(f) /Esthetic The growing consciousness of the American public to the im portance of the cultural in American life is di rectly aided by the public library. The import ance of the library in cultivating literary taste is generally recognized. Much of the support of its work is based on its success in getting the public to use the best books, from a literary and ethical standpoint, which the individual members of that public can read with profit. Its undoubted influence in the formation of public taste in this direction sometimes obscures its equally direct service in wsthetic education.
Nearly every large public library and many small ones maintain collections of prints and act as distributing centres for lantern slides, mo tion pictures and other illustrative material either from their own collection or lent by larger or more special libraries or departments of education. (See VISUAL I NSTRUMION).
Under present housing conditions the public library is often the only practicable public place for the collection of prints and the larger and more costly illustrated books and monographs on art. Some libraries and education depart ments lend framed pictures for school and home use. The library art collection promotes local arts and crafts as well as art appreciation in general.
Nearly all public libraries include some books on the history and criticism of music. Collec tions of musical scores and single compositions, instrumental and vocal, are common. A few libraries maintain collections of music rolls for mechanical piano-players. The high cost and perishable character of talking machine records has so far prevented the establishment of many such collections for public use, but some li braries, notably in California, have formed such collections. Many school libraries have collec
tions of these records selected for their direct educational value. The success of many re cent sings* has been partly de pendent on the music collection of the local library.
In the matter of permanent art exhibits the library is properly subordinate to the public museum. In the absence of the latter and to supplement it, the library exhibits as noted above can have distinct educational value.
Much material on this sub ject is scattered through educational and library periodicals. Specific references may be found in Cannons, H. G. T.,
Among the more specific books and pam phlets are the following: •Adams, H. B., lic Libraries and Popular Education) (Albany 1900) ; Alexander, C. B., (The Library in the Economy of the State' (New York 1916); Ayres, L. P., and McKinnie, Adele, Li brary and the Public Schools' (Cleveland 1916); Bostwick, A. E., of the Library and the Public School) (New York 1914) ; Dana, J. C., (New York 1916) ; Emery, J. W., Library, the School and the Child) (Toronto 1917); Hardy, E. A., 'The Public Library, Its Place in Our Educa tional System) (Toronto 1912) ; Powell, Sophia H. H., (The Children's Library a Dynamic Force in Education) (New York 1917).