he best men and women of
all time. They who pass 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 latitude 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
assumes 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