第16章 READING OF THE YOUNG(2)

Three answer simply "Yes"to the second question,24have adopted the Dewey system,in two or three cases with the Cutter author marks,4the Cutter,and 1the Linderfelt system;10arrange by authors,18by subjects,4by authors and subjects,42report methods of their own or classification like the rest of the library,and 46do not classify children's books at all.

In answer to the third question,6libraries report both a separate card catalog and finding list,43a finding list for sale or distribution,15a card catalog for children,and 88no separate list.Of the printed finding lists 4are Sargent's,1Larned's,2Hardy's,and 2Miss James's.

The fourth question relates to covering books for children.

Eighty-five libraries do not cover them,30cover some,either those with light bindings or others that have become soiled and worn,35cover all,and 2do not report.

In reply to the fifth question,45libraries require that children's hands shall be clean before they can take books from the library,or at least when they use books or periodicals in the building,and 50have no such rules.Others try various methods of moral suasion,including in one instance a janitor who directs the unwashed to a lavatory,and in another a fine of a few cents for a second offense.

The sixth question,whether there is an age limit or not,brings various replies.Thirty-six libraries have none,five base it on ability to read or write,one fixes it at 6,one at 7,and one at 8.Ten libraries allow a child a card in his own name at 10,two at 11,forty-seven at 12,six at 13,thirty-three at 14,four at 15,and six at 16.They qualify their statements in many cases by adding that children may use the cards of older persons,or may have them if they bring a written guarantee from their parents or are in certain classes in the public schools.

Question 7deals with the number of books a week allowed to children.Ninety-five libraries allow them to change a book every day;one (subion)gives them a dozen a day if they wish.

Fifteen limit them to two,and 3to three a week,and 16to only one.Several librarians in libraries where children are allowed a book a day express their disapproval of the custom,and one has entered into an engagement with her young readers to take 1book in every 4from some other class than fiction.Others do not answer definitely.A few libraries issuing two cards,or two-book cards,allow children the use of two books a week,if one is not a novel or story.

Question 8is a less important one,whether children's cards are of a different color from others.There is no difference between the cards of adults and children in 124libraries,except in case of school cards in 2.In 4the color of cards for home use varies,and 4report other distinctions,like punches or different charging slips.Eight do not charge on cards and 12do not answer.

With regard to question 9,"What authors are most read by children who take books from your library?"the lists vary so much in length that it is impossible to give a fair idea of them in in few sentences.Some libraries mention only two or three authors,others ten times as many.Miss Alcott's name is in more lists than any other.Where only two or three authors are given,they are usually of the Alger,Castlemon,Finley,Optic grade.

These four do not appear in the reports from 35libraries,where Alden,Ballantyne,Mrs.Burnett,Susan Coolidge,Ellis,Henty,Kellogg,Lucy Lillie,Munroe,Otis,Stoddard,and various fairy tales fill their places.Seven are allowing Alger,Castlemon,Finley,and Optic to wear out without being replaced,and soon find that books of a higher type are just as interesting to young readers.