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How to Form a Library, 2nd ed
Mr. F.B. Perkins, of the Boston Public Library, contributed to the Report on Public Libraries in the United States a useful chapter on "How to make Town Libraries successful" (pp. 419-430). The two chief points upon which he lays particular stress, and which may be said to form the texts for his practical remarks, are: (1) that a Public Library for popular use must be managed not only as a literary institution, but also as a business concern; and (2) that it is a mistake to choose books of too thoughtful or solid a character. He says, "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 reading tastes and habits."
A series of articles on "How to Start Libraries in Small Towns" was published in the Library Journal (vol. i. pp. 161, 213, 249, 313, 355, 421), and Mr. Axon's Hints on the Formation of Small Libraries has already been mentioned. We must not be too rigid in the use of the term Public Libraries, and we should certainly include under this description those institutional Libraries which, although primarily intended for the use of the Members of the Societies to which they belong, can usually be consulted by students who are properly introduced.
Of Public Libraries first in order come the great libraries of a nation, such as the British Museum. These are supplied by means of the Copyright Law, but the librarians are not from this cause exonerated from the troubles attendant on the formation of a library. There are old books and privately printed and foreign books to be bought, and it is necessary that the most catholic spirit should be displayed by the librarians. The same may be said in a lesser degree of the great libraries of the more important towns.
In England the Universities have noble libraries, more especially those of Oxford and Cambridge, but although some colleges possess fine collections of books, college libraries are not as a rule kept up to a very high standard. The United States Report contains a full account of the college libraries in America (pp. 60-126).
The libraries of societies are to a large extent special ones, and my brother, the late Mr. B.R. Wheatley, in a paper read before the Conference of Librarians, 1877, entitled "Hints on Library Management, so far as relates to the Circulation of Books," particularly alluded to this fact. He wrote, "Our library is really a medical and surgical section of a great Public Library. Taking the five great classes of literature, I suppose medicine and its allied sciences may be considered as forming a thirtieth of the whole, and, as our books number 30,000, we are, as it were, a complete section of a Public Library of nearly a million volumes in extent."
The United States Report contains several chapters on special libraries, thus chapter 2 is devoted to those of Schools and Asylums; 4, to Theological Libraries; 5, to Law; 6, to Medical; and 7, to Scientific Libraries. For the formation of special libraries, special bibliographies will be required, and for information on this subject reference should be made to Chapter VI. of the present work.
When we come to deal with the Free Public Libraries, several ethical questions arise, which do not occur in respect to other libraries. One of the most pressing of these questions refers to the amount of Fiction read by the ordinary frequenters of these libraries.
This point is alluded to in the United States Report on Public Libraries. Mr. J.P. Quincy, in the chapter on Free Libraries (p. 389), writes, "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 may 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 independence." He mentions a free library in Germanstown, Pa., sustained by the liberality of a religious body, and frequented by artisans and working people of both sexes. It had been in existence six years in 1876, and then contained 7000 volumes. No novels are admitted into the library. The following is a passage from the librarian's report of 1874: "In watching the use of our library as it is more and more resorted to by the younger readers of our community, I have been much interested in its influence in weaning them from a desire for works of fiction. On first joining the library, the new comers often ask for such books, but failing to procure them, and having their attention turned to works of interest and instruction, in almost every instance they settle down to good reading and cease asking for novels. I am persuaded that much 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."
Mr. Justin Winsor in chapter 20 (Reading in Popular Libraries) expresses a somewhat different view. He writes, "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."
At the London Conference of Librarians (1877), Mr. P. Cowell, Librarian of the Liverpool Public Library, read a paper on the admission of Fiction in Free Public Libraries, where he discussed the subject in a very fair manner, and deplored the high percentage of novel reading in these libraries. At the Second Annual Meeting of the Library Association (1879) Mr. J. Taylor Kay, Librarian of Owens College, Manchester, in his paper on the Provision of Novels in Rate-supported Libraries, more completely condemned this provision. He concluded his paper with these words: "Clearly a hard and fast line must be drawn. A distinct refusal by the library committees to purchase a single novel or tale would be appreciated by the rate-payers. The suggestion of a sub-committee to read this literature would not be tolerated, and no man whose time is of value would undergo the infliction. The libraries would attain their true position, and the donations would certainly be of a higher class, if the aims of the committees were known to be higher. Manchester has already curtailed its issues of novels. It has been in the vanguard on the education question: and let us hope it will be true to its traditions, to its noble impulses, and lead the van in directing the educational influence of the free libraries, and striking out altogether any expenditure in the dissemination of this literature."
This question probably would not have come to the front if it were not that the educational value of Free Libraries, as the complement of Board Schools, has been very properly put forward by their promoters. With this aim in view, it does startle one somewhat to see the completely disproportionate supply of novels in the Free Libraries. This often rises to 75 per cent. of the total supply, and in some libraries even a higher percentage has been reached. There are, however, exceptions. At the Baltimore Peabody Institute Fiction did not rise to more than one-tenth of the total reading. The following are some figures of subjects circulated at that library above 1000:—
Mr. Cowell says that during the year ending 31st August, 1877, 453,585 volumes were issued at the reference library alone (Liverpool Free Public Library); of these 170,531 were strictly novels. The high-percentage of novel reading is not confined to Free Public Libraries, for we find that in the Odd Fellows' Library of San Francisco, in 1874, 64,509 volumes of Prose Fiction were lent out of a total of 78,219. The other high figures being Essays, 2280; History, 1823; Biography and Travels, 1664. In the College of the City of New York, of the books taken out by students between Nov. 1876, and Nov. 1877, 1043 volumes were Novels, the next highest numbers were Science, 153; Poetry, 133; History, 130.15
In considering this question one naturally asks if the masterpieces of our great authors, which every one should read, are to be mixed up with the worthless novels constantly being published in the condemnation of Fiction; but, to some extent, both Mr. Cowell and Mr. Kay answer this. The first of these gentlemen writes: "As to the better class novels, which are so graphic in their description of places, costumes, pageantry, men, and events, I regret to say that they are not the most popular with those who stand in need of their instructive descriptions. I could generally find upon the library shelves 'Harold,' 'The Last of the Barons,' 'Westward Ho!' 'Hypatia,' 'Ivanhoe,' 'Waverley,' 'Lorna Doone,' etc., when not a copy of the least popular of the works of Mrs. Henry Wood, 'Ouida,' Miss Braddon, or Rhoda Broughton were to be had." Mr. Kay corroborates this opinion in his paper.
Most of us recognize the value of honest fiction for children and the overwrought brains of busy men, but the reading of novels of any kind can only be justified as a relaxation, and it is a sad fact that there is a large class of persons who will read nothing but novels and who call all other books dry reading. Upon the minds of this class fiction has a most enervating effect, and it is not to be expected that ratepayers will desire to increase this class by the indiscriminate supply of novels to the Free Libraries. Some persons are so sanguine as to believe that readers will be gradually led from the lower species of reading to the higher; but there is little confirmation of this hope to be found in the case of the confirmed novel readers we see around us.
The librarian who, with ample funds for the purpose, has the duty before him of forming a Public Library, sets forward on a pleasant task. He has the catalogues of all kinds of libraries to guide him, and he will be able to purchase the groundwork of his library at a very cheap rate, for probably at no time could sets of standard books be bought at so low a price as now. Many books that are not wanted by private persons are indispensable for a Public Library, and there being little demand for them they can be obtained cheap. When the groundwork has been carefully laid, then come some of the difficulties of collecting. Books specially required will not easily be obtained, and when they are found, the price will probably be a high one. Books of reference will be expensive, and as these soon get out of date, they will frequently need renewal.
CHAPTER IV.
Private Libraries
Treating of private libraries, it will be necessary to consider their constitution under two heads, according as they are required in town or country. In London, for instance, where libraries of all kinds are easily accessible, a man need only possess books on his own particular hobby, and a good collection of books of reference; but in the country, away from public libraries, a well-selected collection of standard books will be necessary.
1. Town.
Every one who loves books will be sure to have some favourite authors on special subjects of study respecting which he needs no instruction farther than that which is ready to his hand. Books on these subjects he will need, both in town and country, if he possesses two houses. Some collectors make their town house a sort of gathering-place for the accessions to their country libraries. Here a class is completed, bound, and put in order, and then sent to the country to find its proper place in the family library.
This is an age of books of reference, and as knowledge increases, and the books which impart it to readers become unwieldy from their multitude, there are sure to be forthcoming those who will reduce the facts into a handy form. I have gathered in the following pages the titles of some of the best books of reference which are to be obtained. Many, if not all of these, are to be found in that magnificent library of reference—the Reading Room of the British Museum. In some cases where the books are constantly being reprinted, dates have been omitted. There are, doubtless, many valuable works which I have overlooked, and some Text-books I have had to leave out owing to the exigencies of space, but I trust that the present list will be found useful.
Abbreviations.—Dictionnaire des Abréviations Latines et Françaises usitées dans les inscriptions lapidaires et métalliques, les manuscrits et les chartes du Moyen Age. Par L. Alph. Chassant. Quatrième édition. Paris, 1876. Sm. 8vo.
Anthropology.—Notes and Queries on Anthropology, for the use of Travellers and Residents in Uncivilized Lands. Drawn up by a Committee appointed by the British Association. London, 1874. Sm. 8vo.
Antiquities.—Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Edited by Dr. William Smith. Roy. 8vo.
–– Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines d'après les textes et les Monuments … Ouvrage rédigé … sous la direction de Ch. Daremberg et Edm. Saglio. Paris, 1873. 4to.
–– The Life of the Greeks and Romans described from Antique Monuments, by E. Guhl and W. Koner, translated from the third German edition by F. Hueffer. London, 1875. 8vo.
–– Gallus or Roman Scenes of the Time of Augustus. By W.A. Becker, translated by F. Metcalfe. London.
–– Charicles: Illustrations of the Private Life of the Ancient Greeks. By W.A. Becker, translated by F. Metcalfe. London.
Antiquities.—Archæological Index to remains of antiquity of the Celtic, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon Periods. By John Yonge Akerman. London, 1847. 8vo.
–– Introduction to English Antiquities. By James Eccleston. London, 1847. 8vo.
–– The English Archæologist's Handbook. By Henry Godwin. Oxford, 1867. 8vo.
Architecture.—A Dictionary of the Architecture and Archæology of the Middle Ages.... By John Britton. London, 1838.
–– History of Architecture in all countries, from the earliest times to the present day. By James Fergusson. London, 1865-76. 4 vols. 8vo.
–– Nicholson's Dictionary of the Science and Practice of Architecture, Building, Carpentry, etc. New edition, edited by Edward Lomax and Thomas Gunyon. London. 2 vols. 4to.
–– An Encyclopædia of Architecture, historical, theoretical, and practical. By Joseph Gwilt, revised by Wyatt Papworth. New edition. London, 1876. 8vo.
–– The Dictionary of Architecture, issued by the Architectural Publication Society. A to Oz. 4 vols. Roy. 4to. (In progress.)
–– A Glossary of Terms used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Architecture. Fifth edition, enlarged. Oxford, 1850. 3 vols. 8vo.
–– An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.... By J.C. Loudon. London, 1833. 8vo.
Arts, Manufactures, etc.—Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, containing a clear exposition of their Principles and Practice. By Robert Hunt, assisted by F.W. Rudler. Seventh edition. London, 1875. 3 vols. 8vo.
–– Spons' Encyclopædia of the Industrial Arts, Manufactures, and Commercial Products. London, 1879. 8 vols. Roy. 8vo.
–– History of Physical Astronomy. By Robert Grant. London [1852]. A most valuable book, but now out of print and scarce.
–– An Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients. By G. Cornewall Lewis. London, 1862. 8vo.
Bible.—Dictionary of the Bible, comprising its Antiquities, Biography, Mythology, and Geography. By Dr. William Smith. Roy. 8vo.
–– A Biblical Cyclopædia or Dictionary of Eastern Antiquities, Geography, Natural History, Sacred Annals and Biography, Theology and Biblical Literature, illustrative of the Old and New Testaments. Edited by John Eadie, D.D., LL.D. Twelfth edition. London, 1870. 8vo.
–– The Bible Atlas of Maps and Plans to illustrate the Geography and Topography of the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha, with Explanatory Notes by Samuel Clark, M.A. Also a complete Index of the Geographical Names … by George Grove. London, 1868. 4to.
Bible. See Concordances.
Bibliography.—See Chapters V. and VI.
Biography.—Mr. Chancellor Christie contributed a very interesting article to the Quarterly Review (April, 1884) on Biographical Dictionaries, in which he details the history of the struggle between the publishers of the Biographie Universelle and Messrs. Didot, whose Dictionary was eventually entitled Nouvelle Biographie Générale. The new edition of the Biographie Universelle (45 vols. Imp. 8vo. Paris, 1854) is an invaluable work. Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary (32 vols. 8vo. 1812-17) is a mine of literary wealth, from which compilers have freely dug. Rose's (12 vols. 8vo. 1848) was commenced upon a very comprehensive plan, but the lives were considerably contracted before the work was completed. It is, however, a very useful work. L.B. Phillips's "Dictionary of Biographical Reference" contains 100,000 names, and gives the dates of birth and death, which in many instances is all the information the consulter requires, and should more be required, he is referred to the authority. This book is quite indispensable for every library. There are several national Biographical Dictionaries, and at last a thoroughly satisfactory Biographia Britannica is in course of publication by Messrs. Smith & Elder. The "Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Leslie Stephen," has reached the fifth volume, and extends to Bottisham.
–– Robert Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen (Glasgow, 1835-56. 5 vols. 8vo.) will be found useful.
Biography.—Dr. William Allen's "American Biographical Dictionary" was published at Boston in 1857.
–– Biographie Nouvelle des Contemporains … Par A.V. Arnault [etc.]. Paris, 1820-25. 20 vols. 8vo. Mr. Edward Smith points this book out to me as specially valuable for information respecting actors in the French Revolution.
–– Handbook of Contemporary Biography. By Frederick Martin. London, 1870. Sm. 8vo.
–– Men of the Time: a Dictionary of Contemporaries. Eleventh edition. Revised by Thompson Cooper. London, 1884. Sm. 8vo. A volume of 1168 pages should contain a fair representation of the men of the day, and yet it is ludicrously incomplete. The literary side is as much overdone as the scientific side is neglected. This is not the place to make a list of shortcomings, but it will probably astonish most of our readers to learn that such eminent Men of the Time as Sir Frederick Abel, Sir Frederick Bramwell, and the late Dr. W.B. Carpenter are not mentioned. As this book has as a high reputation, the editor should thoroughly revise it for a new edition.
–– Men of the Reign. A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Characters of both Sexes, who have died during the reign of Queen Victoria. Edited by T. Humphry Ward. (Uniform with "Men of the Time.") London, 1885.
Biography.—Dictionnaire Universel des Contemporains.... Par G. Vapereau. Cinquième edition. Paris, 1880. 8vo.
–– Supplément. Oct. 1881.
–– Biographie Nationale des Contemporains, redigée par une Société de Gens de Lettres sous la direction de M. Ernest Glaeser. Paris, 1878. Royal 8vo.
–– Dictionnaire Général de Biographie Contemporaine Française et Etrangère. Par Ad. Bitard. Paris, 1878. 8vo.
–– To this list of Contemporary Biography may be added the Indexes of Obituary Notices published by the Index Society.
(Bishops.)—Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, or a Calendar of the principal Ecclesiastical Dignitaries in England and Wales, and of the chief officers in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, from the earliest time to the year 1715. Compiled by John Le Neve. Corrected and continued from 1715 to the present time by T. Duffus Hardy. Oxford, 1854. 3 vols. 8vo.
–– Fasti Ecclesiæ Hibernicæ. The Succession of the Prelates and Members of Cathedral Bodies in Ireland. By Henry Cotton, D.C.L. Dublin, 1847-60. 5 vols. 8vo.
(Lawyers.)—Lives of the Chief Justices of England. By John Lord Campbell. Second edition. London, 1858. 3 vols. 8vo.
–– Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England. By John Lord Campbell. Fourth edition. London, 1856. 10 vols. Sm. 8vo.
(Scientific Men.)—Poggendorff (J.C.). Biographisch-Literarisches Handwörterbuch zur Geschichte der exacten Wissenschaften, enthaltend Nachweisungen über Lebensverhältnisse und Leistungen von Mathematikern, Astronomen, Physikern, Chemikern, Mineralogen, Geologen u.s.w. aller Völker und Zeiten. Leipzig, 1863. Roy. 8vo.
(Cambridge.)—Athenæ Cantabrigienses. By Charles Henry Cooper, F.S.A., and Thompson Cooper. Cambridge, 1858-61. Vol. I. 1500-1585. Vol. II. 1586-1609. 8vo.
–– Graduati Cantabrigienses, 1760-1856. Cura Josephi Romilly, A.M. Cantabrigiæ, 1856.
–– Graduati Cantabrigienses, 1800-1884. Cura Henrici Richardo Luard, S.T.P. Cantabrigiæ, 1884.
(Oxford.)—Athenæ and Fasti Oxonienses. By Ant. à Wood. New edition, with Notes, Additions, and Continuation by the Rev. Dr. P. Bliss. 4 vols. 4to. 1813-20.
–– Catalogue of all Graduates in the University of Oxford, 1659-1850. Oxford, 1851. 8vo.
(Dublin.)—A Catalogue of Graduates who have proceeded to degrees in the University of Dublin from the earliest recorded Commencements to July, 1866, with Supplement to December 16, 1868. Dublin, 1869. 8vo. Vol. II. 1868-1883. Dublin, 1884. 8vo.
(Eton.)—Alumni Etonenses, or a Catalogue of the Provosts and Fellows of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, from the Foundation in 1443 to the Year 1797. By Thomas Harwood. Birmingham, 1797. 4to.
(Westminster.)—The List of the Queen's Scholars of St. Peter's College, Westminster, admitted on that Foundation since 1663, and of such as have been thence elected to Christ Church, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge, from the Foundation by Queen Elizabeth, 1561, to the present time. Collected by Joseph Welch. A new edition … by an old King's Scholar. London, 1852. Roy. 8vo.
Botany.—An Encyclopædia of Trees and Shrubs; being the Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum abridged.... By J.C. Loudon. London, 1842. 8vo.
–– Loudon's Encyclopædia of Plants … New edition corrected to the present time. Edited by Mrs. Loudon. London, 1855. 8vo.
–– The Vegetable Kingdom; or the structure, classification and uses of plants, illustrated upon the natural system. By John Lindley, Ph.D., F.R.S. Third edition. London, 1853. 8vo.
–– International Dictionary of Plants in Latin, German, English and French, for Botanists, and especially Horticulturists, Agriculturists, Students of Forestry and Pharmaceutists, by Dr. William Ulrich. Leipzig, 1872. 8vo.
Botany.—Topographical Botany: being Local and Personal Records towards shewing the distribution of British Plants traced through 112 counties and vice-counties of England, Wales and Scotland. By Hewett Cottrell Watson. Second edition, corrected and enlarged. London, 1883. 8vo.
The need of an authoritative list of Botanical names must be frequently felt by a large number of writers, those who have but little knowledge of the science even more than Botanists themselves. The following work will be found useful for this purpose, but there is reason to hope that a much larger and more exhaustive list will shortly be published, as Mr. Daydon Jackson, Secretary of the Linnean Society, is, we believe, now engaged upon such a work. "Nomenclator Botanicus seu Synonymia Plantarum Universalis.... Autore Ernesto Theoph. Steudel; editio secunda, Stuttgartiæ et Tubingæ, 1841." Royal 8vo.
Cards.—Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards. By William Andrew Chatto. London, 1848. 8vo.
