Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/93

 Scientific Books in Public Libraries. 81 as would be satisfactory. Then the money could be well spent as it became available. This list might be revised from time to time, as changes became necessary through the progress of research. Can this suggestion be taken up ? It only requires the powerful aid of the Press generally to alter this worse than useless expenditure of money upon the dish of science served up in most of our free libraries." One element in this question Mr. Carrington has discreetly left out of view, and that is the enormous comparative cost of the majority of scientific books. Another is the extreme quickness with which they go out of date and use ; while yet another is the comparatively small number of public library users who have been educated up to a proper appreciation of advanced text- books. Again, and this applies particularly to surgical and anatomical works, many are quite unsuited for popular circula- tion even in reference libraries. It is, furthermore, an un- questionable fact that, the presence of such collections as Jardine's " Naturalists' Library," has led many public library- readers to study science at all, and ultimately produced good results, by their insistence on the library procuring more modern and exact books. What is really wanted is a catalogue some- what similar in scope to Mr. J. D. Brown's "Guide to the Formation of a Music Library," recently published by the Library Association, and we believe Mr. Ogle, of Bootle, has already prepared such a list, which, on publication, will fulfil the purpose of separate lists drawn up by different learned societies as proposed by Mr. Carrington, perhaps rather more practically. Nevertheless, his suggestion is good, and it is to be hoped the Library Association will take the initiative in enlisting the interest and co-operation of the various scientific societies in this most important work. It would be an extremely valuable and helpful piece of work if every great society of this kind would draw up, print, and circulate, a list of books in each subject most likely to benefit students and the public at large.