Page:The Carnegie institute and library of Pittsburgh (1916).djvu/8

 "free to the people." Entering the well-arranged Loan Department, the visitor is impressed with its homelike, cheerful atmosphere, and at once has a pleasant feeling of proprietorship. For everything is made comfortable, easy, accessible; some twelve thousand chosen books are placed within reach upon open shelves; the latest publications, and books which encourage special lines of reading, are displayed in movable racks. For instance, during the annual exhibition there is a well-filled rack labeled "Books which will help you to enjoy the exhibition in the Department of Fine Arts." Periodicals and comfortable chairs make this an alluring resting-place. Throughout the hard times all the reading and reference rooms have been continuously occupied during working hours by unemployed men, who are taking this opportunity for study along the line of their trades and professions.

A very liberal policy was established by the first Librarian, Mr. Edwin H. Anderson, and is carried on by Mr [sic] Harrison W. Craver, the present Librarian, with the result that restrictive rules are made as few as possible. Cards are issued when asked for, and books may be taken out immediately upon application for a card. Careless borrowers are supplied with temporary cards when they forget to bring their own, for it is the aim of the Library staff that no one shall go away unsatisfied. Two books of fiction are lent on one card, and practically no limit is placed on non-fiction—an inestimable boon to the student, who may carry off just as many volumes as he can handle.

And it works, this generous system! There are but few losses; the borrower rarely betrays the confidence reposed in him, for something in human nature instinctively responds to the spirit of trust and helpfulness.

A card of permission from the Librarian gives the visitor free access to the book-stack, which is built of