of the whole population, three-quarters of them using the central library, whether they live in the town or in the villages. Though weeding-out is a regular practice, obsolete books being ruthlessly discarded and the library supplied with the latest books so as to be a real workshop, the total stock is now 30,597,[23] which is rather more than one volume per head of the population. Van Wert is a small county, and the compactness of the area served gives it an immense advantage over areas of the size of most English counties, which would have to be divided into library districts to be put on the same footing. But the superiority of the county system, with its facilities for direct access as well as its service through the branch stations and the schools, over the mere travelling library, was so manifest that the system rapidly spread. Among the states that have adopted county library laws, following Ohio’s example, are Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, California, Maryland, Washington, Nebraska, Oregon, Iowa. Canada, also, has welcomed the system. California has the largest number of county libraries, and is not far from covering the whole area of the state with a library service. It has a state board of examiners in librarianship, and only certificated persons are eligible to county library posts. One laudable social object is clearly realized as a motive behind rural library policy in the United States, to encourage the people to live as far as they can from the heart of the cities, in spots where they can own a little ground for cultivation, and enjoy pure air and a wholesome environment. If the practical American looks at it in this way, we may be sure that there is much force in the contention that a first-rate library service in the country would be a real attraction and help materially in the movement back to the land.