WHAT A PUBLIC LIBRARY DOES FOR A COMMUNITY
1 It doubles the value of the education the child receives in school, and, best of all, imparts a desire for knowledge which serves as an incentive to continue his education after leaving school; and, having furnished the incentive, it further supplies the means for a life-long continuance of education.
2 It provides for the education of adults who have lacked, or failed to make use of, early opportunities.
3 It furnishes information to teachers, ministers, journalists, physicians, legislators, all persons upon whose work depend the intellectual, moral, sanitary and political welfare and advancement of the people.
4 It furnishes books and periodicals for the technical instruction and information of mechanics, artisans, manufacturers, engineers and all others whose work requires technical knowledge—of all persons upon whom depends the industrial progress of the city.
5 It is of incalculable benefit to the city by affording to thousands the highest and purest entertainment, and thus lessening crime and disorder.
6 It makes the city a more desirable place of residence, and thus retains the best citizens and attracts others of the same character.
7 More than any other agency, it elevates the general standard of intelligence throughout the great body of the community, upon which its material prosperity, as well as its moral and political well-being, must depend.
Finally, the public library includes potentially all other means of social betterment. A library is a living organism, having within itself the capacity of infinite growth and reproduction. It may found a dozen museums and hospitals, kindle the train of thought that produces beneficent inventions, and inspire to noble deeds of every kind, all the while imparting intelligence and inculcating industry, thrift, morality, public spirit and all those qualities that constitute the wealth and well-being of a community.