Of Course I Asked Whether A Great Many Of The Books Were Not Lost,
Stolen, And Destroyed; And Of Course I Was Told That There Were No
Losses, No Thefts, And No Destruction.
As to thefts, the librarian
did not seem to think that any instance of such an occurrence could
be found.
Among the poorer classes, a book might sometimes be lost
when they were changing their lodgings; but anything so lost was
more than replaced by the fines. A book is taken out for a week,
and if not brought back at the end of that week - when the loan can
be renewed if the reader wishes - a fine, I think of two cents, is
incurred. The children, when too late with the books, bring in the
two cents as a matter of course, and the sum so collected fully
replaces all losses. It was all couleur de rose; the
librarianesses looked very pretty and learned, and, if I remember
aright, mostly wore spectacles; the head librarian was
enthusiastic; the nice, instructive books were properly dogs-eared;
my own productions were in enormous demand; the call for books over
the counter was brisk; and the reading-room was full of readers.
It has, I dare say, occurred to other travelers to remark that the
proceedings at such institutions, when visited by them on their
travels, are always rose colored. It is natural that the bright
side should be shown to the visitor. It may be that many books are
called for and returned unread; that many of those taken out are so
taken by persons who ought to pay for their novels at circulating
libraries; that the librarian and librarianesses get very tired of
their long hours of attendance, for I found that they were very
long; and that many idlers warm themselves in that reading-room.
Nevertheless the fact remains - the library is public to all the men
and women in Boston, and books are given out without payment to all
who may choose to ask for them. Why should not the great Mr. Mudie
emulate Mr. Bates, and open a library in London on the same system?
The librarian took me into one special room, of which he himself
kept the key, to show me a present which the library had received
from the English government. The room was filled with volumes of
two sizes, all bound alike, containing descriptions and drawings of
all the patents taken out in England. According to this librarian,
such a work would be invaluable as to American patents; but he
conceived that the subject had become too confused to render any
such an undertaking possible. "I never allow a single volume to be
used for a moment without the presence of myself or one of my
assistants," said the librarian; and then he explained to me, when
I asked him why he was so particular, that the drawings would, as a
matter of course, be cut out and stolen if he omitted his care.
"But they may be copied," I said.
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