USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1875 Vol. 1 > Part 10
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Hon. J. Wiley Edmands, President of the Board of Trustees, occupied the chair ; and upon his invitation the services of the occasion were introduced with prayer by Rev. S. M. Freeland.
The title-deeds of the property, and the keys of the building, were then tendered to the city, through its chief magistrate, by Mr. Edmands, who made the transfer in the following appropriate words : -
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
MR. MAYOR, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY COUN- CIL, - At the last annual meeting of the Newton Free Library Corporation, a vote was passed, authorizing the Managers to tender the Library as a gift to the city, and empowering them to make a transfer of its franchise and property, on the city's assuming the conditions of trust of its present organization. In accordance with that vote, the Library was offered to the city, and accepted by vote of the Board of Alder- men, passed Dec. 20, and by concurrent action of the Common Council, Dec. 22, 1875.
An Act having since passed the legislature, en- abling the Managers to give up their official trust, and turn over the property, they now meet you for the purpose of putting the city of Newton in possession of all that belongs to the Newton Free Library Corpo- ration, including the reading-room, with its magazines and journals.
Acting in behalf of the corporation, I now sur- render to the City Government the keys of the building, and place in your hands, Mr. Mayor, the title-deeds of its real estate and personal property.
The institution is fully equipped for its work, and adequate to the needs of the time; and its building is capable, at a moderate cost, of such enlargement as the future may require. Balance of cash funds on
-
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
hand is $2,764.39, which will be handed over to the City Treasurer.1
This formal ceremony, Mr. Mayor, is the consumma- tion of a business transaction of more interest than ordinarily attaches to such occasions. Although we follow the conventional routine which is customary when the city takes possession of a new building, the circumstances attending this acquisition are of infre- quent occurrence. The occasion is an interesting one, not solely from its being a formal recognition of a gift to the public now being made, nor from the material value of the fine building, with its contents, which passes to the city. This public ceremony has more than ordinary significance, as marking the accession of an institution of a distinctive character in promoting the moral and intellectual culture of the community at large. A free library, in its relations to the public, performs an office peculiar to itself, and occupies a place which no other of the city's institutions can fill.
The occasion is not without much interest to those who have labored to make the Library what it is, whose feelings have been deeply enlisted in its welfare from its inception to the dissolution of its present organization.
A sense of the obligation which every man should feel to do what he can for the good of the community incited the movement which led to its establishment,
1 The cash balance was increased $58.53, collected for interest, making the amount turned over to the city treasurer $2,822.92.
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
and secured the co-operation of many friends, who have given their money and their unselfish services to support it.
Its books have not been gathered at hap-hazard, to give fictitious importance to its catalogue by the num- bers on its shelves, but have all been selected with much care and discrimination, making up an assort- ment of miscellaneous works equal, to say the least, in point of merit and profitable reading, to the average collections of our public libraries.
Early in the history of the Library, the enterprise lost the character of an experiment. Its ready ap- preciation by the community gave evidence that it had not been started too soon. It found friends to come to its support when money was needed to con- tinue it; and its steady growth has confirmed the most sanguine hopes and expectations of those who joined in establishing it. They well knew, that, however fortunate they might be in pecuniary resources, the degree of popular favor which the Library should secure would constitute the measure of its usefulness. There has been no disappointment in this respect ; and the rapid growth and present prosperous condition of the Library is due to its appreciation by the public.
During the past four years (those of its full opera- tion), the number of books has increased over thirty per cent, and the circulation forty-one per cent ; the number on the shelves at this time being 11,289.
Since the close of the official year, Sept. 30, when
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
the Annual Report of the Managers was published, its progress has been greater than at any former period. The circulation of the five months ending the first day of the present month is 32,298 volumes, being an excess of 11,862 over the same months of last year. This increase illustrates the growing disposition of the community to avail of the advantages of the Library, and is significant of what will, before long, be re- quired, in enlarged accommodations, to meet the wants of our rapidly-increasing population.
A complete history , of the origin, growth, manage- ment, and the present condition, of the Library, and detailed information regarding its working from year to year, will be found in the book which I now present to you, as one which may be useful for reference hereafter.
A free city library is an important adjunct in the educational system. Newton has spared no pains or expense on its schools ; and the acquisition of a free library is one step further in the direction of edu- cating the community. The library, in its formative influences, is to the community at large what the school is to the young ; each contributing, in its own sphere, to the improvement of society.
It is the province of the school to train the young mind through systematic study, and to discipline it, so that it may retain and assimilate the knowledge acquired. School education is to be considered as a means to an end, - so to improve the faculties of the
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMAND .
young, that they may be fitted by disposition and ability to improve the opportunities for usefulness in after-life. The true end of school instruction is self- education, and the library co-operates to that end, taking up the young at the point where school instruction leaves them. The seeds of knowledge planted in the school, and germinating in after-years, often acquire their fullest growth and productiveness under the favoring influences of the library. It fur- nishes the means of self-improvement to all, indis- criminately, - the old and young, the rich and poor, the men and women.
That school instruction which does not develop and result in a desire for self-improvement falls far short of the highest purpose of education. That scheme of popular education is the most perfect, which treats the individual as the subject of educational influences through life, and prepares him to take advantage of the facilities offered for continued mental develop- ment. When you give free access to the stores of knowledge gathered in the library, you do much towards utilizing school instruction; and it is through these available means and facilities for self-improve- ment, that you secure the full fruition of popular education.
In view of the high rank which a city free library holds at the present day in popular estimation every- where, your adoption of this institution is of no slight consideration, as adding to the attractions and to the
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
importance of Newton ; and it will be long before any municipal act will appear on our city's records, more conducive to its prosperity. A free library is fraught with practical consequences affecting our community for the present and the future. It is an important auxiliary to the teacher in furnishing the scholars with the books which he may recommend as relating to the subject of their studies. It is the source of information to the special student and the general reader, giving to all who resort to it - whether for general knowledge, or to indulge in the beauties of literature - a higher estimate of their privileges, a stronger attachment to the locality where these opportunities are found, and an increased interest in the welfare of the community. Through books, the learned men who have impressed their thoughts on the minds of past generations con- tinue to reign in the realms of literature. The printed book is a mirror of the past; and the genius and learning of ancient and modern authors are now as open to the multitudes as were ever the lectures of Socrates and Plato to the few who listened to their teachings.
A free city library has an element of strength and permanency in the knowledge which every citizen, educated or uneducated, has, that no restraints upon the circulation of its books can be made, and that its privileges and benefits are assured to all classes. It is to be supposed that the ownership of our Library by the city will secure for it an abiding popular
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
interest, surpassing in kind and degree that which a private or corporate association can feel sure of hold- ing for the long future.
In severing their relations with the Library, the members of the corporation are parting with a cher- ished object, and are naturally sensitive to any sup- posed risks incident to a change in its control, from their knowledge of the care and attention it has hitherto required. They indulge in a feeling of satis- faction in contemplating their work in building up an institution worthy of the city's adoption, and they will feel a deep interest in all that attends its course here- after, ever solicitous for its prosperity and usefulness.
If it were proper now to make any allusion to the causes of the past success of the Library, there is one prominent among the others, which might be con- sidered pertinent to the occasion, in view of its impor- tance as a precedent. I refer to the policy, established at its commencement, of keeping the Library free from all extraneous influences ; and the action of all con- nected with it has been ever true to this policy. In the election of officers, in its appointments and its man- agement, no sectional, political, or denominational bias or partialities have influenced its course at any time. We have no concern regarding this for the immediate future. All that has transpired in connection with your reception of the Library evinces your appreciation of it in all its bearings; and we trust there will be no divergence of views on this point by your successors
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ADDRESS OF MR. EDMANDS.
in office in the length of years, to jeopardize its welfare, and possibly its continuance.
The Managers now resign their trust, with its re- sponsibilities, to you, with full confidence in the growth and increasing usefulness of the institution under the city's control ; and they doubt not, that the considera- tion which it will receive in your hands will be com- mensurate with its benefits to the people, and its importance to the city. Edward Everett once said, when speaking of the schools, " A school is not a machine, to be wound up like a clock, and then left to take care of itself;" and this is applicable to the Library, which requires, not only constant attention and care, but the wherewithal to keep it in proper working condition. Its collection must be kept fresh by continued accessions., A library, like a plant, will soon pine, without adequate nourishment. When its supply of new books fails, it ceases to grow ; and cessa- tion of growth is the beginning of decay.
Under the fostering care of the City Government, the Library will maintain a vigorous and prolific growth, amply remunerating for all that is bestowed upon it. Let us hope that this care will not be di- minished by any cause, until the Newton Free Library shall, by its ennobling influences, secure the interest of every citizen, and become the most valued of our city institutions.
The important trust conveyed in the preceding ad- dress of Mr. Edmands was accepted, in behalf of the City, in the following
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RESPONSE OF MAYOR SPEARE.
RESPONSE OF MAYOR SPEARE.
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN, TRUSTEES OF THE NEWTON FREE LIBRARY, - You have placed in my hand a deed which conveys to the city of Newton your " franchise, library, and property, real and personal, for the establishment of a public library therein, to be forever maintained by the said city," in accordance with authority given the Newton Free Library by the legislature of our Commonwealth. You have also given me the keys to the main entrance of the building, thus opening to the City Council all its opportunities and responsibilities.
The city of Newton gratefully accepts this most princely gift which it has ever been the good fortune of any city in the Commonwealth to have received.
We accept not only this beautiful and substantial building, - fitly representing the lasting remembrance in which you and your associates will be held by the citizens of Newton in all coming time, - but also the results of ten years of earnest thought and honest labor. All this you have freely given, asking, expecting, and receiving no other reward than a consciousness that you have tried to use properly the talents God has given you, whether those talents have been the money you have contributed, or days and nights devoted to the advancement of the interests of the Library.
Newton accepts this, another, its last, its best school-
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RESPONSE OF MAYOR SPEARE.
house, - a schoolhouse which shall furnish opportunities for culture to all its inhabitants, from the pupil in our primary schools to the graduate of the highest uni- versity of this or any land.
If our children are properly instructed at home and in our public schools, the desire is aroused for a wider range of knowledge and breadth of culture, which li- braries alone can supply.
There are over eleven thousand carefully selected volumes in this library, - about one-third as many as there are in the circulating department of the Boston Free Library, exclusive of its branches, and three times as many, in proportion to the number of inhab- itants to be accommodated. You also have attained an average weekly circulation of over eleven hundred volumes; and, through agencies established in the various wards, the books are easily accessible to all our citizens.
Can we too highly appreciate our public libraries, containing the priceless treasures of recorded knowl- edge, wit, fancy, and wisdom of the past and present, in all departments of literature, accessible to ALL ? And in whatever line of thought or avocation we desire fur- ther improvement, we here find it, ready at our hand, " without money, and without price."
Are there any who question the usefulness of such an institution, or who doubt the propriety of its acceptance by the city of Newton ? Is there a citizen who would not have felt humbled and chagrined, if the
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RESPONSE OF MAYOR SPEARE.
City Council had refused to receive it, or if we should not cherish it with our best and most vigilant care ? We believe not ONE. On the contrary, as the magni- tude of this gift shall come to be fully appreciated by the citizens, so will the desire to foster and care for it be increased.
The citizens of Newton never have been parsimoni- ous, and assume with pleasure the burden which you and your associates have thus far cheerfully borne. The benefits are for all ; and they all demand the privi- lege of alike bearing their proportion of the responsi- bility, and sharing the honor, of its continued support.
An enlightened City Council will now take up the work, where you leave it, through its appointed agen- cies, and, profiting by your experience and the co- operation which we know you will cheerfully give, strive not only to maintain, but, if possible, to increase, the usefulness of its own FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
We trust our fellow-citizens will not forget that the measure of the advantages to be derived from it will depend on the manner in which these books are selected and used by them.
Among those who shared the responsibility, pecuni- arily and personally, in the establishing of this Library, was our lamented friend and fellow-citizen, David B. Jewett, one of your trustees at the time of his depart- ure from his labors here to their reward in the hereafter, and who will long be held in grateful remembrance.
He left to this Library a legacy of five thousand
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RESPONSE OF MAYOR SPEARE.
dollars ; and only the income from it, we trust, will be expended in needed additions to the Library, the principal forever remaining a monument of his wisdom and benevolence, and a lasting incentive to others to do likewise.
But, sir, a small book, containing the history of your doings up to this time, reminds me that deeds, not words, have characterized your proceedings; and, while it would be gratifying to call to mind the more minute history of the inception and progress of this enterprise, we will not detain you with them, but leave this honor for those who can better perform that duty.
Sir, the munificent contributions made by you, of more than one-fourth of the amount expended in the erection of this building and the maintenance of the Library to the present time, were coupled with impor- tant details of organization and conditions, the wisdom of which is thus early apparent. One of those condi- tions was, that it should be called "The Newton Free Library ;" another, that the building should be of enduring material, brick or stone. May the influence of your noble example, and the usefulness of this Library, be as lasting as the rocks that compose this structure !
May God in his goodness grant to us, and those who shall fill our places hereafter, the wisdom, knowledge, and virtue which shall enable us to forever here main- tain this " the crown of our republican system of pop- ular education," and that it may do its full part in bearing up and sustaining a well compacted and im-
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ADDRESS OF EX-MAYOR HYDE.
perishable fabric of freedom, - of that freedom which rests upon intelligence, which must be regulated by law, and which can only be maintained by piety, phi- lanthropy, and patriotism ! "
Upon assuming the chair, at the conclusion of his address, Mayor Speare continued, -
Mr. President, we have to ask through you that the present organization shall retain their respective positions and duties until the City Council shall have fully completed the necessary ordinances, and ap- pointed the Trustees therein provided for, and they shall be ready to assume the responsibility.
Gentlemen, we are favored with the presence of the one who first had the honor of suggesting that which we to-night have had the pleasure of consummating. I need not introduce to you, but I have the honor of presenting to you, the Hon James F. C. Hyde.
ADDRESS OF EX-MAYOR HYDE.
MR. MAYOR, - It gives me pleasure to be present to-night to witness the consummation of a thing so desirable as the formal transfer of this Library to the city. I had the honor to suggest, in my address last year, that such an arrangement would be a wise and proper thing, and expressed the hope that measures might be taken to place this Library in the charge and under the direction of the city.
Before the year closed, some action was taken in this
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ADDRESS OF EX-MAYOR HYDE.
direction. His Honor, the mayor, my successor, ap- proving the measure warmly, seconded the suggestion previously made; and, soon after the inauguration of the new government, votes were passed concerning the matter, and application was made to the General Court, and the necessary authority obtained ; and we are here to- night to witness the formal and legal transfer of all the property of the Newton Free Library, as a free gift, to the city of Newton, subject only to such proper provisions as the nature of the gift demands. Hence- forth, these doors are to swing open widely and freely to all, - as well to him who pays but two dollars tax as to him who pays two thousand. Here rich and poor, . young and old, all, from every part of the city, may come and enjoy the advantage of the thousands of volumes that fill these shelves. In the long roll of years yet uncounted, who can tell what blessings may come to this and succeeding generations from a wise and proper use of these books? No city or town, so far as I now remember, has ever received such a princely gift. Some cities have had a sum pledged, if the city would raise an equal amount; but here all is freely given. A large, convenient, and most substan- tial building, well adapted to the uses for which it was designed, with more than eleven thousand volumes, selected with the greatest care by those who inau- gurated this noble enterprise, are now to be transferred to the city as a free gift.
The question has recently been asked, How, consist-
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ADDRESS OF EX-MAYOR HYDE.
ently with my views of economy, I could recommend and justify such a yearly expenditure as will be re- quired for the support of this Library and its surround- ings, and thus lay an additional burden upon the poor tax-payer. Can it be a burden or a hardship to him who pays a tax of two or five dollars a year, only two or five cents of which would be his portion contributed yearly to this Library, while it may be this same tax- payer has a family of five, six, or ten children, each of whom would be entitled to, and might take, each a book a day, making an aggregate of thirty books a week for the smallest family named, if they could find time to read as many ?
Certainly one might as well calculate the interest on his furniture, dress, or even the food he eats, and seek to use less because thereby money would be saved.
I see around me the men who have given so freely of their time and money to bring this Library, and all that pertains to it, to its present most excellent condi- tion. All honor to them ; and I desire here and now, in behalf of the people of our city who are not here to-night, and the thousands more who are to come after us, to thank you all for what you have done, for the great blessing you have conferred upon the pres- ent and coming generations in this noble Library. Let the city receive and appreciate it; and may it be the aim of this and all succeeding city governments, to care for and watch over it, yearly voting a sufficient amount to make it what our people demand, and are so able to appreciate and enjoy.
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ADDRESS OF REV. BRADFORD K. PEIRCE, D.D.
The next speaker was introduced by Mayor Speare in the following words : -
The School Committee are deeply interested in, and intimately connected with, all the educational interests of our city ; and I doubt not you will be pleased to hear from their talented and efficient chairman, Rev. Dr. Peirce of Newton.
ADDRESS OF REV. BRADFORD K. PEIRCE, D.D.
I congratulate you, Mr. Mayor, in being the chief magistrate of our city at this interesting period, and especially, that, on the eve of one of the most signifi- cant and important of our centennial events (the 17th of March), you become the organ through which our city receives, by the noble generosity of some of her citizens, this beautiful, substantial, and perpetual gift. This well appointed Library does not indeed fall under the jurisdiction of the School Committee; but I am ready to acknowledge that it is one of the most important and effective educational institutions of the city. Every thoughtful observer is aware that the school is only one of several almost equally powerful agencies at work in accomplishing the education of the children in such a community as ours. It is impossible to overestimate the influence and efficiency of a cultivated family in the early development and after-training of children, both intellectual and moral. It is a matter of ready discovery in the same schools
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ADDRESS OF REV. BRADFORD K. PEIRCE, D.D.
under the same teachers, with an equal proficiency, in the ordinary drill of these institutions, by the amount of general information, and familiarity with public events, to find the youths who are daily enjoying the inestimable opportunities of intelligent conversation and wholesome reading at home.
The natural scenery, and the æsthetic taste of the community, as displayed in both public and private forms, afford a constant and universal education for the young, of one of the richest sides of their intellectual being. We all know what a happy change has been effected, in our times, in the training of little children. By object-teaching, the senses are solicited, and, in the most delightful manner, the mental faculties of the little pupils are awakened; and learning is made a delight rather than a burden. Our city, with its varied and charming scenery, with its fine embowered streets, its beautiful lawns and tasteful gardens, is one immense kindergarten, from which our young people are receiving the profoundest and most wholesome impres- sions. Broad sides of their nature, usually neglected, are thus constantly addressed and developed.
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