Public library policy reviewed—I

Public library services should be capable of giving to all people who want it everything that books and related materials can usefully contribute to their lives and which they cannot better obtain elsewhere. To my mind that phrase, which I shall amplify, expresses the basic function of public libraries and the simple duty of those responsible for them. As a believer—an idealist, if you will—and not just a “jobber,” I will add the idea that public libra‐ries should be capable of encoura‐ging and helping more people to use them to better advantage.