CHAPTER XI.
Selecting books--Fitting the library to its owners The selection of books should be left to the librarian, under the general direction of trustees or book committee.
There should be made at the start a collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, gazetteers, and scientific compendiums, which should not be lent.

The extent of this collection will depend on the scope and purposes of the library.

No library, however small, can dispense with some books of reference.

But for a small library don't buy expensive works.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica is an example of what not to get.
There must be taken into consideration, in determining the character of the books to be purchased, these factors among others: a) Presence or absence of other libraries in the vicinity, and their character, if present.
b) The avowed purposes of the free, tax-supported public library, to-wit: 1) To help people to be happy; 2) to help them to become wise; 3) to encourage them to be good.
c) The amount of money to be expended and the sum that will probably be available for each succeeding year.
d) The manner in which the books are to be used; whether they are to be lent, or are to be used only for reference, or are to form both a reference and a lending library.
e) The class of people by whom they are to be used, and if children, whether for school work only, or for general reading, or for both.
f) The occupations and leading local interests of the community.
g) The character and average degree of intelligence of the community.
h) The habits, as to reading and study, of those who will use the library.
The village library, in its early days, can well afford to begin at the level of the community's average reading.