Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/187

The Public Library in Relation to Education. 175 be a barrier ; and I trust that some pressure will be brought to bear on County Councils, so that institutions of a character such as that described, may be established in all parts of the country. A leading member of this Association, in one of the excellent association handbooks recently published, has said: " The main object of public libraries is to promote education and literary and scientific inquiry, by placing within the reach of the community at large those books which, by reason of their scarcity or costli- ness, would not be otherwise available, and such other books as are useful for the purpose of general education and recreation." With Mr. Cowell we must all agree, but at the same time we must not overlook the fact that it is not by books alone that scientific and technical education will be promoted ; there must be a union of classes and books if education is to attain to the most desirable ends. Students require not only advice in the choice of books on special subjects, but direct training, and I must confess that it is not always in the power of a librarian even to give advice on abstruse scientific subjects without the assistance of a specialist ; therefore it seems to me that where the two institutions are combined, there is every prospect of mutual help : the Librarian and Committee on the one hand receiving from the teachers great assistance in the selection of books on scientific and technical subjects ; and the teachers and students on the other hand having the privilege of using those books. At Wolverhampton the students have exceptional oppor- tunities for obtaining the more expensive books on scientific subjects ; for by the liberality of a few wealthy inhabitants, something like ^"50 a year is collected for the purpose of reward- ing the most diligent students. The successful students are permitted to select their own prizes, and these for the most part consist of text -books, but they are not allowed to choose novels. The lists of books chosen by students give an excellent idea of the interest taken in their work ; and to those who possess the early reports of the Wolverhampton Public Library, a perusal of these lists should prove instructive. I should weary you if I attempted to give an idea of the admirable collection of works provided by the committee for students ; but I may add that in each class-room, lists of books on the subjects taught are placed in a prominent position, and have proved of very great service. 14