A Librarian's Open Shelf: Essays on Various Subjects

"A Librarian's Open Shelf: Essays on Various Subjects" by Arthur E. Bostwick is a compilation of essays from the early 1900's that uses the author's background as a librarian to closely look at ideas about libraries, education, and what reading does to a community. It brings up different subjects that show how reading is important for people and society and thinks about how books and schools were changing back then. The book starts by asking important questions about how people read and what their habits are, and tells a story about a library customer who checks out lots of books but never finishes them. This story makes us wonder why people don't always finish what they start and hints that maybe people need to be more interested in what they're reading instead of just feeling like they have to read something. In this way, the book's beginning looks at the reasons why we read or don't read and sets up the essays to think about how valuable books and libraries are in making people smarter and more involved citizens.