Page:The small library. A guide to the collection and care of books (IA smalllibraryguid00browiala).pdf/68

expected to take great delight in literature which is reminiscent of school lessons, or which is calculated to hurt their self-respect, by being what a London lad once contemptuously called them—'Kids' Books'. The Kids' Books' issued by the various religio-commercial agencies, with their extremely proper estimates of good and evil, and their awful slaughter of good and innocent little heroes and heroines, who are made to die young from malignant diseases, as a reward for virtue, is just the very class of literature which every healthy-minded boy or girl will repudiate. Yet, this is the kind of books with which most of our Sunday and elementary schools are supplied, if any kind of library exists at all. Now, instead of this utterly feeble stuff, which is more likely to induce boredom than inculcate moral principle, why not start with a small reference library, which will simplify studies, and aid scholars in their pursuit of knowledge? Both teachers and students would benefit by the presence of a small, up-to-date reference collection in some accessible part of the school, and the books noted at the end of this chapter will probably meet the needs of most elementary schools. The same books, or others of a similar kind, should find a place in the reference collections which ought to be found in every Municipal Juvenile Library. One of the most effectual hindrances to the selection of suitable books for school libraries is the want of sufficient funds. It is the same disability which hampers the work of municipal libraries, and indeed every-