FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 139, 13 June 1911, Page 2

FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

LECTURE BY MR. J. H. UPTON.

The first meeting of Auckland Institute's season was given yesterday evening at St. Andrew's Hall, when Mr. J. IL Upton lectured on Tree Public Libraries and Museums." Mr. Upton opened with an historical .ketch of public libraries, commencing with the libraries of Babylon, 2700 8.C., and following the subject to the establishment of the library at the- British Museum in 1750, touching incidentally on other (matters of interest which had been disclosed to the world through the discovery of the ancient clay tablet libraries. Dealing with the subject of libraries generally, Mr. Upton pointed out that there were about SOOO fresh publications (including reprints) issued yearly, and the question was which of those should be admitted to the public libraries. The selection was the most-important matter, and the greatest need was for a skilled librarian to make the selection. In books of travel, science, biography and serious subjects generally, there was not much trouble. It was in the novel that.there was the greatest danger to the com-, munity, so far as books in public libraries were concerned. There were five novels a day published, and if 500 copies of the ordinary novel were sold, it might mean a profit of £10 or so to the publisher and the author. Consequently there was a great temptation to sell to public libraries. The novel should, in his opinion, fulfil one of four tests. It should be calculated to cultivate taste, to afford rational amusement, to induce lofty ideals of life, or to educate the judgment. There was among novels the "doubtful book." They all knew what he meant by that. It was his opinion that very little harm was done by the I doubtful book, because such books did not renlly interest young people who did not understand them. The lecturer quoted such authors as Burns, Byron, Shakespeare, Thackeray,, and others, whose "works contained passages which were "doubtful," and added that in the works of some of the sex novels that were most strongly objected to it was not the i moral sense that was hurt, but the com- I ffion sense of tho reader. Mr. Upton elaborated to show that the really evil j ■books were tho weak, inane books, which | required no thought on the part of the reader, whose mind through disuse be-1 came atrophied. Constant reading oi I srch literature produced a vacant mind, which prompted the growth of supersti-; tion. As instances of this superstition, I the speaker quoted the popularity of psychometry, occultism, spiritism and other such matters closely allied, he said, to fortune-telling. In conclusion, he stat-1 ed that in a public library it was wrong, I a breach of trust, to spend public money on literature calculated to bring about ] evil results. A higher standard of selec- j tion should be maintained, and the library made as perfect as .ossible in its possibilities for good. Mr. Upton then spent some minutes describing the features and arrangement of a number of museums he had visited in Britain and' Europe, and suggested that the Auck-1 land Museum should be improved in the matter of arrangement. That would cost money, and he stated that the museum had a claim on the city for the ex-1 pense. The museum, he considered, had a claim on the library rate: Mr, T,.. W. Leys, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Upton, pointed out that in England the rate for libraries was Id in the £, but- in a number of the large cities this had been increased to lid and 2d, and.even that; was;fqund.notrmore than sufficient for 'the purpose. In Auckland the library rate was and unless this amount were increased it would be impossible to get a substantial sum for the museum. The Municipal Corporations ] Act permitted grants for libraries, museums, and art galleries from the general account, and in Dunedin the j public library. had hitherto been entirely supported from that source; but he was afraid that the Auck- j land general fund whs too far drawn on our street formation to provide such a vote. ' Moreover, lie did not think the latter method desirable. Some action might well be taken by the Council of the Institute to obtain support from the city towards the '. management and improvement of the museum, which was a most attractive and popular public institution.