The Fort Dodge Messenger: June 27, 1905

Library Receives Many New Books

Books of History, Reference, Fiction and Travel Among Them.

They Are Much in Demand

Library Continually Increases in Patronage and is Constantly Visited by Streams of Booklovers – Popular Novel Appeals to All.

Just as unceasingly as books go out of the public library to be read in the homes of the city, are they coming in from the publishers to satisfy the constant craving for reading matter and especially for new books.

There is such an abundance of new books, that while not classics, are not of the lower class of books, so that they seem especially to fit in for moments of pastime when perhaps the brain is too tired to cope with one of the heavier books in English literature. The modern novel is in a way educating the people, because it is several steps higher than the paper covered book of a few years ago, and is yet within the understanding of all, and even for those who cannot grasp the finer and meritable points, the story appeals to them and becoming accustomed to the better grade of story, they find it harder to return to the old unscrupulous love tales of doubtful authors.

Every day the numbers of people who take books from the library is increasing and if one sits inside for even a short time he will hear many applicants asking how they are to get cards of membership.

If anything, there are more children who delve among the books there than there are grown people, and it is surprising to see the children whom you scarcely believe can read, asking for all sorts of books, and going off in high delight with them, much as they would treasure a new doll or slingshot.

Every time a new list of books is published, the librarian states that it takes scarcely two days for them all to go out and every often several of them are asked for many times, when they have already been given out. A new consignment has just been catalogued and reads as follows:

Tags: 1905