ery profitably engage much of the librarian's
attention.

It is true that the first of these is not likely to escape his
attention. "What the public wants" is a consideration which will meet
him frequently, from one end of the year to the other. No one needs to
be told, for instance, that the public wants to be amused. Doubtless the
class of books described as "humorous" would constitute, to a large body
of readers in any one of our cities, the true ideal of a collection of
books. The taste for imaginative literature begins early and lasts long,
with a large number of readers. "Something new" is a phrase whose
attractiveness is not far from universal. Still further, if it is a
question between a "true account," which deals with stirring adventures,
and another "true account," whose pages are devoted to an impassive
statement of scientific facts, there is not much question which will
find the most readers among the general public. "What the public wants,"
then, as regards the choice of books, while it certainly does not
indicate a high degree of enlightenment, has perhaps the merit of being
true to nature.

There are certain points of administration, also, in which the interest
of the public is concerned. It is in favor of having the library as near
its place of residence as possible; and here, unfortunately, "the
public" is a plural personage which cannot all be suited at once. It is
in favor of that method of obtaining the privileges of the library which
requires the least trouble and inconvenience on its part, and seldom
sees the need of a careful verification of the applicant's identity. It
is in favor of the fewest restrictions on access to the books, and on
the time for keeping them. It is in favor, decidedly, of that "charging
system" which will deliver the book soonest. It is in favor of finding
the library open on all days and at all hours, sometimes even not
regarding the specified hours announced as worthy of consideration. In
short, while it is by no means difficult to persuade the public of the
reasonableness of a particular restriction, yet its first thought is
undeniably largely influenced by selfish considerations.

Nor is the larger part of the public any more fond of bestowing deep and
painstaking thought upon the books which it reads, and of carrying the
mind systematically through a complicated mental process. It is not
improbable that some readers would be glad of some method of using books
which