The things that can be done by a city are innumerable; what it _ought_ to do and what it _will_ do are perhaps more easily dealt with. Thinking I might obtain some information on the subject I asked the question of the librarian of the Free Library of Philadelphia. He settled himself in his chair and assuming the tone of an oracle said that there were three things that the city should do for its library. 1. Provide an adequate appropriation for its maintenance; 2. Provide an extra appropriation for emergencies; and 3. Provide a special appropriation for some particular work which the librarian might be particularly interested in at the time. I asked several other prominent librarians the same question and their answers were to the same purport--namely, if the city could furnish sufficient money they felt themselves fully competent to build up an ideal institution. We all know as a matter of fact that the strong libraries of the country have been built up by other means than the mere appropriation of money by city councils, and it is not unreasonable to mention as the first of these the librarian. The city should see to it that this individual is a man (or woman) strong, intellectual and vigorous, without bumptiousness, which is often mistaken for vigor, and with those qualities which will procure for him respectful attention from even those who may be opposed to him. I have often heard addresses made before this Association bewailing the fact that the city librarian had to deal with certain political elements which very much hampered him. I should regard this state of affairs as belonging to the time when the college president was necessarily a professor of moral philosophy whose duties consisted of receiving the senior class for one hour a week to discuss Whewell's "Elements." Such an officer must now be an active administrative power as well as an intellectual entity to at all meet the modern requirements, and in like manner the public librarian should deem it a privilege to meet the representatives of the city government and to have the opportunity of impressing the needs of his institution upon them. There is no better test of the capacity of the man for the great work in which he is engaged. Speaking practically I would state that in the building up of the Philadelphia Free Library in which I have taken an active interest, the political elements have always responded most generously to our requests, and that the library has been more inconvenienced by the writings and personal influence of certain well-to-do-citizens upon whom the word "paternalism" has acted as a nightmare than by any difficulty with the city government.