The Library and Society Part 15

Henry Munson Utley was born at Plymouth, Mich., Aug. 5, 1836. He served on the staff of the Detroit _Free Press_ in 1861-66, was city editor of the _Post_ and _Post-Tribune_ until 1881, and then, after holding the secretaryship of the Detroit Board of Education, became in 1885 librarian of the Public Library, in which post he served until his death on Feb. 16, 1917, becoming librarian emeritus in 1913.

We are met for the seventeenth Conference of the American Library a.s.sociation in the Capital city of the Centennial State. It is a pleasing co-incidence that the a.s.sociation and the State celebrate the same natal year. Within the memory of some of us the whole region of which this city is now the metropolis was a wilderness. The century was fairly begun when Lieut. Pike led his little band to the sources of the Arkansas and made his futile attempt to scale the lofty peak which now bears his name. Forty years later came the explorations of Fremont, and then fifteen years elapsed before the tide of immigration set in. The desert of that day has been converted into prosperous farms. Thriving towns have sprung up in the mountain fastnesses, at the gateway to which sits this Queen City of the plains, displaying all the evidences of wealth, culture, and refinement to be found in the proud cities to the eastward.

This rapid and wonderful transformation has been the work of human hands guided by intelligent brains and an indomitable spirit of pluck and perseverance. We are accustomed to think of this combination as purely American. In many of its characteristics it certainly is so. And in no respect more distinctively so than in the cause in which we are most interested. Not all the older commonwealths, even on this side of the Atlantic, have yet accepted the theory that the education of the citizen is the concern of the state. But in all this newer portion of our country this doctrine has been incorporated into the fundamental law.

The ordinance of 1787 for the government of the territory northwest of the Ohio river declared that for obvious reasons schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. The twenty states now organized within this and the subsequently acquired territory to the westward have all accepted to the fullest extent the doctrine of the ordinance. They have not only carried it into practical effect by general laws providing for free public schools for children, for universities and inst.i.tutions of higher learning for the education of youth, but have also provided for the establishment and maintenance of free public libraries at the general expense and for the common use of all the people.

Let us consider very briefly the theory upon which the state a.s.sumes to levy tribute upon the property of individuals to provide means for maintaining libraries. By what right does the state tax the man of wealth to put miscellaneous books into the hands of the man who pays no tax?

So far as primary education is concerned, the basis seems clear. The free state which depends for its very existence upon the intelligence of the ma.s.ses of its citizens must, as a measure of self-defense, provide the facilities by which all may become intelligent. Self-preservation is the supremest natural law. Whatever has a right to exist has a right to do that which is necessary to preserve its existence. The free state which rests on the suffrage of its citizens is bound in duty to itself to see to it that popular education, which is essential to its perpetuity, is universal. Ignorant men are not competent to take care of themselves and their households, still less to direct the destinies of an empire. The state has, therefore, the right, not only to provide the means of education, but to compel education. Laws are in force which require certain attendance upon the schools. These rest on the theory that the interest of the state in the education of the individual surpa.s.ses that of the individual, and therefore, the state cannot, in justice to itself, treat education purely as a matter of individual concern.

It is a notorious fact that the average person does not perceive the importance of self-cultivation. As the vineyard left to itself is soon choked out with weeds and chapparall, so man if left to himself lapses naturally into his primitive condition. The state cannot leave him to himself, but must interpose to make it certain that he acquires the best degree of information which his natural abilities and the time not necessary to his self-support shall permit. Neither can the state leave the matter of providing facilities and inducements to education to private enterprise, nor to the church, which has been the foremost of all organizations to appreciate its importance. While the state recognizes these agencies and accepts them as satisfactory, so far as they go, it nevertheless fully equips schools of its own, in pursuance of its inherent right and duty, which cannot be relinquished to any other agency.

The extent to which the state shall go in the matter of educating its citizens has been the subject of much discussion. There are those who maintain that as the education of the individual proceeds his concern in his own development increases, until finally, if his education proceeds far enough, his concern in his own development surpa.s.ses that of the state, and he must thenceforth be left to equip himself entirely at his own expense. If that point is marked by the line between primary and secondary, or between secondary and higher education, there is where the state is in duty bound to stop. The extent of the interest of the community as compared with that of the individual is held to grow less and less and finally to disappear as he advances.

But the better judgment of our time repudiates this theory, and holds apparently that there is no limit to the concern of the state in the mental progress of the individual. Ian Maclaren in his touching story of "Domsie" quotes John Knox as saying: "Ilka scholar is something added to the riches of the commonwealth." It can probably be demonstrated by the rules of accounts that as a business investment the state is wisely spending money in the education of the people. The cost is more than returned to it in the material development which an enlightened citizenship ensures. If we contrast our own country, where education is free, with some older countries where it is yet held to be a matter of minor concern, or if we contrast some of the states of this republic with others of corresponding age, we shall see at a glance a wide difference in material resources and prosperity. In one the industrial arts are far advanced, there is intellectual activity, the average citizen is well clothed, well housed, and enjoys many luxuries; in the other, the methods and life of a past century prevail and poverty and ill-living are the rule. This, if not the highest motive, is an incidental one of considerable importance for doing at the common expense that which is for the common good.

But the maintenance of the public library is not based on the communistic idea. A former president of this a.s.sociation, speaking at the Lake George Conference, said: "The socialists and communists are all friends of the library, for we give them the books they want, and they hold that it is not only the duty of the government to educate the people, but to furnish them with reading. If the library ever shall have enemies they will be the rich, who do not enjoy being taxed for the benefit of the public, and have libraries of their own. Its defenders will be men of broad views, scholarly people, and behind them, with votes, the middle and poorer cla.s.ses."

While it may be true, in a certain sense, that socialists and communists approve the public library because it appears to give them something which they desire at the public cost, that scheme, on its true ground, is as far removed as possible from any such theory of maintenance by the state. The essential principle of communism is that the members of the community shall hold their property in common for the common use and benefit. This principle flourished in the village community in which each individual was allotted his certain proportion of the lands owned in common. There are at this day a sporadic few who advocate government ownership of railroads, and some would even include all the great instrumentalities of commerce and production. But the rational majority hold that the state of society is best which makes the individual a free and independent member of the community. His ambitions and energies are best stimulated by his opportunities to prosper for himself. Civilization and enlightenment are advanced by the efforts of the master spirits of the race. The only demand which the individual can justly make on the community, with its government as the common agent of all, is that it shall not merely protect him in his rights as a free and independent citizen, but that it shall a.s.sure him the opportunities for the fullest exercise of his talents, and shall also, as a measure of common interest, provide the facilities for his very highest mental equipment. In this latter service of the state there is nothing whatever of the communistic idea.

The public library is not a public charity. There may be some who regard it as in the nature of a free soup-house which caters to the appet.i.te for mental pabulum more or less wholesome. Most communities make some provision for those who are mentally or physically unfitted to care for themselves and who have no estate nor natural relations upon whom they can rely for support. So the state builds and maintains hospitals and almshouses. This it does simply as a duty of humanity. The instincts of the race and the teachings of an enlightened civilization a.s.sure us that a universal brotherhood makes all human creatures kin. As individuals we owe a certain duty to all other individuals, and as organized society we must see to it that the welfare of all is conserved. But there is no duty of kindness or good-will which requires the furnishing of reading matter for the use of the whole community.

The public library is not provided for the mere intellectual enjoyment of the citizens. The munic.i.p.al corporation uses public funds to buy and beautify parks and boulevards. The purpose of these is to promote the public health and comfort, and incidentally to cultivate the aesthetic sense. The state has a direct interest in the health of its citizens. It must rely on their physical strength for defense in time of peril or invasion. Therefore it must have a care that their physical welfare is promoted. Wholesome food, gentle exercise, a cheerful and contented mind, have much to do with soundness of body, and so food-inspection and open-air recreation are justified at the common expense.

Art-museums and public concerts are sometimes maintained out of the general treasury. The only basis on which this expense can be justified is that their purpose is educational. The welfare of the state depends not alone on the ability of its citizens to merely read and write and solve problems in simple arithmetic. Our nature is many-sided and its full and perfect development must be sought in many directions. The aesthetic is not less real than the practical. The finer qualities of the mind have weightly influence upon national progress and destiny. The state has a right to do for its citizens the things which will best serve its ultimate interests.

Universities and higher inst.i.tutions of learning maintained at public cost now train those who have the means and opportunities to take advantage of their curricula for the most advanced degrees, and through their post-graduate courses offer facilities for spending the good part of a lifetime in the immediate pursuit of knowledge. But in the nature of things the number of those who can give time to these higher courses is limited. The argument has sometimes been employed against high schools and universities that they are maintained at great cost for the use of a comparatively trifling portion of the community. Statistics are quoted to show that of the whole number of children in the primary grades less than 25 per cent. go through the grammar grades, and that of the small number who enter the high school grades hardly one in ten finishes them, while of these but an infinitesimal number go on to and through the university.

It is not due to lack of capacity wholly, or lack of interest, that so many students fall by the wayside, but mainly to the fact that their services are necessary in the productive channels of business. Yet, in spite of the comparatively few who are able to take advantage of them, the state considers it a duty to foster, and the community cheerfully bears the burden of maintaining, the higher inst.i.tutions of learning, because the benefits which they confer are easily recognized. To compensate in some degree those who are not able to pursue in organized inst.i.tutions studies untimely stopped by the necessities of active life, the community provides the free library. This is the people's university, close to the door of every citizen, in which all who have the inclination and energy to do so may pursue through their whole lives the studies which most interest them.

The function of the public library is purely and wholly educational. In this case the term is to be construed in its most comprehensive sense.

It does not merely include development of the intellect; it involves all the varied human relations. We owe duties to our Maker, to ourselves, to those who are dependent upon us, to our neighbors, to society, and to the state. In all these delicate and intricate relations we must be taught, and as the world advances, our civilization becomes more complex and our relations more involved, the character and quality of our education becomes the more important. The school and the college have merely laid the foundation. If they have done their full duty they have done little more than set the student on the high road. The sequel rests with himself. The public library puts into his hands books, which contain the combined wisdom and experience of all who have gone before, and wherein are preserved the best thoughts of the best men and women of all time. They who pa.s.s judgment upon what shall and what shall not be admitted to the shelves of a public library must bear in mind that, strictly construing the function of the library to be educational, there is yet very wide lat.i.tude in respect to the things which people may safely and wisely learn.

In this aspect of the case, those who are charged with the management and control of libraries have imposed upon them a very grave responsibility. They are not merely the custodians of the books which the public purse has bought; they are commissioned to guide in the path of highest progress. In this light, the function of the librarian a.s.sumes the halo of a holy office. He who discharges it earnestly and faithfully may do much to help forward the enlightenment of his generation.

The sum of the whole statement, briefly, is this: There is no limit to the concern of the free state in the education of its citizens. It is as much bound to provide libraries in which the adult may continue his studies as it is to maintain schools in which as a child he may begin them. The day is not distant when this duly will be universally recognized in this country. In most of the states compulsory education laws prevail. In at least one, every town is required by law to establish and maintain a free public library. In this respect, New Hampshire is only leading the way in which others will shortly follow.

Then organized society can truthfully say to the individual, in the language of Professor Hoffman in his "Sphere of the State": "We have done what we could to develop and strengthen all your powers. We have taught you to the best of our ability to know yourself and to understand your relations to your fellows. Now, so long as you conduct yourself as a child of the day and not of the night, all the rights and privileges of the brotherhood are yours. But if you choose to walk in the darkness rather than in the light, if you trample under foot our laws, if you raise your hand against every man, let the curse of your wrong doing fall upon your own head, not on ours."

ALTERNATIVES TO TAX-SUPPORT

In the case of a public library, that is, of one intended to be used by all the members of the community, as distinguished from a subscription library, alternatives to public support have usually been in the nature of expedients to tide matters over until the library could be turned over to the munic.i.p.ality. The next two papers are early discussions of some of these alternatives.

IF NOT A TAX-SUPPORTED LIBRARY, WHAT?

The following paper contributed anonymously to _The Iowa Library Quarterly_ (Des Moines, April, 1903) tells how local library a.s.sociations have been formed in that state, in small towns where public support, for the moment, has been deemed impossible or inadvisable.

The fact that a majority of the states of the Union have by legal enactment provided for free public libraries supported by tax indicates the general acceptance of the belief that such an inst.i.tution is for the public good and its support as an educational inst.i.tution is as desirable as the support of the public schools.

More and more has it come to be recognized that if the ideals and aspirations of youth are to be aroused and directed early in life by the reading of inspiring books, the state may well foster this inst.i.tution which provides such literature.

The Code of Iowa provides that towns and cities shall have power to provide for the foundation and maintenance of a free public library by voting upon the question, "Shall a free public library be established"

at a general or special election, and further providing that a tax not exceeding two mills on the dollar of the taxable valuation of such city or town may be levied for its support. This places the library on a firm footing as a public educational inst.i.tution, even though its income from the tax may be small.

There are, however, some towns in the state that find it impossible or unwise at present to secure this support of the library by a tax and hence they ask, "If not a free public library supported by tax, what shall we attempt?" This inquiry is practical. The desire is earnest in many places to support a library by some other means than a tax until such time as sentiment will be strong enough to vote favorably upon it, hence the best method of conducting it needs to be considered.

The beginning of such a work must be made by a few, earnest people who thoroughly believe in the need of a public collection of books, not alone for the value it will be to them personally, but what it may do for the many who are unable to own books for themselves. Club women are often the most active factors in inaugurating such a movement and sometimes the Woman's Club alone espouses the cause of the library and provides for the purchase of books and the running expenses of the library. It would seem, however, after observation of various efforts, more or less successful, along this line, that it is much better to secure the cooperation of all clubs and other organizations in the town, thus disarming any outside criticism or antagonism from those outside the one club.

A library a.s.sociation, which includes all persons in the town who are desirous of having a public library, seems to be the better form for the organization to take, though a city federation of clubs has proven a successful agency in many towns. The difficulty of providing funds for conducting such a library on an absolutely free basis is evident, but to make membership in the a.s.sociation, with the payment of an annual membership fee, the condition of borrowing is to bar from the use of the books the people who need them most.

In organizing a library a.s.sociation it will be necessary to decide what the policy is to be in this respect. Shall the library be solely for those who join the a.s.sociation and pay this fee, or shall this be an altruistic movement for the betterment of the town, making the use of the books free to all? If the latter plan is decided upon it will be necessary to provide by subscription of citizens or by entertainments and otherwise, a larger fund for the support of the library, and such an undertaking should be well considered for it often becomes burdensome.

If an a.s.sociation is formed with an annual membership fee which ent.i.tles the member to the use of the books, those who feel unable to pay this annual fee may be loaned books upon the payment of a small fee for the loan of a single book.

The reading room feature is of great importance and whatever plan may be adopted regarding the loan of the books for home use there is no reason why the use of the reading room, the periodicals and the books in the room should not be absolutely free to all who will come there to use them. To make the reading room the brightest and most attractive spot in town for the boys who are inclined to be on the street of evenings is a possibility for any library a.s.sociation, if a few earnest women will give time and effort toward this end.

The actual expenses incurred in such a venture are room rent, furniture, heat, light, services of a librarian and the purchase of books and periodicals, but a systematic effort to interest the people of the town often results in the donation of the use of a room and the other necessities. It is not desirable to solicit donation of books. The random inclination of people to pa.s.s on to the public library books they do not care for on their own library shelves is damaging to the library receiving them. In another column the report of the Audubon Club mentions this point. The books should be selected with the greatest care.

The most important feature of such an enterprise is to have some one in charge of the room who shall be suited to the work,--a woman of culture and character, of pleasing manners and one who loves children and delights in aiding readers. Such a librarian gives an "atmosphere" to the whole undertaking.

In many towns club women and others who are interested have volunteered to serve as librarians, without compensation, and if a head librarian is selected to whom these volunteer workers shall report and who is responsible for the work, this arrangement seems a good one until such time as funds will permit of the employment of a paid librarian.

At Audubon, Exira, Glenwood, Guthrie Center, Laurens, Leon, Tama and other places in the state, the women are most courageously carrying on this work, with the hope that the town will eventually take the responsibility off their shoulders by voting a tax to support the library.

If any attempt has been made to vote a munic.i.p.al tax and it has failed, or if there seems to be little sentiment in favor of the measure, there is no need to feel disheartened. A beginning may be made by securing a travelling library of 50 volumes from the Library Commission at Des Moines, without other cost than transportation, and these books, may be exchanged for a similar collection every 3 months, thus making 200 volumes accessible during the year.

This collection with the few books the local a.s.sociation is able to buy and a few good magazines should make it possible to open the room for reading and the issue of books two afternoons and evenings each week--preferably Wednesday and Sat.u.r.day.

The small beginning will gather to itself strength if the workers are persistent; the collection of books will increase, sentiment will grow more favorable and eventually the movement will be popular.

In making such a beginning the Iowa Library Commission should be called upon for the use of the traveling library, form of const.i.tution and by-laws, book lists and other printed matter, and the secretary will be glad to render any a.s.sistance possible in forwarding such an enterprise in any town in the state.

CO-OPERATION BETWEEN LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY

A paper that originally appeared in _The Springfield Republican_, Dec. 1, 1899, and was reprinted in Home Education Bulletin No. 31 of the University of the State of New York. The author, Miss M. Anna Tarbell of Brimfield, Ma.s.s.