Chapter XIII: Book Selection

=174. General Principles.=--Although a great number of articles and papers have been written upon the subject of book selection, there still seems room for some remarks upon the general question from a standpoint somewhat different from the ordinary. Most of the articles which have come under notice deal with the mere routine of book selection--how to systematize the ordering of books; the work connected with preparing them for public use; the bibliographical side; the question of duplicating popular books; and other more or less mechanical aspects of the matter. The philosophy of book selection and questions connected with the policy of building up libraries have rarely been considered.

=175. The first point which occurs is the connexion between a library’s income and its book-purchasing power. As, by law established, most British library incomes are strictly limited, it follows that a similar limitation must govern the supply of books, and that only a _selection_ of new books can be procured, old and out-of-print books taking their chance. The very largest rate-supported libraries are bound by this limitation to buy only a selection from the immense mass of books annually published, and, even if such purchases amount to several thousands of volumes, they represent only a _selection_. The smaller libraries must of necessity make a selection within a selection, and it follows that, in all cases of libraries supported by small incomes or burdened by heavy charges for the repayment of loans or other purposes, the selection must be carefully made if it is to be representative of all that is best in ancient and modern literature. Another factor which enters into the matter need only be mentioned in order to be dismissed: that is the obvious unsuitability of a very large proportion of the books annually published because of their form (pamphlets and tracts), subject-matter (school-books, bibles, etc.), or special nature (local lists, reissues, directories, etc.).

=176.= The fund available in most public libraries for the purchase of books can be made the basis for a rough calculation showing at what rate libraries of different sizes should grow. By reference to the tables in