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About The Hesperian / (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1899 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1895)
2 THE HESPEKIAN THE HISTORY OF A CATASTROPHE. I.JJi Irl1 ,. ' B m n THE LIBRARY. ITS NEW BUILDING. To oxtond the facilitios of tho library moans to enlarge the general usefulness of the whole institution. No department touches more people than does this one. In fact, besides being a department by itself with its own work to perform, it constitutes a large factor in every other department. What cripples one cripples all. Of course what the library wants chiefly is its new building, the most casual observer must know this. Twice as many people as there should be are crowded into those two rooms, jostling each other, breathing the foul air and straining their eyes because of the poor light; they no more than half accomplish what they might in an ample, well' lighted and perfectly ventilated reading room, such as the new building provides. In the pres ent cramped quarters the library attendants cannot adequately servo the students who assemble there for work. Much of the diffi culty arising from mislaid books arises from lack of space. To state that more room is needed for shelving bookB is stating a very patent fact. The accessions to the library average nearly 500 volumes a month, and evory available space in the two rooms has boon built up with shelving. If the now building is granted by the legislature all available shelves will be full before it is ready for occupancy, and the library staff have not had the courage to face the state of affairs should the building be refused. We need, of course, more chan shelves enough to hold the books. We want more return shelves which would vastly facilitate the reference work. We want shelves for tho now books, that students and professors may seo what books on various subjects are coming into the library. We want shelves for books on topics which special occasions bring up. Then we want more room for books in their regular places, so that a half dozen now books may bo added in a subject without the moving and shifting that is now necessary to accommodate them. Then wo want work rooms. Tho office of any institution must bo away from tho gonoral commotion of business. Whore tho cataloguer can work uninterrupted, now books can be placed in tho hands of readers much more promptly. In tho now building with ample work room, even tho small force now employed will bo able to accomplish more and bettor work. In the present quarters there is no opportunity for seminar work in connection with the library. In tho now building ample room is provided in which classes may meet at any time of the day, in rooms adjoining tho library where they may enjoy all tho facili ties of the catalogs and reference books bo sides tho work devoted to special subjects. After the new building comes more as sistance in our list of needs. In our present quarters we have as large a staff as we have room for, but it is not large enough to accomplish the work circumstances demand. In a library of a few thousand volumes it might bo possible for one person to become so familiar with the works as to dispense with a catalogue. But in a library rapidly approaching 30,000 volumes, it is manifestly bad economy not to index them in some such way that their valuable contents are available. Hence a catalog complete in every detail is an absolute necessity. Un less more assistance is granted for the- com ing biennium than has heretofore been em ployed, much of the work must continue un done. Tho departmental libraries are need ing attention which can not be given at present. Up to this time the chief work of tho staff has been confined to tho main library, but the departmental libraries are an integral part and can not long be neg lected without serious detriment to the whole. Some of tho work bestowed upon thom by the departments might bo more economically ' dttti JM
