It ought not to be needful to charge any one never to wet the finger to turn over the leaves of a book—a chil Leh habit, akin to running out the tongue when writing, or moving the lips when reading to one's self. The only proper way to turn the leaf is at the upper right-hand erner, and the index-finger of the right hand will always be found competent to that duty.

Still less should it be needful to insist upon the importance to every reader of books, of coming to their perusal clean-handed. When you reflect that nine-tenths of the soiling and spoiling which books undergo comes from the dirty hands of many readers, this becomes a vital port. Fouquet, a learned book collector of France, used to kep a pile of white gloves in the ante-room of his library, an i no visitor was allowed to cross the threshold, or to han-?'e a book without putting on a pair, lest he should soil the precious volumes with naked hands. Such a refinement of care to keep books immaculate is not to be expected in this age of the world; and yet, a librarian who respects his calling is often tempted to wish that there were some means of compelling people to be more careful about books than they are.

It ought not ever to be true that an enemy to the welfare of library books is found in the librarian him-elf, or in any of his assistants, yet there have been those employed in the care of books who have abused their positions and tre volumes entrusted to their charge, not only by neglect of care, (which is a negative injury) but by positive and continual ill treatment. This may arise from ignorance of better methods, but ignorance is a poor excuse for use credited with the intelligence of a brariin. In some i braries, books are treated with positive ind gnity, and are permanently injured by tightly wedging them toge, Never crowd books by main force into shelves too short or

too small for them. It strains the backs, and seriously inpares the bindings. Every book should slip easily past its

s on the shelf. If a volume is too tall to go in its pla e, it should be relegated to lower shelves for larger toks, never letting its head be crowded against the shelf

One should never pull books out from the shelf by their lands, or by pulling at the binding, but place the for firmly on the top of the book, next to the binding, a: press down while drawing out the volume. From failure to observe this simple precaution, you will find in all

es multitudes of torn or broken bindings at the top

a wholly nee Hess defacement and waste.

Never permit a book to be turned down on its face to keep the place. This easily besetting habit weakens the E-k, and frequently soils its leave by contact with a dusty For the same reason, one volume should not be placed within the leaves of anot! er to keep the place where a tk-mark of paper, so easily applied, should always be used. Books should not be turned down on the fore-edges or fron's on the library tables, as practiced in most bookstres, in order to better display the stock. The same 12't prevails in n any libraries, from careless inattention. When necessary, in order to better read the titles, they *uld never be left long in such position. This treatment skens the back infallibly, and of long continued breaks

1

of all persons in the world, should learn,

1 orld had others to learn, never to treat a book with , and how truly the life of a book depend upon proper treatment, as well as that of an animated being

Γ tt, and others of my sugestions, may seem tr"- to some, but to those who consider how much sue

tr...

in 1 fe depends upon **nt on to what are called

ray, how much both han in taste and human hap

piness are promoted by care regarding trifles, they will not appear unimportant. The existence of schools to teach library science, and of manuals devoted to similar laudable aims, is an auspicious omen of the new reign of refined taste in those nobler arts of life which connect themselves with literature, and are to be hailed as authentic evidences of the onward progress of civilization.

CHAPTER 6.

THE RESTORATION AND RECLAMATION OF BOOKS.

We are now to consider carefully the restoration and the reclamation of the books of a library, whether public or private.

Nothing can be more important than the means of restring or reclaiming library books that are lost or injared, since every such restoration will save the funds of the brary or collector from replacing them with fresh or newly bought copies, and will enable it to furnish its stores with as many new books as the money thus saved repreents. The cardinal thing to be kept always in view is a wise economy of means. An every-day prudence is the price of successful administration. A management which

perts any of the enemies of books to destroy or damage them, thereby wasting the substance of the library without repar, is a fatally defective management, which should be charged as soon as possible.

This consideration assumes added importance when it is remembered that the means of nearly all our libraries are very limited and inadequate to the drafts upon them, wear by year. A great many libraries are compelled to let their books needing rebinding accumulate, from the mere want of money to pay for reclothing the nearly worn-out volumes, thus depriving the readers for a considerable time, of the use of many coveted books. And even with those whch have large means, I have never yet heard of a library that had enough, either to satisfy the eager desire of the librarian to fill up deficiencies, or to meet fully the man.fold wants of readers. So much the more important,

then, is it to husband every dollar that can be saved, to keep the books in such good condition that they will not need frequent rebinding, and to reduce to a minimum all the evils which beset them, menacing their safety, or injuring their condition.

To attain these great ends, the librarian who is quali ed for his responsible position, must be both a preserver and a restorer of books. If not personally able to go through the mechanical processes which belong to the art of restoration, (and this is the case in all libraries except the smallest) he should at least learn all about them, so as to be able to teach them thoroughly and intelligently to an assistant. It is frequently made an excuse for the solle I and slovenly and even torn condition of books and br. 1ings in a much used public library, that neither the 1 brarian nor his aids have any time to look into the cond.t on of the books, much less to repa.r any of the numerous damages they sustain. But it should be remembered that in most libraries, even the busiest, there are seasons of the day, or periods of very stormy weather, when the fre quentation of readers is quite small. Those times so..d always be seized upon to take hold of volumes which have had to be laid aside as damaged, in the hurry of business To arrest such damages at the threshold is the duty the interest of the library. A torn leaf can be quick mended, a slightly broken bir lng can be pasted or g'uest, turned-down leaves can be restored where they belong. a plate or map that is started can be fastened in, by devot:" a few minutes at the proper time, and with the proper plances ready at hand. Multitudes of volumes can be so treated in the course of the year, thus saving ti heavy cost of reben hing. It is the proverb.al stit 1 in time that saves nine. Never wait, in such matters, fort e lessure day that never comes, but seize the golden moment