Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 283, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1915 — The Book Borrower [ARTICLE]

The Book Borrower

An objectionable type of person, whose capacity for irritation is unbounded, Is the Inveterate careless book borrower. We all know such people. They borrow everything In the book line, from the latest novel in which we are Immersed to the volume of Thomas. A. Kempis which brings us dally comfort. The family Bible alone escapes their notice. If they borrowed and returned the book promptly one would not be so violent upon the subject. But they either keep the books they borrow Until one is in despair of ever seeing them again or they do not return them at all. Of course, many people fail to return books through thoughtlessness, but there are also ( people who sin in this fashion through indifference. These are the inexcusable ones. They cannot have a real iove of books, or this Indifference would not manifest itself. They would understand that books to the book lover are valued friends and when one Is forced to part with them to careless and indifferent readers, who take their time about bringing them home, one is apt to feel justly Incensed. Aside from the intrinsic value of a volume, the person who borrows a book should remember that it may mean a great deal to Its owner. You do not know what associations and memories may surround such a book. Nearly everyone has some light novels that they are willing to lend, and which mean nothing to them in any way, but dne should not get into the habit of treating even such books with carelessness, for is a habit which easily takes root, and which is often most difficult to break. Young girls are frequent offenders where books are connected. It is no doubt due to thoughtlessness that they take an outrageous time to return any volume tha£ has been lent them, but this is ot a sufficient excuse. They should remember that books mean a great deal to certain people, and if they lend them they are entitled ty> the consideration of having them returned promptly. Another bad book habit indulged in people is to begin reading a book that another person has not yet finished. A young girl who was a guest at a house party caused a great deal of indignation by this unconscious habit. No book was safe from her roving eye. One could not leave a book for a moment and find it when one returned. She even committed the enormity of- removing books from one’s bedside table. Everyone should cultivate a respect for the books of others. ‘They should be handled with care and promptly returned and never taken without permission, unless one wishes to label oneself as an odious person.