Page 89 - Training for librarianship; library work as a career

TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP
largely in the South and in the West, but
with the increase of state library laws permit-
ting the establishment and maintenance of
libraries at public expense, and, with the de-
velopment also of the work of state library
commissions, such proprietary libraries have,
in most cases, given way to public libraries.
The suggestion has sometimes been made
that the proprietary library has no place in a
democratic community; such a view is, how-
ever, open to question. The impulses which
actuate persons of similar tastes or interests
to unite for common purposes are deeply
rooted in men and in society, and accrue both
to the advantage of the individual and the
state. Moreover, the advantages which such
libraries give to their shareholders and sub-
scribers are such as to ensure their contin-
uance and warrant their further extension.
The ownership and use of proprietary
libraries are, as has been stated, restricted to
a limited clientele. Efficient management
entails that the ownership be vested in a cor-
poration or stock company, and proprietary
libraries are to be found maintained in almost
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