CHICAGO'S LIBRARY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 138, 8 December 1923, Page 16

CHICAGO'S LIBRARY

EXTENSIVE GROWTH-DURING THIRTY YEARS.

The last thirty years have witnessed much progreos in the development of public library facilities in Chicago, states the ■ "Christian Science Monitor." In 1893 the Chicago Public Library, then the, only institution of its kind in the city and Btill the largest, -was twenty years old. It was housed in the top floor of the old city hall, which has long since given way to a more modern structure. Founded just after the great fire of 1871, largely as the result of gifts of books from English authors and publishers under the leadership of Thomas Hughes, it grew rapidly. After two years its circulation of books for home .reading exceeded that of Boston.

Its first librarian was Dr. William Frederick Poole, a Bostonian, whose skill :a organisation and profound literary knowledge combined to build up a public book collection which, in many departments, still ranks among the best in the country. . He resigned in 1887, and was succeeded by Frederic H. Hild, admirer of Dr. Poole and his policies, which he faithfully carried forward for twentytwo years. - The building which the library has occupied since 1897 was designed by him, and which it nows fills to overflowing.

In 1909 Frederic H. Hild retired after twenty-two years as chief librarian, and was succeeded by Henry E. Legler, a leader among modern library administrators, under whose leadership the institution went forward by leaps and bounds. He passed away in 1917. Today the public library comprises .27 branches,, and a host of minor distributing agencies numbered in thousands. Its book collections exceed 1,200,000 volumes, and the yearly withdrawals by its 450,000 cardholders approach 9,000,000. To-day the Public Library shares with two mighty compeers the domain of service to the people of Chicago which for the first two decades of its life it occupied alone. The coming of the Newh^rry Library, incorporated in 1887, and established in its.present building just ,30 years ago, in November, 1893, and a few years later of the John Crerar Library, paved the way for speoial developments which were recognised at the beginning and have been realised with wisdom and skill.

In no department of cultural activity has the advance of 30, years. been ' more marked and more significant than in the development and popular use and appreciation of the public library.