other hand, consider the John Adams Library at Quincy. It was
collected by President John Adams in Europe and America, and undoubtedly
contains many valuable books. But is it in place in Quincy? It was
formerly kept in the Adams Academy, but not proving useful there, it was
transferred to the Thomas Crane Public Library, where it now is. Mr.
Charles Francis Adams recently said that he only knew of this John Adams
Library having been consulted once in forty years, and that then he was
himself the consulter. It is more convenient for Mr. Adams to make his
many researches in the great libraries in Boston and Cambridge than in
Quincy, and his opinion is that this library should be given to the
Boston Public Library, where it would be of great value in supplementing
the collections, and would be readily accessible to the class of
students who would use it. Perhaps, however, Quincy would be unwilling
to give up this library, which marks its connection with a very
distinguished man. While it is a distinctive feature of the Quincy plan
not to make the public library a special reference library, its success
depends on having large reference libraries near at hand. In one respect
it encourages making the library a special library, namely, on local
interests and history. As to the saving in expense possible under the
Quincy plan, while money is saved which would ordinarily be used in
housing books and in other ways, increased expenditure, it should be
remembered, is contemplated in frequent issues of improved catalogs. As
I shall soon show, the plan, if well carried out, requires other
expenditures.

There are many small libraries which do not need weeding. If a library
needs weeding, as many undoubtedly do, will it be weeded out wisely?

Broad-minded intelligence is needful for this kind of work, as well as
education and experience in library work. An expert is as much needed in
this work of weeding out as in selecting books for a library at its
start. Great harm might result from injudicious discarding.

Another objection likely to be made to the Quincy plan is that it would
often be difficult to decide how large a library is needed in a town or
city, and that this difficulty would be magnified in a growing town.
Still, if a thing is desirable it should be done in spite of
difficulties. Foresight must be exercised and generous provision made
for the probable growth of towns, and the number of volumes changed as
changes in the