The Library and Society Part 27

POSSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MANUFACTURING COMMUNITIES

"A love of reading as a keynote to broader culture," and how the librarian may guide reading by stimulating that love--a paper by Mrs. Sanders of the Pawtucket Public Library (long lovingly known among librarians as "Mawtucket of Pawtucket").

Minerva Amanda Sanders was born in Providence, R.I., Feb. 1, 1837. About 1876 she became librarian of the subscription library in Pawtucket, R.I., organized in 1852, which preceded the present free library; and when about six months later it was turned over to the town, she continued in charge, serving until her death, March 20, 1912. Mrs.

Sanders did notable pioneer work in her profession, especially in the adoption of free access to books and in work with children. This paper was read at the Thousand Islands Conference of the American Library a.s.sociation in 1887.

Sir John Herschel, in an address to the working people of Windsor and Eton upon the occasion of opening a public library for their use in 1839, said:--

"If I were to pray for a taste, which should stand me in stead under every variety of circ.u.mstances, and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through life, and as a s.h.i.+eld against its ills however things might go amiss and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste for reading.

"Give a man this taste and a means of gratifying it, and you can hardly fail of making a happy man, unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books.

"You place him in contact with the best society in every period of history; with the wisest, the wittiest, with the tenderest, the bravest, and the purest characters who have adorned humanity.

"You make him a denizen of all nations, a contemporary of all ages. The world has been created for him. It is hardly possible but the character should take a higher and better tone from the constant habit of a.s.sociating in thought with a cla.s.s of thinkers, to say the least of it, above the average of humanity.

"It is morally impossible but that the manners should take a tinge of good breeding and civilization from having constantly before one's eyes the way in which the best-bred and the best-informed men have talked and conducted themselves in their intercourse with each other.

"There is a gentle but perfectly irresistible coercion in a habit of reading well directed, over the whole tenor of a man's character and conduct, which is not the less effectual because it is really the last thing he dreams of.

"It cannot, in short, be better summed up than in these few words: It civilizes the conduct of men, and suffers them not to remain barbarians."

Recognizing this love of reading as the keynote to broader culture and a higher standard of morals, one by one, during the last half-century, libraries have been thrown open to the public that were before only accessible to the scholar (and often grudgingly even to him) and new libraries established, till, in every community, a free public library is as much a necessity to-day as its churches or its schools.

Even in the troublous days of the Revolution our forefathers were awaking to this demand, for in 1776 there were 29 "partially public libraries in the colonies"; in 1800 there were 49; in 1876 the number had increased to over 3,000; while to-day we number between 5,000 and 6,000 public libraries, comprising a total of over 20,000,000 volumes.

The influence of a public library is contingent upon many circ.u.mstances--its community, its finances, and largely upon its management. Possibilities which may be developed in one library, in another remain unnoticed; while something of equal importance is made of incalculable benefit to its own community. Thus, though working on a general principle, each library independently works out the problem of the greatest good to the greatest number of its own patrons. Happily, therefore, there is no cause for the rivalry and jealousies that disturb the harmony of so many fraternities.

It is my pleasure and privilege to live in a manufacturing community; to watch the development of practical ideas; to follow the progress of mechanical improvement, and witness with pride their results, for the distinctive feature of Pawtucket is the variety of its industries.

We remember with pride our parentage and the honor due to it; but surely when Samuel Slater, after a weary time of toil and discouragement, perfected the first power machinery for cotton spinning in this country, and with a pardonable pride saw it in successful operation in the first bona fide cotton mill in the United States, which still stands in the centre of our city--(I speak with authority though I am fully aware that this is a case parallel to the "Seven Grecian cities striving for Homer dead.")--When, as I said, this was accomplished in 1791, there was no power of the imagination that could have foreseen the change from the little mill village on the Blackstone River, with its few hundred inhabitants, to the present city of 25,000, 13,000 of whom are engaged in industrial pursuits, its 70 schools, its 600 manufacturing establishments, embracing the greatest variety of industries.

But Pawtucket is only one of many thriving manufacturing communities.

Waltham, Ma.s.s., the adoptive parent of the American Watch Co., which had in 1865 a population of but 7,000, now numbers over 16,000, with not less than 7,000 employes, 2,500 of whom alone are employed by the American Watch Co.

Lowell, Ma.s.s., according to the census of 1883, had a population of 66,000, one third of whom were employed in its 300 manufactories.

Manchester, N.H., with a population of 40,000, employs 15,000 persons in its 102 manufactories.

And so I might go on enumerating special statistics, but these are simply representative communities. It is sufficient for my purpose to say that there are in the United States about 254,000 manufacturing establishments, employing nearly 3,000,000 persons, at an average wage of $1.15 per working day.

It is to this great cla.s.s that we look for much of the prosperity of our country; for we find that the value of the product of the manufactures of the United States for the last ten years was $5,400,000,000.

It is also an important factor in our government, for the pride and principle of our country is "Vox populi, vox Dei."

In these days when skilled labor is at a premium, when issues are constantly arising requiring the best legislative ability, and the demand for both is far greater than the supply, how are we to meet it?

The reply comes from far and near, "Educate the people." Yes, educate the people! for they are very ready to be educated, many of them striving with a self-denial known only to themselves to give to their children the education that was denied them; our schools of to-day are showing good work from the sons and daughters of these parents, and its influence is blessing their homes.

But many are denied that privilege, and cannot afford to spare their children's wages for even the three months covering the compulsory law of education.

At the average wage a private library though small is unattainable; a newspaper may be a luxury indulged in. Where, then, is the royal road to learning? We do not hesitate to say the free public library is that long-sought highway. Then open wide the doors; let us stock our shelves with the best mechanical and scientific works; see that each craft is especially represented; supply the works on the leading questions of the day, also works pertaining to the civil government. In this we must not be partisan; these subjects must be considered in all their bearings, and in the broadest manner.

The biographies of working men who have attained honor by their practical worth and perserverance either in mechanical, civil, or military service must have a prominent place; history and travel will receive their share of attention; while we will not forget that the working man and woman must have some amus.e.m.e.nt and recreation, and that "strong meat" is not always desirable; our fiction department must be supplied with all that is bright, fresh, inspiring, and helpful, but nothing that will create a craving for greater stimulant, or tend in the least degree to weaken the moral character; for the office of a public library is to develop to its fullest capacity the best powers of a community. The extent of such development must depend largely upon the manner of its use.

Believing that the first entrance into a library should bring with it that most delightful sensation, the companions.h.i.+p of books, we have at our own library, contrary to the custom which now obtains, thrown open our shelves to the public, with the t.i.tle and name of author plainly printed on each volume so that literally "he who runs may read."

An old man said to me a few days since: "I get little time for reading now, but I love to come in and look at the books; they bring to mind many a thing that I read long ago, and I carry it with me all the day through; 'tis an education just to be with them." You say, How can this be done without loss of books?

Ten years of experience has taught us that there is a point of honor in these working people in this regard, with which we must come in contact to fully appreciate; we have lost no more books with our open system than other libraries with their closed shelves.

Understanding fully the value of a catalogue, especially a closely cla.s.sified one, to the scholar; to an uneducated man it is a labyrinth through which he gropes till in despair he either lays it aside or appeals for help. What is a catalogue to a man who asks for "a book on birds," and when we direct an attendant to give him a certain work on ornithology, quickly replies, "'Tis not that I want; 'tis a book on birds;" or the girl who wants an "adequate book" to furbish up her society manners. Not one in ten persons comes to a library with a definite object.

Roaming at will among the books, the sight of Blaikie's "How to get strong" has been the first step toward the recovery of health otherwise lost; John B. Gough's "Darkness and daylight" has brought in the same way happiness to a wretched household; while Andrew Carnegie's "Triumphant Democracy" has awakened in more than one citizen an interest and pride in his native or adopted country heretofore unknown.

There are the contents of the shelves to select from; no fear of any one leaving the library without a book; whereas, after presenting from the catalogue a list of books to be returned as "not in," he either "hasn't time," or "will make no further trouble," and pa.s.ses out unsatisfied.

I have already said that a possibility in one community may be impracticable in another; with us this open system has proved an unqualified success.

A community of this cla.s.s is not aggressive; on the contrary they are in a library rather shy. They should be met with prompt service, and the courtesy of the drawing-room. Make them welcome as they enter the library; it is their own; help them to cultivate a personal pride in it; ascertain their tastes, (many of them will surprise us), and call their attention to such works as will gratify them, gradually leading them to higher standards when it is necessary.

If they are seeking special subjects and need our help, let us exhaust our references. To "give to him that asketh" and "the Lord loveth a cheerful giver" should be a librarian's watchword.

What does it matter if half of the pleasures, and all of the ills of our patrons be poured into our ears? It only brings us nearer to them, and shows us how to be more helpful, and widens the influence of our work.

'Tis a wise community that enables its trustees to give to their librarian sufficient clerical a.s.sistance to allow him to mingle with the people, to learn their habits and tastes, to direct their reading (especially of the young), and to a.s.sist them in their researches; for we all know that peculiarly inherent weakness of human nature, to seek for information from the highest source, and to be better satisfied, even though the same help may be rendered us by a subordinate.

The reading-room in connection with a public library may be made an important agent in the education of a community, especially of its young men and children.

After a day of hard work, what are the homes to which many of these young men return? The accommodations of a cheap boarding-house, which means a room generally occupied by two or more, with barely furniture for necessity to say nothing of comfort.

What inducement has he to spend his evenings at home? Where, then, will he go? Into the street, to drift into the place offering the most attraction for the least money; alas! too often at the bitter cost of misery to himself and sorrow for his friends hereafter.

This, then is our work, to make our reading-rooms so attractive that they will be drawn hither. Have them well lighted, well heated and ventilated, supplied with the daily papers of our own and other cities, also the current magazines. We cannot afford to be n.i.g.g.ardly in this work. Let us supply our tables with ill.u.s.trated mechanical and art works, also the best literature of the day. The more freedom that we can give, the better the results. The young man will pa.s.s in and out at his pleasure, spending an hour or two with whatever pleases him best, till the reading-room largely takes the place of home, and reading becomes a part of his daily existence, the beneficent effect of which he will carry through life.

There are lying on our tables week after week by actual count 600 papers, magazines, and books, from "Baby Days" to "The Cathedrals of the World," free to the public. This has ceased to be an experiment, for during the ten years our losses have not amounted to $10; and there are days when nearly if not quite 500 persons sit at our tables.

The greater possibilities, however, are with our children, the future parents and guardians of our commonwealth. What are we doing for them as public libraries, as educators? Working hand in hand with the schools faithfully and well, as shown by the valuable and interesting reports published in the Library journal, without which we would know as little of the library work outside our own as we would know of the outside world without our newspaper. Long may it live!

Does our responsibility rest here? What of the mult.i.tude of waifs worse than homeless, without restraining or guiding influence, to be thrown into the community to swell the numbers of paupers and criminals, many of whom, yes, the majority of whom, have the same gentle instincts and latent ability as our own little ones so tenderly nurtured.

We may say this is the work of charitable inst.i.tutions and humane societies; not so; this is essentially our work. We call ourselves educators, and have the honor to be recognized as such; the work of a public library is to teach, to elevate, to enn.o.ble, there is no limit to its possible influence.

Must we wait, then, until our children (for they are all ours as a community) are fourteen years of age or upwards before we begin to teach them the first principles of right living, of mental growth, of love to their neighbor?

We maintain that we cannot begin too early, and that this is a part of library work from which we get the greatest percentage of reward. Again I ask, What are we doing for these children, the future pride or dishonor of our communities?

Brockton, Ma.s.s., has a reading-room to which children are admitted, and which they are encouraged to visit, so well patronized that it will soon double its seating capacity.