before he chooses his route ; and as he comes back day after day to his particular part of the cata- logue he becomes familiar with it, turns to it at once, and uses it with ease. The same is true of the numerous class who are not making any investigation or pursuing any definite course of study, but are merely desultory readers. Their choice of books is usually made from cer- tain kinds of literature or classes of subjects. Some like poetry or essays or plays ; others like religious works or jihilosophical works or scientific works, not caring about the particular subject of the book so much as whether it be well written and interesting. To these persons it is a convenience that their favorite kind of reading should all be contained in one or two parts of the catalogue, and freed from the confusing aduiixture of titles of a different sort. An alphabetical list of specific subjects is to them little more suggestive than an alphabetical list of authors. It is true that by following up all the references of a dictionary catalogue under Theology, for example, a man may construct for himself a list of the theological literature in the library ; but to do this requires time and a mental effort, and it is the characteristic of the desultory reader that he is averse to mental effort. \A^hat is wanted by him and by the busy man when now and then he has the same object, is to find the titles from which he would select brought together within the compass of a few pages; few, that is, in comparison with the whole catalogue. It may be 500 pages, but 500 pages are better than 10,000.^ The classed catalogue is better suited also than any other to exhibit the richness of the library in particular departments. It is true that no system of classification can bring together all related works. The arrangement that suits one man's investigations is a hiu- derance to another's; and in the act of bringing into juxtaposition sub- jects that have many points of resemblance, the classifier separates them from those with which they have fewer characteristics in common. But this very statement shows that the majority of general inquirers will be assisted by good classification, and only a minority disappointed. For the more points of likeness any two subjects have, the more chance is there that many men will be interested in both at once; and the more they differ, the greater is the improbability that any one will wish to study them together.^ On the other hand, there are some disadvantages. A large part of 1 The probable extent of the catalogues of the uext generation. When the special catalogues become so large, the actual advantage for the purpose we have been consid- ering is lessened. The very size becomes as bewildering as the confusion of an alpha- betic catalogue, and the lists of the latter under specific headings, being very full, will answer somewhat the same purpose. -For example, all classifiers would put the history of Painting not under History but under Art; yet most would put the history of culture, which includes the history of painting and the other tine arts, under History, and not under Art. Lihrarij Catalof/ucs. 531 the public are not pursuing general investigations. Tlie^* want to find a particular book or a particular subject quickly ; and the necessity of mastering a complex system before using the catalogue is an unwelcome delay or an absolute bar to its use. Its advocates think that this diffi- culty may be in great measure removed by prefixing to the catalogue a full and clearly printed scheme of classification. "Anyone at all familiar with systems," they say, "can, in nine cases out of ten, see at a glance where his subject occurs in the scheme. An ignorant man will be puzzled by any arrangement. His untrained eye cannot find words in a dictionary or names in a directory, so that this plan is no worse for him than another." But experience shows that even to the scholar this difficulty, which comes at the very outset of each man's search in the catalogue, and recurs every time he consults it until he becomes familiar with its plan, this necessity of generally looking twice to find one thing, and often not finding it readily, is undeniably irksome, and produces a feeling of distaste out of all proportion to the real trouble occasioned. And it unfortunately happens that in most schemes of classification yet constructed these difficulties attach to some very common subjects. There are certain questions which a man expects to find difficult of in- vestigation. He does not think ill of a catalogue which delays or even disappoints him in regard to these; but when, for some very simple thing, with which he is familiar, he has to hunt, to hesitate, and to lose time, he is provoked. Besides, the difficulty is not merely in mastering the system, but in applying it, which, in many departments of science, demands consider- ably more knowledge than most men have. Suppose one wants to find something about the badger; in a minutely subdivided catalogue it might be found under Science, division Natural History, subdivision Zoology, group Vertebrates, class Mammals, subclass Monodelphia, sec- tion Carnivora, and so on, or under some other hierarchy of classes. A man may want a book on the badger without being much of a naturalist, but he could hardly find it in such a catalogue unless a naturalist should help him.^ It is tbis which has made these catalogues so unpopular, and the unpop- ularity is increased by the want of agreement among classifiers, which prevents any system becoming common enough to be known to every- body and to seem the only natural one. And the occasional vagaries 'Note that this is a difBculty in the nature of things, and applies also to an alpha- betical catalogue, if it has no special hook on the badrjer. Then a man must look in general works for an account of his animal, and in order to use either catalogue for that purpose, he must know or find out to what general class the badger belongs, other- wise he would not know v/hether to ask for a work on reptiles or mammals, articu- lates or vertebrates. But this, like many other theoretical objections, does not much impair the usefulness of a catalogue. A man generally does know some of the includ- ing classes of his subject. In the present case he would know that the badger is an animal, and would look for it in somer zoological encyclopaedia. By the description there he would find to what subclasses it belongs, and how he could pursue his iuqnir- ies farther, if he chose. 532 PuUic Libraries in the United States. of otherwise excellent catalogues have had their influeuce iu bringing: classification into disrepute. It would take the average man some time to get accustomed to look for the Rollo books under Art, and Mother Goose's Melodies under Prose Fiction, where they belong in a system now before me. Nor is likely that many men would at first think of looking for railroad reports under Commercial Arts, or cook-books under Productive Arts, or navigation under Engineering, however proper such subordination may be. The fact is that the action of the mind in outlining a system and fltiiug books into it is very different from that of inquiring where, in a system already formed by another, a given topic will be treated. It is hard, apparently, for the system-makers to put themselves in the place of the public; otherwise they would have adopted more frequeutly than they have done the simple rem- edy which will almost remove all these difficulties — an alphabetical index of the subjects treated in the classed catalogue. By that an in- quirer is referred in an instant to the exact part of the catalogue where he will find the topic he wants. The catalogue of the Mercantile Library Company of Philadelphia (1850) has such an index, also the Newark Library Association, (1857.) and the California State Law Library, (1870.) Beyond these I cannot recall one. It should be noted, however, that an index is one of the prominent features of the excellent plan for num- bering books described by Mr. Melvil Dewey, in Chapter XXVIII of this report. The alphabetical index not occurring to or not pleasing those who were dissatisfied with classification, they adopted the alphabetical cata- logue, and, naturally enough, in its extreme form, the dictionary plan,^ in which the attempt to subordinate individuals to classes, and classes to one another, is abandoned, and the subjects, special or general, are arranged like the words in a lexicon. Thus, if a book treats of natural history, it is put under that heading ; if it treats of zoology alone, that word is the rubric ; if it is confined to mammals, it will be found under Mammals; and, finally, if one is looking for a treatise on the elephant, he need not know whether that animal is a mammal; he need not even be sure that it is an animal; he has merely to be sufficiently acquainted with his alphabet to find the word Elephant, under which will appear all the separate works that the library contains on that subject. Nothing, one would think, can be more simple, easy to explain, easy and expedi- tious to use than this. No matter what he wants he will find it at once, 2)rovidcd (1) that the library has a book on just that subject, and (2) that it has been entered under the very word which he is thinking of. If these conditions are not fulfilled, however, there is more trouble. If (1) the library has no book or article sufficiently important to be cat- alogued on that topic, he must look (a) in some more comprehensive work in which he will find it treated, (as the history of Assyrian art is related in the histories of Art,) in which case he will get no help what- Ou the use of the name '' dictionary," see p. 560. Library Catalogues. 533 ever from any dictionary catalogue^yet made, ia finding the general work, but raust trust to his own knowledge of the subject and of or.linary classification to guide him to the including class; or [h) there may be something to his purpose in less general works, (as books on Iron bridges or Suspension bridges might be better than nothing to a man who was studying the larger subject Bridges,) but in this case also he will very seldom get any assistance from dictionary catalogues, and must rely entirely uport his previous knowledge of the possible branches of his subject. If (2) the books which the library has are entered under some other word than the one which is in his head, (under Development, or Evolution, or Origin of species, or Species, when he is thinking of Darwinism,) nine- tenths of the dictionary catalogues will again fail him ) he must rack his brain to recall all the synonymous names of his topic. And even in those which relieve him of this trouble by giving cross- references, he must look twice, first for his own word, and then for the word to which he is referred from that. The plan is undeniably convenient, but its advocates have in general so entirely overlooked these defects that they have made no attempt to remedy them. A minority have had recourse to cross-references, which almost remove evil No. 2; but evil No. 1 generally remains untouched There is considerable variety among dictionary catalogues, which may or may not have imprints under the subject-entries and contents under the authors; which may have cross-references or not; which may limit each title to a single line, or abandon such procrustean attempt and allow whatever space circumstances demand; which may include classes of literature or not; which may make subject entries merely under words taken from the title of the book, as proposed by Panizzi and Crestadoro and practiced by nearly all; or may take the subject of the book as a heading, whether expressed in the title or not. This latter difference is of more importance than may appear at first sight. The catalogues which limit themselves rigidly to the title abandon all attempt at com- pleteness, since many titles do not even pretend to express the subject of the book, and many signally fail in the attempt. The history of dictionary catalogues in regard to this matter is worthy of note. The early catalogues were all either of authors or classed. Those which, like Georgi's Europiiischer Biicher-Lexicon, (1742,) were by authors, (with title-entry, of course, for anonymous books,) were said to be "Nach Ordnung Dictionarii."' The next step was to make the title-entries not merely for anonymous books but for all which bad any good word in the title from which to refer, the object being to provide a means by which any one who had heard of a book could easily find it. If it was thought of at all, it was apparently considered as a subsidiary merit that one could find by aid of these entries what the library coii- ^This is the earliest use of the coiuparisoQ I have met with. Lexicon is a very com- moa name for an alphabetical list of authors, (Moser, 1740, Jcpcher, 1750, Felder, lfi2'\ Kayser, 18:?4.) Danz's Wurterbuch (1843) is a subject catalogue. 534 Public Libraries in the United States. tained on certain subjects. Niueteeu such catalogues were made in this country between 1815 and 1854, the comparative number of entries under subject-words gradually increasing. lu 1854 the Boston Mercan- tile Library jiublished a catalogue made by Mr. W. F. Poole, upon a plan proposed by him in April of that year : Short titles liave beea adopted ; eacli work has been cataloj^ued under its author and under its suhject, and works of fiction have been placed under their titles as well as authors. The whole being arranged in one alphabetical series, a work can be easily found if either its author, subject, or title is known. Whatever advantages other sys- tems of cataloguing may have in particular instances, no other system appears to com- bine so many advantages for a circulating library like ours. — Preface. Each entry was limited to one line. The imprints were given under each entry whether author, title, or subject- word, but there icere no cross-references. This is the first complete triple asyndetic dictionary catalogue. From its economy of space, its facility of use, the ease with which any one who can copy accurately can make it, and its apparent completeness, it has been a favorite type with town and mercantile libra- ries. In these catalogues some word of the title is taken to make the entry under, as an indexer makes his reference from some word that he finds in the text of the work he is engaged upon. If there is no suitable word the cataloguer generally omits the work altogether ;^ sometimes chooses a word under which be thinks the book may be looked for, the idea alwaj s being that the inquirer is searching for some book that he already knows of, and this being merely another way of finding it in case the author's name has been forgotten. The entries are really, therefore, only title- entries. The idea of subject-entries, though probably always vaguely co-existent with this, is, as a distinct and dominant idea, of late growth. Consequently we cannot reproach these cataloguers with their want of system, their abundance of synonymous headings, their continually suffering works of precisely the same character to be separated by the mere chance of the use of a different word in the title, their not seldom jumbling together works of very different character which have the same word (used in different senses) in the title, with their frequent failure to enter books treating of several subjects under more than one, or with the total absence of cross-references. They are not generally intending to make subject-catalogues, by which they would probably understand classed catalogues. As they deal almost entirely with books in the English language there is nothing to prevent their confining themselves to the title. Foreign books lend themselves less readily to this kind of entry and suggest emancipation. In England the immediate predecessor of the dictionary catalogue was ' As late as 1869 a librarian explains tha plan of His catalogue, made in imitation of that of the Boston Public Library, thus : "Books are entered uuder the author's name, the title, and the subject where the title admits of it." And in 1875 a librarian writes, "I think the plan of a dictionary catalogue is to give specific information concerning the author, title, and subject of a book, so far as they appear on the title-page." Lihranj Catalofjues. 535 the series of London book lists, ending in the "Classified index to the London catalogue of books published in 181G-'5L" In this last, under thirty-four classes, references are arranged in the alphabetic order of the words of the title which expressed, or. were intended to express, the specific subject of the book. The object of the publisher was stated to be "facility of reference and simplicity of detail." The next step in facilitating reference was naturally to throw the classes into one alpha- bet. This was partly done the next year by Sampson Low in his " Index to the titles," contained in the " British catalogue of books published in 1854," with this explanation : Under the old system of classification the difficulty has always been to find a given title, although enabled to find a group of books published within a scientific definition. The preseut plan, it is hoped, will, by following out the author's own definition of his books, and presenting a concoudaxce of titles combine both of these advantages. Not a word about subject information, which indeed was not to be expected, the British catalogue being merely intended as a read}' guide for booksellers and others to the publisher's name and the price of each book. The phrase "concordance of titles" is noteworthy. Whether the plan was due to Mr. Low or his assistant, Mr. Crestadoro, does not appear. Eight years before this Mr. Panizzi had told the British Museum Commission : Those who want to consult a book of which they know only the subject, or to find what books on a particular subject are in the library, can obtain this information (as far as it can be obtained from a title-page, which is all that can be expected in a cata- logue) more easily from an index of matters to an alphabetical catalogue than by any other means. (Answer 9869.) In 1856, Mr. Crestadoro, in a pamphlet on " The art of making cata- logues of libraries," recommended (1) an iuventorial catalogue of un- abridged titles arranged in no order, but numbered ; and (2) referring to the inventory by these numbers, an alphabetical index of names and subjects. For this in'dex the headings were to be words from the iuven- torial title; and he would have the cataloguer supply in that title the author's name, the subject, and the "nature" of the book, (sermon, thesis, oratorio,) if the author had failed to do so himself in his title; moreover he would make as many references as there are words in the (amended) title worth referring from, whether those words be the author's or editor's or translator's or publisher's names, or indicate the subject or the "nature" of the book ; and lastly, he would make cross-references from synonymous headings (as Death penalty and Capital punishment) to one another, so that whichever one looked under, he would be guided to all that was under both ; also from class-headings to all the subordi- nate (or, as he calls them, partially synonymous) headings contained in the catalogue, (as from Agriculture to Aviary, Bees, Cattle, Cows, Dairy, Drainage, and many more.) The result of it all is that one has, under every word under which one is likely to look for a work, a reference to it, and under each subject a list of works about it, with references to 536 Public Libraries in the United States. those places in the index where other works treating of any of its parts, or of similar subjects, could be found. The cross-references bind to- gether the different parts of the catalogue, bring them into one system- atic whole, and make the catalogue constructively an alpbabetico- classed catalogue ; not actually, take notice, for it is one tiling to be told that somewhere else in the index is a title which you might like to see, and quite a different thing to have it displayed on the page before you. An admirable plan, which by the addition of imprints and fuller titles becomes the plan of the quadruple syndetic^ dictionary catalogue. It is worthy of note, however, that such additions to the title as he proposed were not made or referred from, and the " nature" lists were not inserted, nor were full cross-references made, in any catalogue published by him or similar to his in England. I called the plan admirable; it had, how- ever, one defect — its close adherence to the title. Crestadoro allo\\ed additions to be made for purposes of reference when there were lacuna; in the title, as all cataloguers direct the author's name or the date of publication to be supplied, but if the title named the subject, its choice of a name was final ; the cataloguer was obliged to follow it. The result is that works on precisely the same subject are separated, merely be- cause the phraseology of the title is different. Crestadoro was consist- ent and adhered to the title throughout. If, he says, works have been published uutler thre^ different names, as Gower, Eger- tov, and EUesmere, all belonging to the same author, it would be wrong to enter any of them otherwise than as they appear. Let each name, as it becomes a heading in the index, commence by a short entry of [i e., a reference to] all the other names be- longing to the same writer, and then let a full entry of the works that bear that name follow after. In this he is not followed by any of the dictionary cataloguers, but in applying the same ideas to subject-headings, he is. If works, they ap- pear to think, have been published under two or three different names, as Insects and JEnto)nolofjy^ or Free trade, Protection, and Tariff, it would be wrong to enter any of them otherwise than as they appear. They are not consistent. Every one sees that to separate an author's works and oblige the reader always to look in two or three places for them is to cause a greater inconvenience than to refer him, two times out of three, from the name he looks for to the name chosen by the cataloguer. "Why is it not likewise a greater inconvenience to be compelled always to look in two places for the works on a given subject than half the time to be referred from one heading to the other? We cannot always take the " author's own definition of his book." He knows what the subject is, but he may not know how to express it for cataloguing purposes ; he may even choose a title that misleads or is unintelligible, especially if his publisher insists on a striking title, as is the manner of publishers; 1 1 call that dictionary-catalogue connective or syndetic in which the different head- ings are thus bound together by cross-references. Library Catalogues. bSl aucl different writers, or even the same writers at different times, may choose different words to express the same thin<^.^ There is ''A defence of the Constitution of Great Britain," of which the author says, in his preface, " The object of my attack is a proposed measure called parliamentary reform." Here, if one is to be confined to the title, one would be obliged to violate the first principle of the dictionary catalogue, and give the book class-entry, as if it treated of the whole of the British constitution, instead of treating of one clearly defined part. Gallaudet's " PIjju of a seminary for the education of instructors of youth " would be lost if put under Seminary or In- structors, and it does not belong in the mass of general titles under Education. Its proper place is under Normal schools. It is urged that the author may have reasons for calling his book " Travels in the Holy Laud " rather than " Travels in Palestine," and that therefore we ought to have a heading Holy Land as well a head- ing Palestine, — n non sequitiir. That is a reason for copying his title and not altering it to suit our fancy, but it is no reason whatever for arranging it in one part of our catalogue rather than in another. For the title-entry we of course take the author's word ; for the subject- entry — made that our readers may not miss the book when they are studying the topic or topics of which it treats — it is much better to take the cataloguer's estimate of the subject. For each unit of inquiry let him select one lieading, (referring of course from all synonyms,) and entering under it all the books which iu his judgment belong there. But, it may be said, imposing jour own names on subjects is as objec- tionable as classification. How is one to know what heading to look for ? It is even worse than classification, for with that one does not have the whole catalogue to range through: the reader is limited by the first great divisions, and does not expect to find Painting in the section History, but in Art, and is sure that Zoology will be somewh«'re in that fourth of the catalogue which is devoted to Science ; whereas in a dic- tionary catalogue with arbitrary headings, there is no such preliminary narrowing of the field ; what one wants may be under Animals in the first letter of the alphabet, or under Zoblogy in the last. A seemingly strong objection, but of little practical account. In the first place, almost all in- dividual subjects, and the majority of general subjects, have single well- known names -, and in the case of pseudonyms or synonyms, he who is looking up any subject, not having a .particular book in mind, is at least as likely to look under the name which the cataloguer has cliosen as under any other. The heading is selected for the very reason that it is the most usual name of that topic or class of topics, the one under which most people would be likely to look; a vague and unscientific ' Take an example, one of thousands. Fromeut has written " Sur I'histoire de I'elo- quence judiclaire en France avant le 17e siecle," and also " L'eloquence et lo barreau dans la premiere moiti^ du 16e siecle." On the subject-word principle, the first of these ■will be entered under France, the second under Bar, yet they treat of almost pre- cisely the same topic. 538 Public Libraries in the United States. rule, perhaps, bnt a thoroughly useful one; for the result is that iu uinety-eight cases in a hundred there is no room for doubt where to look, and for the ninety-ninth the inquirer will hit the right heading at first, and therefore will be referred only once in a hundred inquiries. The inconsistency originated from not distinguishing between the wants of the man who seeks a certain book and remembers not merely in a vague way its subject, but the very word which the author has used to designate that subject, (who of course is best served by an entry under that word,) and the wants of the man who is studying a certain topic, (who is best served by the entry of all relating to that iu one place.) Both can be completely served only by double entry ; the eco- nomical dictionary-catalogue could not aftbrd double entry, and in choos- ing between the two it inclined towards the particular-book-seeker, and at first did not aflbrd the other even the help of a cross-reference. The Boston Public Library, under the guidance of Mr. Jewett, who had already made an excellent subject-index to the author catalogue of the Brown University Library, took the first steps, somewhat wavering steps, it is true, in a different direction. In its Lower Hall index (1858) it still retained title entries; it did not discard synonymous headings, — Gardening and Horticulture, Birds and Ornithology, both find a place in its columns, — but it did make an attempt to enter polytopicaP books under more than one head, and, greatest improvement of all, it made many cross-references from various subjects to others of a similar char- acter. In its style of printing, too, it implied a greater respect for sub- jects by putting the author's name first under subject-headings. As the library proceeded from its Lower Hall index, designed for popular use, to the Bates Hall index, and, six years later, to its supplement, the subject-idea gradually assumed more prominence. To return to England. In 1858, the year in which the Lower Hall catalogue was issue