who, like Sir Christopher Wren, need no monuments other than the structures they have reared for the use of their fellow men.

The present plans of the Board contemplate six more branches. One of these is well under way at Union and Cabanne avenues. The site for a third has been bought in Carondelet, and the plans for this are in course of preparation. The financial means for the acquisition of the sites and the construction of the buildings of the other branches are at hand, and the work of constructing the library system will go forward now with such speed as is consistent with the enduring character of the work.

Everything in this world must vindicate its right to be. The utility of the public library, obvious as that would seem to be, is not accepted without challenge. In the view of its founders, it was a necessary supplement to and an appropriate extension of our public educational system, and in that view it has been administered from the beginning. For convenience and efficiency of administration, the School Board and the Library Board are separate institutions, but the purposes of their creation harmonize and indeed are as one. To vindicate the Public Library, as to vindicate the Public School, it is necessary only to witness the work they are doing. Popular approval of the school and the library are shown by the generous support that is given them out of taxes that are self-imposed, and by the increasing use that is made of the facilities they offer. The Public Library of St. Louis enters upon its new era with a collection of 195,000 boud volumes and 50,000 pamphlets, with a registration of 62,230 and an issue of 1,184,801 books annually.

This popular judgment of approval I know is sometimes derided, and a recent critic has said that the reading done in and through the library is but a sort of literary dissipation, the books read being "the small green beer" of our literature. Many others lament the amount of novel reading that is done. Beyond a doubt, the primary purpose in much, if not most of the reading, is recreation. But why should it not be? Most of those who use the Public Library are busy, hard working people, who are in need of recreation, and what can they get more wholesome in every way than good imaginative literature? But there is a constant increase in the use of other books. The demand for works of reference in every branch of science and in the various arts is growing. More novels are read than before, but many more books of other kinds are also read. And this is not the result of compulsion. In the early seventies the Library Board undertook to form the public taste, and novels, except those of Dickens, Scott, Thackeray and a few others, were almost entirely ruled out. The result was that the registry of members and the issue of books fell off so seriously that at the election in 1875 a new Board, pledged to a change of policy, was chosen.

An effort is made to elevate the standard of reading, but entirely by way of suggestion. If Mrs. Holmes or Mrs. Southworth or the Duchess are called for, the book is handed out without a word of disparagement, but in it is placed a list of books, which, without preachment of any kind, are recommended to the reader. This method was devised by Mr. Crunden, and its results have been most excellent. Mrs. Southworth has been almost entirely forgotten, and Mrs. Holmes and the Duchess have lost their friends in troops.

The current novel, in the Public Library as elsewhere, seems to predominate, but this is only seeming. The current novel soon ceases to be current, and long before it has been worn out by use, it encumbers the shelf and is sent to the old book man and sold at any price to make way for something else. But the best books are called for again and again. They are read and reread, until dog-eared and dirty, tattered and torn, even the rag man complains of their condition, and then new copies are bought to take their places.

Hugo

To find the favorite books for reading in a public library, you must take a period not of weeks or months, but of years. I have had a list made of the twenty novels most called for during the last six years. I give them in order of their popularity.

Les Miserables.

Meredith

Diana of the Crossways.
Ordeal of Richard Feveril.

Dumas

Count of Monte Cristo.

Eliot

Romola.

Three Musketeers.

Mill on the Floss.

The newer books have a factitious advantage. In a later period of six years, some of them would disappear, and old favorites would be in their places. But always you may depend upon it that Les Miserables, David Copperfield, Vanity Fair and Ivanhoe would be present.

I would not offer this list as of the twenty best novels. I would eliminate at least half of them, and would substitute some whose authors are not even represented in the list. But about that sort of thing people will always differ. The important thing is that this is a good list, and indicates a high standard of taste. These books are not the small beer of literature, and nobody was ever brought to harm by the reading of them. In the juvenile department the showing is even better. There in the front rank stand Miss Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm, Aesop, Kingsley, the Arabian Nigths, Robinson Crusoe and Tom Sawyer.

But statistics are proverbially misleading, and those of the library are no exception. They tell only part of the truth. The public taste is above what the figures of issue would indicate.

It is to be borne in mind that people buy books in these days, as well as draw them from the library. Books are to be found now in nearly every home, and these books, which are the constant possession of the household, must be taken into account. Confined to library statistics, the Bible would seem not to be much read. It is not often drawn for home reading, and at the library is taken down only occasionally for casual reference. But why? It is already in the homes of the humblest, and is read in those homes more than any other book in our language. And what is thus true of the Bible, is measurably true of Shakespeare, Burns, Dickens, Scott, Goethe, Cervantes and the other great writers. People who read, desire to possess the books they cherish most, they want them as every-day companions, and having them as such, there is less occasion for getting them from the library. This must be taken into account in determining what our people like best to read. In truth, the popular standard of taste in library matters is a high one, as attested by the fact that the best books are being continually reproduced in large, unlimited editions. Every attempted re

vision of the Bible has failed, because the people have a better sense of pure English than the pedants.

Those who watch the work of the library feel sure of its beneficence, and welcome every extension of the field of its influence.

The Library Board was originally chartered for library and lyceum purposes. In its early days its rooms were used for both. The old reports give account of lectures and entertainments under the auspices of the Board. This building recognizes the propriety of the lyceum in connection with the library. The room in which we are gathered is designed for the uses of clubs and societies formed among the people of the neighborhood for literary purposes of every kind.

In the hope and faith that this structure may be the scene and center of pure enjoyment and high endeavor, that it will prove a temple on whose altar is ever glowing the flame at which patriotism may be rekindled and public spirit renewed, we now open its doors to the people, and bid them enter into possession of their own.

BRANCH LIBRARIES.

Of Mr. Carnegie's $1,000,000 gift one-half was set apart by the donor for the construction of branches. The Library Board agreed to furnish sites for the buildings, to buy the books, and to provide a proper fund for maintenance.

Soon after the close of the World's Fair plans for a first branch were begun, and on Sept. 17, 1906, the completed building was opened to the people. The address delivered on that occasion by Pres. F. W. Lehmann of the Library Board and printed in this report, covers not only the earlier history of the public library, but also the events leading up to the comple tion of this Barr Branch. It remains only to say therefore that the work done here in the first seven months, as shown in the tables of this report, has been most gratifying to all concerned. It was due to no pressure, to no undue attempts to advertise, or to cater to each temporary demand. The home issue has been simply normal. Regarding the building itself the accompanying views give some impression of its richness and dignity. The main floor particularly, comprising the two reading rooms, stack and delivery rooms, and the librarian's office, is spacious and handsome. The basement, less embellished but thoroughly equipped, contains in addition to toilet rooms, store rooms, and the heating plant, a club room, an auditorium and a retiring room for the staff. The Barr Branch cost about $72,000.

As this report goes to press the Cabanne Branch, second of the Carnegie buildings, is beginning its work. It was dedicated with simple ceremony on the night of July 27th, in the presence of a large gathering of friends. Pres. F. W. Lehmann spoke for the Library Board and Mr. Saunders Norvell replied in behalf of the neighborhood; the generosity of the Cabanne Library Association provided a band of music and also attractive souvenirs In the form of book marks representing the keys of the library; and in every way the occasion proved itself a happy one.

The Cabanne Branch in its early weeks has repeated the gratifying record of the Barr, both in the registration of new readers and in the issue of books. It is steadily and enthusiastically patronized. This branch, though different in exterior design, is similar to the Barr in size and equipment, and its cost was about $80,000.

At the present time a third branch, the Carondelet, is about two-thirds completed. The site for a fourth was bought this spring at Seventh and Soulard Streets, and another is being sought in the northern part of the city. This growth will go steadily on until seven branches are finished, when the Carnegie fund will be exhausted and the city, it is hoped, will for the time be adequately served.