Excerpt from Libraries: Addresses and Essays
The first of the addresses here printed was delivered in 1896, the last in 1915, and they thus cover twenty years of my experience as librarian in three cities. They are reprinted, at my own suggestion, in the hope that they contain somewhat of interest and value, especially to the younger members of our calling, and that they will attract a few general readers.
For twenty-five years I have devoted myself quite persistently to promoting the habits of reading, of using libraries and of book buying. This work has been very fascinating. One of its most attractive features has been its constant change in method, in scope and in material. I have seen that fundamental thing in library management, the relation of the tax-payer to his public library, change from the method of rigid supervision in 1894, in which year only four of a national gathering of about 125 librarians voted for the open shelf, to that of to-day, when almost every library of note eagerly invites its visitors to handle its books. In these same twenty-five years librarians have given up the age-limit method which kept children out of libraries, for the attraction method which lures them in. In 1890 libraries quite definitely pursued repose; to-day they seek results. In 1890 a citizen who wished to take home a library book was inspected for maturity, integrity and sweet reasonableness, and was guaranteed to possess these attributes by a fellow citizen of good repute for the same, before his wish was granted.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Libraries (John Cotton Dana)