Westminster College - Argo Yearbook (New Wilmington, PA)

Page 33 text:

L. AB. n. C5lIl1lDSlCl' U1 'rite a theme indred phase ed discussion never recover ' or perhaps ritical theses. Lhing for the g to that sane give way to n books may s necCSS2UilY- har sarwficf the LibrUY- ings, and ll'lC ks. lhefe are ,idionafy of one volunlc :en Proud to idly iiilerivf WESTMINSTER COLLEGE 29 ones of most schools that are anywhere near us in size. We count ir as a most favorable sign that we have become severe with ourselves, and that we are too appreciative of the l..ibrary's influence to allow its equipment to deteriorate. One factor of the l..ibrary's value is the fact best magazines. Such reading, if done with any system at all, is of immense value to the student, because by it he can acquire that broader outlook upon the affairs of his countr Y and other countries, which is essential to real living. Through such reading he avoids the danger which students encounter of studying too much the problems of the h' t ' is oric past, or too much of ancient philosophy, and being too little interested in the problems of the vital present. At present there are problems being wrought out upon the arena of the world's thought and action that will be the really vital things that life holds for the riml 3 Y' determ1ned-to-labor-for-the-right student of today. As it is, nine-tenths of our students know more about the wars of Napoleon, or the times of C the Balkan struggles, or the Waterloo of the Grand Old Party. Things ought not so to be. I ' that it provides a chance to read the harlamagne, than they do of It is to be hoped that as increased funds make larger equipment possible, the defects and weaknesses of our library may be intelligently remedied. Thankful for our even now superior advantages, we should endeavor to improve our reading habits, and obtain the full benefit of our advantages. Few influences surpass good reading in power to broaden and deepen mental life along the noblest channels.

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r 28 THE 1914 ARG0 il ' The Library - , p MARGARE'lg EARLA MITCHELL, AB, Assistant in English. and Librarian. y An Appreciation Q, pi recent years without at some time having been called upon to write a theme p or make a ,speech upon The Value of the Library, or some kindredgphase 4 of that general subject. Class themes, or any f-artificially-imposed discussipn of a subject have a tendency to rob it of interest.. At any rate some people never recover from a thorough dislike for Paradise Lost, or Sir Roger DeCoverly,'r' or perhaps The, Vicar of Wakeheld, 'i through being forced. to compose exhaustive -critical theses, at a comparatively early age. There, may be some who have a slight loathing for the Library for the reasoniabove suggested, but we assume that most of us belong to that sane and rational element who allow youthful' misconceptions andlprejudices 'to give way to the wiser conclusions reached through experience. Some of our opinions about books may not change, indeed, in liberty of thought we do not care to agree with others necessarily, but all thoughtful persons appreciate the Library as a worthy institution. W l1T IS not at all probable that any student has graduated' from Westminster in N . A recent number of the Holcad contained an excellent article, somewhat sarcastic, yet apparently,written in the spirit of constructive' criticism, upon the needs of the Library. It was pointed out that while we have an encouraging array of bound magazines, and the proper ,accompanying catalogs, and in general an excellent assortment of books, there are still some almost inexcusable omissions in some book shelves. There is no, Dictionary of National Biography, no complete I-Iawthornej fior Emerson, and not even one ivolume of Matthew Arnold's poems. In past times Westminster adherents have been proud to compare their luxuriously-furnished, and amplyQequipped library with the vastly inferior x I 'gl m in ff sim I J Q, 1 u Z .dy i gr IQ 'I i ss i if

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