The C. L. S. C. as a Substitute for the Public Library.
Reading in a desultory manner, without system, plan, or purpose, as is the habit of many people who patronize public libraries, is productive of but little benefit. One may go through many volumes, and acquire much information, but it will be in a crude, unsystematic state, and can not be utilized in many practical ways. In public libraries the people are almost wholly devoted to reading works of fiction. This is the testimony of librarians. Its truthfulness may also be seen by any one who will casually examine the books of any library open to the public. Works of fiction bear the marks of almost constant perusal, while the standard works of history, science, philosophy and literature show signs of but little use and remain uncalled for upon the shelves for weeks at a time. The constant reading of fiction is deleterious in the extreme, as it not only gives the individual addicted to it false and distorted views of life, but it is also sure to render the mind unfit for the consideration of all serious and weighty subjects, and begets a distaste for solid reading of any and every kind.
In many respects the C. L. S. C. is a great improvement on the reading-room or the public library, and may prove, in a good degree, a valuable substitute for both. There can be little doubt but that the time spent in reading the course prescribed for its members will be productive of much better results than if given up to reading in a hap-hazard manner. The increased advantages to be obtained may be briefly summed up as follows:
In the first place, the books prescribed in the C. L. S. C. course of study have been selected after the most careful consideration by persons well qualified for the task. A number of the works have been prepared expressly for the use of the C. L. S. C., and are models of compactness, brevity and style. The course of study is not confined to any one department of literature, but comprises works of history, and science, philosophy and poetry, and a wide range of literature and topics of general interest. Works of fiction are reduced to a minimum, and those admitted to the course are unobjectionable both in character and matter.
Second—The course of reading is pursued in a methodical and orderly manner. A portion of each day is to be set apart for the required reading, and though the allotted time is brief, it is sufficient to secure habits of systematic study. A regular plan is insisted upon. Each work is to be read in the order assigned to it and written examinations are conducted on the portions read. Thus the evils resulting from careless and desultory methods of reading are counteracted and wholesome and systematic habits of study are inculcated.
Third—The solitary reader often finds his task monotonous and tiresome, and at times his perusal of books is unproductive because his faculties are not aroused to their highest state of action. But in the C. L. S. C. such a condition of things is largely avoided. A number of persons in common pursue the same course of reading, with frequent meetings for conversation concerning the books and topics under consideration. By this means they are afforded frequent opportunities for mutual interchange of ideas on the subjects to which their minds are simultaneously directed and they are thus stimulated to greater mental activity, and their work is freed from all tedium and weariness. While the C. L. S. C. has many benefits to offer to people in cities and large towns, even though they may possess the advantages of reading-rooms, libraries and lecture courses, it is of especial profit to those who dwell in small towns and in the rural districts. In but few of such communities are libraries of any kind to be found, and means for self-culture are often meagre in the extreme. The C. L. S. C. offers a course of reading adapted to their wants. It is extensive and yet not costly, and may be pursued by the busiest men and women if they are only economical of time.
Let any one who sighs for the advantages to be derived from reading-rooms, enter upon the studies prescribed for the C. L. S. C., and at the end of his four years’ course, compare notes with any one who has spent his leisure in that kind of reading that is common in public libraries, and he will find he has made great gain.
