logic with the philosophers, and this is at once a reason and justification for imaginative literature occupying the leading place in all public libraries. It has become the fashion for a certain section of librarians, a few public men and a considerable number of newspapers, to lament in doleful accents the popularity and preponderance of fiction reading in all kinds of lending libraries. But surely Fiction, as the most hardy and flourishing form of literary endeavour, which has been built up by the contributions of some of the greatest minds of all nations, cannot be denied its rightful place because certain narrow-minded persons think it fashionable to denounce the whole policy of public libraries? Whether they choose to do so or not matters very little, since it is quite evident that imaginative literature is going to survive, whatever happens, as it has done with extraordinary strength and vitality, through ages of change and destruction; while philosophical, political and social systems have appeared and disappeared in endless procession. This is a reason why imaginative literature should occupy a foremost place in public libraries, and the theory of the survival of the fittest is amply proved by the vitality of prose fiction, poetry and music, which entitles them to receive the attention due to their importance in the regard of mankind. =182. Best Books.=--A live library, in addition to the literary classics in all departments, should only select the best and most popular books. The question of selecting only the very best, or only what is in great demand, should be compromised by always getting the best, with a selection of the most popular, subject to the understanding that the latter are to be discarded when their day is past. Every movement which stirs the public mind and imagination produces a great crop of books, but only a very small proportion of these survive or are worthy of preservation. No one can argue against a moderate supply of such works at the time when public interest is aroused, but objection may be raised to the more ephemeral books of this kind being preserved long after all interest in their subjects has waned. If a municipal library founded in 1750, and steadily collecting for 156 years, could be found, its contents would be composed of enormous quantities of dead and forgotten theology, history, biography, science, fiction and every other class, which would not excite the slightest interest in the minds of five persons in a thousand. The skimmings of such a library would no doubt be valuable, and a fair proportion of it of interest and use to present-day readers, but the bulk of it would be of no practical service to anyone.