the place. Never
put cards, or letters, or documents, or any solid substance into a book.
It weakens the binding, and if continued, often breaks the back. The fact
that most of the injuries to which books are exposed are unintentional
injuries does not alter the fact that they are none the less injuries to
be guarded against. Wilful perpetration of the many abuses referred to
may be rare, but the unconscious perpetrators should be instructed how to
use books by a vigilant librarian. And they who have thus been taught to
be careful of the books in a public library will learn to be more careful
of their own, which is a great step in the education of any one.

It ought not to be needful to charge any one never to wet the finger to
turn over the leaves of a book--a childish habit, akin to running out the
tongue when writing, or moving the lips when reading to one's self. The
only proper way to turn the leaf is at the upper right-hand corner, and
the index-finger of the right hand will always be found competent to that
duty.

Still less should it be needful to insist upon the importance to every
reader of books, of coming to their perusal clean-handed. When you
reflect that nine-tenths of the soiling and spoiling which books undergo
comes from the dirty hands of many readers, this becomes a vital point.
Fouquet, a learned book collector of France, used to keep a pile of white
gloves in the ante-room of his library, and no visitor was allowed to
cross the threshold, or to handle a book without putting on a pair, lest
he should soil the precious volumes with naked hands. Such a refinement
of care to keep books immaculate is not to be expected in this age of the
world; and yet, a librarian who respects his calling is often tempted to
wish that there were some means of compelling people to be more careful
about books than they are.

It ought not ever to be true that an enemy to the welfare of library
books is found in the librarian himself, or in any of his assistants, yet
there have been those employed in the care of books who have abused their
positions and the volumes entrusted to their charge, not only by neglect
of care, (which is a negative injury) but by positive and continual ill
treatment. This may arise from ignorance of better methods, but ignorance
is a poor excuse for one credited with the intelligence of a librarian.
In some libraries, books are treated with positive indignity, and are
permanently injured by tig