Town Libraries in France

Abstract

IMPROVEMENTS effected in the administration of French municipal libraries in the past few years are mainly due to the untiring and vigorous efforts of the librarians, who have exerted themselves to the utmost to develop the institutions of which they are in charge, and to increase their usefulness and to obtain for them the funds which the public authorities hesitate to grant. At Havre, for example, the hours have been considerably lengthened, the reading room being open from half‐past nine in the morning to eleven at night. So great has been the response of the public to this encouragement that the municipality has been obliged to recognise, by an increase of credits, the value of the service rendered. Elsewhere, branches for the general reading public have been created in addition to the reference library. Thus at Rouen, a branch which has proved to be of the utmost service has been founded in the suburb of St. Sever. Other libraries, as that of St. Die, have supplemented the reference rooms intended for more scholarly readers by a room for the “general reader”; or have organised, as at Tours, a lending service. In this last named town the lending service has since last year been placed on a payment basis; but far from diminishing, it has prospered the more.