1898-Annual Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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95 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF CARY LIBRARY.. It is cause for congratulation and encouragement that our library is more highly appreciated and extensively used from year to year by our people : that it is becoming more attrac- tive to the young and sought by -the pupils in the schools and by study classes among us for information upon subjects of interest. It has been the purpose of the trustees to satisfy every legitimate detnand for books of this character, and make the library a place where knowledge upon all matters. of importance may be accessible to those seeking it. They are not always able to put in every new book asked for ; sometimes they are too costly to justify the expenditure, or too exclusively for the benefit of a single individual and of no interest to the general public ; but they have endeavored. to gratify different tastes and needs as far as possible, and_ keep the library supplied with the best books in all depart- ments of literature. While they have tried to maintain a high standard in their selections, they recognize the fact that a public library must provide such books as the people want to read, and hence there must be a larg_ e number of works. designed for recreation and amusement rather than instruc- tion. All trashy, silly, sensational novels, and books of doubtful moral influence they mean to keep out, while those of a wholesome and exhilarating character, though of no - great intellectual worth, they readily put in to meet the de- mand of a large class of readers who have the right to ask that their tastes be gratified. The late Justin Winsor, librarian at Harvard, 'maintained that almost any reading is. better than no reading. When we remember how large a number of the aged, feeble and suffering there are, as well 96 as of the body and brain -weary among us, it is no wonder that 64 per cent. of the books drawn from Cary library last year were classed as works of fiction. Out of a total cir- culation for the year of 31,260 vols., 20,294 were of this character, leaving but 11,000 of all others. This appears to be a poor showing for the intellectual taste and culture of the town, but it bears favorable comparison with other towns in this vicinity. When we think of the mental and physical refreshment and intellectual stimulus given by the reading of those 20,000 volumes of fiction, the weary hours .and heavy burdens lightened by it, we see that it forms no insignificant element in the importance and value of our library. Had there been none of these books in the library, would many more • of other kinds have been taken out? Probably not. Vastly better this reading than none ; and much of it is undoubtedly of a high moral and intellectual charac- ter, stimulating better life in those who read it. The library contains at the present time 18,328 volumes, including 1726 volatiles in the. East Lexington Branch. During the year 1392 volumes have been added. This increase is due largely to the bequest of Mr. Benjamin Wellington to the East Lexington Branch of $2000, one-half of which was to be used for books within a year. It has been received and expended, adding 870 volumes of carefully selected books ; the other half is to be funded and only the income used to increase the library there ; this has not yet been paid over by the executer, awaiting the sale of real estate in Kansas. In making the purchase of books for the Branch and in cataloguing that library, the expenditure amounted to $1070, and the balance of 870 was appropriated from the funds of the Centre library at our disposal. The circulation of 31,260 volumes during the year includes 3753 volumes from and through the East Lexington branch, showing a marked increase in the use of the books in that portion of the town by 108 different families residing