government library from being scattered, is
strict refusal of orders for loaning to any one not legally entitled to
draw books, and short terms of withdrawal to legislators, with
enforcement of a rule of replacement, at their expense, as to all books
not returned at the end of each session.

* * * * *

There is one class of libraries not yet touched upon, namely, school
district libraries. These originated for the first time in a legally
organized system, through an act of the New York State Legislature in
1835, authorizing the voters in each school district to levy a tax of
twenty dollars with which to start a library, and ten dollars a year for
adding to the same. These were not to be for the schools alone, but for
all the people living in the district where the school was located. This
was supplemented in 1838 by a State appropriation of $55,000 a year, from
New York's share of the surplus revenue fund distributed by Congress to
the States in 1837, and the income of which was devoted by New York to
enlarging the school district libraries. After spending nearly two
millions of dollars on these libraries in forty years, the system was
found to have been so far a failure that the volumes in the libraries had
decreased from 1,600,000 to 700,000 volumes.

This extraordinary and deplorable result was attributed to several
distinct causes. 1st. No proper responsibility as to the use and return
of books was enforced. 2d. The insignificance of the sum raised by
taxation in each district prevented any considerable supply of books from
being acquired. 3d. The funds were largely devoted to buying the same
books in each school district, instead of being expended in building up a
large and varied collection. Thus the system produced innumerable petty
libraries of duplicates, enriching publishers and booksellers, while
impoverishing the community. The school district library system, in
short, while promising much in theory, in the way of public intelligence,
broke down completely in practice. The people quickly lost interest in
libraries which gave them so little variety in books, either of
instruction or of recreation.

Although widely introduced in other States besides New York, from 1837 to
1877, it proved an admitted failure in all. Much public money, raised by
taxation of the people, was squandered upon sets of books, selected by
State authority, and often of inferior interest and utility. Fin