第9章 BOYS'AND GIRLS'READING(3)

In many of even these cases kind and wise restraint can be,and is,exercised by the librarian."Mr.Cummings,curator of the Lower Hall card-catalogue of the Boston Public Library,and Miss Jenkins,assistant librarian in the same place,have kindly sent me the manus of their forthcoming reports to the trustees.These reports are wholly on the methods and results of their personal intercourse with readers,and the increase in special reading during the last few years.Concerning boys and girls Mr.Cummings writes:"I must not forget the juvenile readers,school-boys and school-girls,and the children from the stores and offices about town.These latter are smart,bright,active little bodies,often more in earnest than their more fortunate fellows of the same age.They are an object of special solicitude and care.The school children come for points in reading for their compositions and for parallel reading with their lessons in school;and such books are suggested as may be found useful.The two most available faculties in children to work upon are the heart and the imagination.Get a hold on their affections by encouraging words and manifesting a readiness to help them,and you command their devotion and confidence.Give them interesting books (Optic and Alger,if needs be),and you fix their attention.Above all,let the book be interesting;for the attention is never fixed by,nor does the memory ever retain,what is laborious to read.But,once assured of their devotion,with their confidence secured and their attention fixed,there is nothing to prevent the work of direction succeeding admirably with them."Miss Jenkins says:"The use of the library by the young people is increasing every year.The change in the character of children's books has been a great help to us,fairly crowding out many of the trashy stories so long the favorite reading.One of the first things that attracted my attention was their perseverance in seeking certain authors,and their continual exchange of books.Isoon found their difficulties with the catalogue.They read only stories,and wanted those full of incident and excitement;when their favorite author failed,they sought for something else that sounded right in the catalogue,or sometimes wrote only the numbers without much reference to the titles,trusting,Isuppose,to luck.Not liking the looks of the books they would return them.A steady recurrence of this made it a nuisance.

One of my first steps was to join one of the many groups around the room,and look over with them,suggest this author,or this,that,and the other book,until they were furnished with a list of books fairly suited to their age,and then,suggesting that the list should be kept for future reference,pass on to another group.This is now a general practice,and seems to suit the little folks;if,after several applications,they are unsuccessful,it is my custom to get them a book.My young people began to ask me to help their friends,also to help others themselves;so gradually the bright faces of my boy and girl friends have grown familiar,and as they gain confidence in me we strike out into other paths,and many bright,readable books,historical or containing bits of geography or elementary science,have been read.It so happened that many of my young friends grew quite confidential,and told me about their school and lessons.

It was not very difficult to induce them to read some things bearing upon their studies;these books were shown to their teachers,and many were ready to cooperate at once;this led to an acquaintance with several,and the teachers'plan of study became a basis of selection for reading in history,biography,travel,and natural science.From books suited to their capacity much effective work has been done.Several classes have studied English history,and their reading has been made supplementary from the topics.Later,when a list of notable persons was given to them,they showed the effect of their reading by giving very good short sketches of these persons.American history--colonial,revolutionary,administrations,civil war,reconstruction--has been treated similarly,and the teachers are much gratified at the result.We find that these boys do not fall back to trashy reading,but ask for better reading in place of their old favorites.