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Show CATHOLIC BOOKS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES, LI-BRARIES, Lamenting the lack of endeavor on the part of Catholics to insist on their rights as taxpayers, the Voice, of Omaha, applying its argument to public libraries, says: "It is true that the supply of Catholic Catho-lic works to be found in many public libraries is deplorably scanty. Who is to blame? The writer has had considerable con-siderable opportunity to become acquainted ac-quainted with the temper of librarians libra-rians in widely different parts of the country. They are generally very willing to do what is right in this matteYi They clearly see that Catholic Catho-lic authors are entitled to a place on their shelves. They regard it as a preposterous charge for anyone to hint that a book is excluded from the library beeuuse it is Catholic or such as Catholic citizens desire to read. And they profess to be quite ready to purchase any books of this character for which there is any demand on the part of their readers. "Thanks for so much. It is right and proper. We are sorry, however, that in a great number of cases the practice lags far behind the professions. Still, it is wrong to chafe and fret at the conduct of others when the remedy is in our -own hands. Catholic citizens whose taxes contribute to the maintenance main-tenance of a public library should find out first what Catholic books are in the public library; secondly, what Catholic books ought to be in it and are not. They ought then to make uo their minds to read these books, put in their application for them at the library li-brary till there is felt to be sufficient public demand to justify or compel the purchase of such books. Till something some-thing like this is done systematically and perseveringly Catholics have themselves them-selves to blame for the conspicuous absence of Catholic books from the shelves of our public libraries." |