1950
To bulwark and extend individual reading there must be individual possession of books.... Ownership of books has unending implications and possibilities. It may kindle the thrill of book-hunting and develop into collectorship; it may yield material assurance of investment value; it may reveal unsuspected tastes or stimulate unrealized capabilities; it will surely deepen and stabilize in any household the intangible elements of culture. Immense energies of organized and concentrated publicity are directed toward placing automobiles, radios, electric refrigerators, in every American home; but little attention is given to the value, joy, and pride derivable from the modest private library that ought to be the most indispensable of household utilities. Books are the most interesting and distinguished accessories of any home; merely as furniture, they are cheaper and better decoration than oriental rugs or overstuffed chairs. They give a house character and meaning. The discerning eye looks for them in its first appraisal; their absence is a negative finding upon the cultivation and intelligence of the household; their presence is as illuminating of social, intellectual, and personal status as a merchants' association rating is of material stability and financial integrity.
Helen E. Haines.
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