Before our eyes would actually be shown the fact that books themselves
were not always of the material so familiar to us. Knowledge could be
extended far beyond the invention of the printing-press; metal, stone,
bricks, walls, pillars, and even the rocks of Nature’s own production
were used to convey information to succeeding generations. We should
be brought into close contact with the libraries of Assyria, Babylonia
and Chaldea, the three ancient empires of which the most is known.
There will be seen the palace-temple of Nippur, founded not later than
2280 B.C., the “tomes” classified and catalogued on shelves in the most
approved manner, some 200,000 clay bricks being exhibited.
The period of the Greeks would prove interesting, storing the archives
in the temples of the Gods, during the sixth century B.C. The Romans
would be pictured amassing their libraries as spoils of war; the first
to be established in 168 B.C. by Aemilius Paulus--the librarian
being a slave or freeman. Time progresses with the passing of the
film--Bishop Alexander is seen establishing the first Christian library
at Jerusalem in A.D. 212. The libraries later meet with a catastrophe,
being swept away by the invasion of the Goths and barbarians of the
Western Empire in the fifth century. From the fall of the Western
Empire to the Revival of Learning in the fifteenth century the
libraries passed into the hands of the monks, who were the collectors
of the Middle Ages. Here they could appear, working in the monasteries,
writing on parchment rolls. Every Benedictine house was equipped with a
library.
Interest quickens as the rapid growth of libraries in England becomes
apparent--at Jarrow, Lichfield, Whitby, and other places in the North
of England. The gradual developments from these libraries to early
town libraries, the various types, remodelled to suit the requirements
demanded by mental enlightenment, would all create interest and
pleasure.
The modern library would prove the most interesting. The shelves
upon shelves of books, closely classified, yet so simple, would evoke
admiration. The visual procession of saints and sages, warriors and
martyrs, the upholders of justice and freedom, as they stepped from
their places upon the shelves, would create wonderment.
Single shelves bridge the intervals of time; generations upon
generations of men congregate there.
From the film, the demonstration shows that through the medium of books
one can witness the plague of Athens or London, without contagion;
follow Caesar upon his marches; stand by the side of Agricola as he
regards Ireland and says that some day he will “go over and take
it”; rove the Dark Continent with Stanley, and learn the secrets
of artificial and natural flight with Sir Hiram Maxim. Similarly,
readers would transport their thoughts according to the nature of the
literature indulged in by them.
It could be shown that no matter what our tastes are, whether they be
inventive or whether we prefer to be in the company of a celebrated
humourist, the library will supply all wants.
Other activities in connection with the Library could be shown:
the travelling libraries setting out to the rural districts, the
door-to-door calls, the issuing of books to our isolated brethren.
Lastly, our work with the children in the juvenile library and reading
rooms, and the establishment of libraries in the schools.
What more material can the publicity exponent desire than lies here
within his reach--the film for perfect propaganda work? It only needs
to be utilized. By means of one human effort for the creation of such a
film, its duplication to any number, its use either in the libraries,
the local cinema, or public hall, the whole of the population of
England could be enlightened simultaneously or gradually, and the
efforts of the publicists would be rewarded by the Public Library being
placed in its right sphere as an educational institution; its use to
the community would be recognized and the demand upon its resources
would be increased.
We as librarians, custodians of books, must acknowledge the
significance of the cinematograph. We have in projectors a valuable
aid to our works as educators. The “movies” are the coming apostles of
education; in them we have the world in miniature, and its value as an
educative force can hardly be over-estimated. In a very few years every
well-equipped library will be installed with its own cinematograph
apparatus, and possibly its own asbestos-lined cinema-operating room,
as at Stockport, for instance.