Books for the Common Good
An anonymous businessman donates $100 in gold to expand the Y.M.C.A. reading room for the working men of Seattle.
For some time past the free reading rooms of the Y. M. C. A. have been continually filled with men, who find that the most pleasant and profitable place in which to spend their spare time. The rooms are not large enough, neither is there a sufficient number of books. One of our leading business men, observing these facts, stepped up to one of the Y. M. C. A. officers the other day and placed in his hand five twenty dollar gold pieces, saying that he would like to contribute that much toward increasing the library. This example was immediately followed by a twenty from another gentleman. A great number of standard works were then purchased, and now a neat case is being built in which to place them. It is contemplated to extend the reading room so as to occupy the whole hall.
“The free reading rooms of the Y. M. C. A. have been continually filled with men, who find that the most pleasant and profitable place in which to spend their spare time.”
This reflects the Victorian-era 'rational recreation' movement—providing quiet, moralizing spaces for workers—which echoes modern municipal debates over funding public libraries as essential community infrastructure.
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