. Liverpool public libraries. A history of fifty years. building open,said it was a privilege which he highly valuedthat amongst the many duties, pleasant for themost part, which he had had to perform duringhis year of office, it should so happen that he wasable, on nearly his last public appearance aschief magistrate of the city, to perform on behalfof the Corporation the ceremonial of opening thatlibrary and technical school. It was a greatfeature of the day that libraries had become socommon and so popular. There were manypeople who predicted some forty or fifty yearsago, when the establish
. Liverpool public libraries. A history of fifty years. building open,said it was a privilege which he highly valuedthat amongst the many duties, pleasant for themost part, which he had had to perform duringhis year of office, it should so happen that he wasable, on nearly his last public appearance aschief magistrate of the city, to perform on behalfof the Corporation the ceremonial of opening thatlibrary and technical school. It was a greatfeature of the day that libraries had become socommon and so popular. There were manypeople who predicted some forty or fifty yearsago, when the establishment of public librarieswas first mooted, that they would be taken upby those who were simply advocates of scienceand abstruse studies; that they would be crowdedwith books which would be slightly read, and thatin point of fact so far from being in accordancewith the requirements of the population, speakinggenerally, they would rather contain books whichwould be left on one side because of their it was, he thought, that practical wisdom. 2 E _-, B K z 03 -5g 1 H O ma* uj jfm* > AT UJ m History of the Liverpool Public Libraries. 163 had been shown by the managers of suchinstitutions which belonged to public bodies incatering for the wants of the people with whomthey had to deal, for all persons did not desireto apply themselves to philosophical who had charge of the libraries hadbrought them up to date, so to speak, and hadcarefully regarded the class of books required fortheir readers, and had endeavoured not to drivebut to lead the reading public into the properchannel. The efforts made in this direction hadmet with a legitimate success, and owing to thetact and management of those who had controlof public libraries, especially in large places, thetaste for reading, instead of falling off, hadincreased, and whereas readers were counted byhundreds some years ago, they were now countedby thousands. The North Branch LendingLibrary, now closed, was o
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