The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851Various
History
The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
We here terminate our rapid survey of the principal libraries of Europe.
Small, however, would be the interest which one should feel for these
magnificent establishments were they designed solely for the benefit of
a few individuals, or of any favored class. They would still be splendid
monuments of the productive powers of the human mind, and of the taste
or learning of their founders; but they would have no claims to that
unbounded admiration with which we now regard them. There is a
republican liberality in the management of the great libraries of the
continent of Europe which is well worthy of our imitation. In these
alone is the great invention of printing carried out to its full extent,
by the free communication of all its productions to every class of
society. No introduction, no recommendation, no securities are required;
but the stranger and the native are admitted, upon equal terms, to the
full enjoyment of all the advantages which the uncontrolled use of books
can afford. As this mode of accommodating, or rather of meeting the
wants of the public, is the real object of these institutions, they are
provided with librarians, who, under different titles corresponding to
the duties imposed upon them, receive from government regular salaries
proportioned to their rank and to the services which they perform. To
these the immediate superintendence of the library is wholly intrusted,
and at a stated hour of every day in the week, except of such as are set
apart for public or religious festivals, they open the library to the
public. There, undisturbed, and supplied with every thing the collection
contains that can aid him in his studies, the scholar may pass several
hours of every day without any expense, and with no other care than that
natural attention to the books he uses, which every one capable of
appreciating the full value of such privileges will readily give. Nor do
his facilities cease here. The time during which the libraries remain
open may be insufficient for profound and extensive researches, and the
writer who has to trace his facts through a great variety of works, and
to examine the unpublished documents to be found in public libraries
alone, would be obliged to sacrifice a large portion of every day if his
studies were regulated by the usual hours of these institutions. For
such persons, a proper recommendation can hardly fail to procure the
use, at their own houses, of the works they may need. In this manner the
door is thrown open to every one who wishes to enter, and science placed
within reach of all who court her favors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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