THE FORMATION OF LIBRARIES.
In the widely extended and growing public interest in libraries for the
people, and in the ever increasing gatherings of books by private
collectors, I may be pardoned for some suggestions pertaining specially
to the formation of libraries. I do not refer to the selection of books,
which is treated in the first chapter, nor to the housing and care of
libraries, but to some important points involved in organizing the
foundation, so to speak, of a library.
The problem, of course, is a widely different one for the private
collector of an individual or family library, and for the organizers of a
public one. But in either case, it is important, first of all, to have a
clearly defined and well considered plan. Without this, costly mistakes
are apt to be made, and time, energy and money wasted, all of which might
be saved by seeing the end from the beginning, and planning accordingly.
Let us suppose that a resident in a community which has never enjoyed the
benefit of a circulating library conceives the idea of using every means
to secure one. The first question that arises is, what are those means?
If the State in which his residence lies has a Library law, empowering
any town or city to raise money by taxation for founding and maintaining
a free library, the way is apparently easy, at first sight. But here
comes in the problem--can the requisite authority to lay the tax be
secured? This may involve difficulties unforeseen at first. If there is a
city charter, does it empower the municipal authorities (city council or
aldermen) to levy such a tax? If not, then appeal must be made to a
popular vote, at some election of municipal officers, at which the
ballots for or against a Library tax should determine the question. This
will at once involve a campaign of education, in which should be enlisted
(1) The editors of all the local papers. (2) The local clergymen, lawyers
and physicians. (3) All literary men and citizens of wealth or influence
in the community. (4) All teachers in the public schools and other
institutions of learning. (5) The members of the city or town government.
These last will be apt to feel any impulse of public sentiment more
keenly than their own individual opinions on the subject. In any case,
the public-spirited man who originates the movement should enlist as many
able coadjutors as he can. If he is not himself gifted with a ready
tongue, he should persuade some others who are ready and eloquent talkers
to take up the cause, and should inspire them with his own zeal. A public
meeting should be called, after a goodly number of well-known and
influential people are enlisted (not before) and addresses should be
made, setting forth the great advantage of a free library to every
family. Its value to educate the people, to furnish entertainment that
will go far to supplant idleness and intemperance, to help on the work of
the public schools, and to elevate the taste, improve the morals, quicken
the intellect and employ the leisure hours of all, should be set forth.
With all these means of persuasion constantly in exercise, and
unremitting diligence in pushing the good cause through the press and by
every private opportunity, up to the very day of the election, the
chances are heavily in favor of passing the library measure by a good
majority. It must be a truly Boeotian community, far gone in stupidity
or something worse, which would so stand in its own light as to vote down
a measure conducing in the highest degree to the public intelligence.
But even should it be defeated, its advocates should never be
discouraged. Like all other reforms or improvements, its progress may be
slow at first, but it is none the less sure to win in the end. One defeat
has often led to a more complete victory when the conflict is renewed.
The beaten party gathers wisdom by experience, finds out any weakness
existing in its ranks or its management, and becomes sensible where its
greatest strength should be put forth in a renewal of the contest. The
promoters of the measure should at once begin a fresh agitation. They
should pledge every friend of the library scheme to stand by it himself,
and to secure at least one new convert to the cause. And the chances are
that it will be carried triumphantly through at the next trial, or, if
not then, at least within no long time.
But we should consider also the case of those communities where no State
Library law exists. These are unhappily not a few; and it is a remarkable
fact that even so old, and rich, and well-developed a State as
Pennsylvania had no such provision for public enlightenment until within
three years. In the absence of a law empowering local governments or
voters to lay a tax for such a purpose, the most obvious way of founding
a library is by local subscription. This is of course a less desirable
method than one by which all citizens should contribute to the object in
proportion to their means. But it is better to avail of the means that
exist in any place than to wait an indefinite period for a State
Legislature to be educated up to the point of passing measures which
would render the formation of libraries easy in all places.
Let the experiment be tried of founding a library by individual effort
and concert. With only two or three zealous and active promoters, even
such a plan can be carried into successful operation in almost any
community. A canvass should be made from house to house, with a short
prospectus or agreement drawn up, pledging the subscribers to give a
certain sum toward the foundation of a library. If a few residents with
large property can be induced to head the list with liberal
subscriptions, it will aid much in securing confidence in the success of
the movement, and inducing others to subscribe. No contributions, however
small, should fail to be welcomed, since they stand for a wider interest
in the object. After a thorough canvass of the residents of the place, a
meeting of those subscribing should be called, and a statement put before
them of the amount subscribed. Then an executive committee, say of three
or five members, should be chosen to take charge of the enterprise. This
committee should appoint a chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer, the
latter to receive and disburse the funds subscribed. The chairman should
call and preside at meetings of the committee, of which the secretary
should record the proceedings in a book kept for the purpose.
The first business of the Library committee should be to confer and
determine upon the ways and means of organizing the library. This
involves a selection of books suitable for a beginning, a place of
deposit for them, and a custodian or librarian to catalogue them and keep
the record of the books drawn out and returned. Usually, a room can be
had for library purposes in some public building or private house,
centrally located, without other expense than that of warming and
lighting. The services of a librarian, too, can often be secured by
competent volunteer aid, there being usually highly intelligent persons
with sufficient leisure to give their time for the common benefit, or to
share that duty with others, thus saving all the funds for books to
enrich the library.
The chief trouble likely to be encountered by a Library committee will
lie in the selection of books to form the nucleus or starting point of
the collection. Without repeating anything heretofore suggested, it may
be said that great care should be taken to have books known to be
excellent, both interesting in substance and attractive in style. To so
apportion the moderate amount of money at disposal as to give variety and
interest to the collection, and attract readers from the start, is a
problem requiring good judgment for its solution. Much depends upon the
extent of the fund, but even with so small a sum as two or three hundred
dollars, a collection of the very best historians, poets, essayists,
travellers and voyagers, scientists, and novelists can be brought
together, which will furnish a range of entertaining and instructive
reading for several hundred borrowers. The costlier encyclopaedias and
works of reference might be waited for until funds are recruited by a
library fair, or lectures, or amateur concerts, plays, or other evening
entertainments.
Another way of recruiting the library which has often proved fruitful is
to solicit contributions of books and magazines from families and
individuals in the vicinity. This should be undertaken systematically
some time after the subscriptions in money have been gathered in. It is
not good policy to aim at such donations at the outset, since many might
make them an excuse for not subscribing to the fund for founding the
library, which it is to the interest of all to make as large as possible.
But when once successfully established, appeals for books and periodicals
will surely add largely to the collection, and although many of such
accessions may be duplicates, they will none the less enlarge the
facilities for supplying the demands of readers. Families who have read
through all or nearly all the books they possess will gladly bestow them
for so useful a purpose, especially when assured of reaping reciprocal
benefit by the opportunity of freely perusing a great variety of choice
books, new and old, which they have never read. Sometimes, too, a
public-spirited citizen, when advised of the lack of a good cyclopaedia,
or of the latest extensive dictionary, or collective biography, in the
library, will be happy to supply it, thereby winning the gratitude and
good will of all who frequent the library. All donations should have
inserted in them a neat book-plate, with the name of the donor inscribed,
in connection with the name of the Library.
Many a useful library of circulation has been started with a beginning of
fifty to a hundred volumes, and the little acorn of learning thus planted
has grown up in the course of years to a great tree, full of fruitful and
wide-spreading branches.