The Freshman Libraries

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld.)

To The Editor of the CRIMSON:

In an editorial which appeared this morning, a reference was made to "the Freshman, libraries, which naturally are stocked with books for Freshman courses alone." It seems only fair to the many men who over a period of about thirty years have contributed in many ways to the unusual collection of books in the Union Library that this misstatement should be corrected.

Professor Copeland's characterization of the Union Library as "the best gentleman's library in America" has been frequently quoted. The library contains over twenty thousand volumes,--considerably more than the largest of the House libraries. In its early days the library received a large gift from James Hazon Hyde '98, and over the years has been given books by many Harvard authors. It has been maintained and enlarged by generous gifts, especially the gift in memory of Robert F. Simes '85, and the gift from the Class of 1878, a large portion of which is used annually for the purchase of new books. For many years Professor Copeland and Professor G. H. Chase and others have met frequently to select books which properly belong in a "general reading library," and many of the best of current books on a wide variety of subjects may always be found there.

This letter is not written as a refutation of your view about the needs of the "dropped Freshmen" for prescribed books, but as a means of dispelling erroneous ideas about the Union Library. If prescribed books appear on the shelves of the Union Library, it is because they are considered worthy of a place in a "general reading library" and not because they are prescribed. The prescribed books in Freshman courses provided by the University may be found in a subsidiary library in a separate room in the Union. Delmar Leighton '19.