Inhaltsangabe
Excerpt from Aids in Library Work With Foreigners
Even before they can read English, they are familiar with the teach ings of our English philosophers and scientists, Spencer and Darwin. In reading, their interest lies in books of philosophy and socialism that attempt a solution of the social problems through Zionism or some other idealistic form of government. They are a serious peo ple, (frequently the children ask for sad books for their mothers) with, as some one has aptly said, the burden of the Ages 'on their back.
The immigrant is no barbarian. In fact, when I first took charge of the foreign department at our library, what impressed me most was the unfailing courtesy of my public. He invariably takes time to say Good morning, and Thank you, and Good bye, for he has not yet acquired our American spirit of hurry. He has a keen appreciation of a kindness and a strong desire to reciprocate a kindly act, as is evidenced by gifts to our department. A few weeks ago came sixty volumes in Portuguese from the Portuguese consul. A Yiddish magazine is subscribed for by a Jew for the library. A young Greek gave us a copy of Pilgrim's Progress in Modern Greek, which, by the way, he said he had read six times. I wonder how many of us have gone through it once. It is a classic of our literature. He has been in this country two years, in Providence but a few months, and is a constant reader in the department and a book-borrower.
I might mention, in passing, the facility of these people in acquit ing languages. An Armenian who does not find anything that inter ests him in Armenian will almost never turn away without a French book. I noticed with interest two girls and a young man, who could read both French and German besides Armenian, finally choose Ana tole France's poetry to take home. The other day an Armenian asked for Emerson's Conduct of Life in English, and is at present coming to the department during his lunch hour to read it. Many of the better educated Jews will read Russian, Yiddish, and German, anyway, and sometimes French, Italian, and Spanish, too. A young Roumanian Jew about sixteen years old, who has been in America but three months, was reading a simple history of the United States, stories of famous American statesmen, and a geography of the United States in English.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.
