18. What are the best books for the debating society?
19. What are the best periodicals for children?
20. What are the provisions of the school library law in regard to district-school libraries?
Value of Library Instruction.—Such library instruction as has been described is of great help to teachers assigning work to pupils and of the greatest benefit to the pupils themselves. Without it, the librarian, teachers, and pupils are handicapped in their work and the library fails of its full usefulness. A knowledge of how to use a library will be of the greatest value to the student not only through his high school course, but even more so in college, if he goes that far, or in continuing his reading and self-culture through the means of the public library when he discontinues his academic career. To be able to use books effectively, to know where to find exact information when wanted, is a kind of knowledge that comes from familiarity with reference books and the use of books as sources. Such an acquaintance with books is of infinitely more value in later life than knowing a few text-books from cover to cover. The place in which to lay the foundation for this proper and intimate acquaintance with books as tools is in the school library and the period is that of the high school age.
CHAPTER X.
SUGGESTED READINGS IN THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA.
The new Encyclopædia Britannica will prove a rich mine for the diligent library assistant seeking information on topics connected with books and libraries. While the index volume suggests some of the topics in question, much of this suggestion is done by means of cross-references and it is worth while to call special attention to and briefly summarize the articles of interest to library workers. One of the first things worthy of notice is the fact that the articles are written by men who are recognized authorities in their various fields; such scholars as Sir E. Maunde Thompson, late chief librarian of the British Museum, Alfred W. Pollard and Cyril Davenport, also of the British Museum, H. R. Tedder, librarian of the Athenæum Club, and editor of “The Library” and J. Duff Brown, librarian of the Islington Public Libraries and author of the “Guide to librarianship” and other valued treatises on library economy.
Manuscripts.—Beginning with the Manuscript the student can read in Sir E. Maunde Thompson’s article a description of the development of the ancient manuscript, particularly among the Greeks and Romans, leading on to the mediaeval manuscripts of Europe, and bringing their history down to the invention of printing. The writer treats of the materials used, the forms of the manuscript book (the roll, the waxen tablet, the codex, the quires) the mechanical arrangement of writing, punctuation, division of words, abbreviations and contractions, writing implements and inks. Those who wish to pursue the subject further can turn to the same writer’s article on Palæography, the science which takes cognizance of writings of a literary, economic or legal nature, done generally with a stile, reed or pen, on tablets, rolls or codices. This paper traces the history of Greek and Latin palæography from the earliest written documents in those languages which have survived, touching especially on Greek papyri and vellum codices, the Roman cursive and literary hands, and the various national hands derived from the Roman hand. It is therefore concerned with the fundamentals of the written records of Western Europe. Manuscripts with illustrations form a class by themselves and are described by this same high authority under Illuminated Mss. Here are outlined the chief features of the Byzantine, Franco-Lombardic, Celtic (with special mention of the Lindisfarne Gospels, of which a full-page colored facsimile is given) Carolingian, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, German, Italian and Spanish. There are separate paragraphs on the characteristics of the illumination of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.
Paper.—In the first section of the articles on Paper Sir Maunde Thompson discusses various theories as to the origin and early history of this commodity. For an account of the writing material made from Papyrus the author refers us to his treatment of that subject, where he gives an account of the reed, its cultivation and wide-spread use, its manipulation into the article of commerce and the use of the latter by scribes. The second section of the article on Paper treats especially of its manufacture and is written by J. W. Wyatt, with an interesting supplementary note on India Paper by W. E. G. Fisher. The name “India” was “originally given in England, about the middle of the 18th century to a soft absorbent paper of a pale buff shade, imported from China, where it was made by hand, on a paper-making frame somewhat similar to that used in Europe. The name probably originated in the prevailing tendency, down to the end of the 18th century, to describe as ‘Indian’ anything which came from the far East (cf. Indian ink). This so-called India paper was used for printing the earliest and finest impressions of engravings, hence known as ‘India proofs’”.
The Book.—As pointed out by Alfred W. Pollard in his article on the Book, there is but a slight difference in general appearance between a manuscript written in a formal book-hand and an early printed copy of the same work printed in the same district as the manuscript had been written. The type used by the early printers was as a rule based on handwriting considered appropriate for use in a manuscript copy of the same work. The development of the colophon into the title-page (a subject on which Mr. Pollard is an authority) is briefly summarized. Other characteristics of some of the early printed books, such as their size, their paper, their illustrations and their bindings are noted. The main features of the books of each century from the 16th to the 19th are succinctly characterized in separate paragraphs, and the comparative cost of books at various periods is illustrated by citations of prices of well known works.