Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A87794
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An overture for founding & maintaining of bibliothecks in every paroch throughout this kingdom: humbly offered to the consideration of this present assembly
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Kirkwood, James, 1650?-1709.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing K648; ESTC R227356
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9,539
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20
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remeding all the fore-named inconveniencies it is modestly conceived with submission to better Judgments that the Founding and Maintaining of Bibliothecks in every Paroch within this Kingdom will be a most effectual means for thereby a Student will have compleat Libraries within a few Miles of the place where he shall happen to reside out of which he may easily furnish himself from time to time of all sorts of Books fit for his purpose without Money and that in his youth while he hath health and strength to Study and is free from the cares of the World neither can he be troubled with useless Books seing he may presently return them to the Bibliotheck and take others and Lastly These Libraries in a few years will be full and compleat being furnished not only with all the valuable and usefull Old Books in any Art or Science but also with all the valuable New Books so soon as ever they are heard of or seen in the World as will clearly be demonstrat afterwards The Method and particulars which I think necessary for this Founding and Maintaining of Bibliothecks in every Paroch throughout this Kingdom are these 1st A convenient place in every Paroch must be set a part and sitted for keeping of Books 2ly Every present Minister must give in all his Books to the Bibliotheck of his own Paroch at the sight of the Heretors of the Paroch who shall cause rank them conform to their volumns and shall cause take exact Alphabetical Catalogues of them with the place where and the time when they are Printed of which Catalogues there must be four principal Coppies subscribed by the Minister and Heretors of each Paroch whereof one Copy shal be kept by the Minister as an obligation upon the Paroch till he be payed for his Books another shall be kept by the Heretors in a litle Chist in the Bibliotheck that it may be an obligation upon the Keeper of the Bibliotheck to be answerable for all these Books the third must be kept in the Bibliotheck openly that any Heretor of the Paroch or Minister of the Presbyterie may get a double of it when they please and the fourth Copy shall be sent to the principal Library at Edinburgh to kept there for several uses 3dly For avoiding all debates and difficulties that may arise between Heretors and Ministers in valuing these Books it will be fit that some Ministers and Heretors be appointed to draw out a general Catalogue of all the Books in the Kingdom out of those particular Catalogues that shall be sent in to Edinburgh from every Paroch and to set a certain price upon each Book which general Catalogues with the price affixed to each Book shall be Printed and distributed through every Paroch of the Kingdom conform to which Catalogue the Books in every Paroch shall be valued or there may be laid down some general rules for valuing of Books at so much per Sheet and so much for Binding 4tly When any Minister shall die or be removed from one Kirk to an other then he or his Heirs or Assigneys shall have right to all the Stipends of that Paroch to which he gave in his Books ay and while he be payed of their full value conform to the Catalogue and the Ministers of the Presbytery shall supply that Kirk during that time but if the Paroch cannot conveniently want a Minister so long then the succeeding Minister shall want such a proportional part of the Stipend as shall be thought fit which shall be payed yearly to the first Minister his Heirs or assigneys till the full value of his Books be payed 5thly Where the Kirks are vacant the Ministers of the Presbyterie with the Heretors of the Paroch shall have power to bestow all the vacant Sipends of that Kirk upon such Books as they shall think most fit and necessary for the Bibleotheck of that Kirk 6thly Each Presbyterie shall endeavour to be a compleat Library within it self that is they shall endeavour to have one Copy at least of every valuable Book extant in some one Bibliotheck or other within their bounds wherefore it will be necessar that all the Ministers in one Presbyterie compare their Catalogues and consider of what Books they have more Coppies then are needful amongst them and what Books they think useful of which they have no Coppies at all that they may exchange the Books they have for these they want conform to the value set on each Book by the general Catalogue 7thly The keeper of the Bibleotheck who may be the Reader or School-master of the Paroch most find caution to the Minister and Heretors to be faithful in keeping the Books and in preserving them from all inconveniencies and he shall not lend out any Book but to an Heretor of the Paroch or to a Minister of the Presbyterie or to such persons residing within the Paroch as shall find sufficient caution for all the Books they get out of the Library and he shall take obligations from them all that they shall restore the Books in good condition and within such a set time as may be sufficient for reading the Book but within one Moneth at farthest that so an Heretor may not defraud the rest of the use of any Book And for preventing the imbazling the Books of thir Libraries it is fit there be a note written upon the reverse of the Title page and on the last leaf of each Book Subscribed by the Minister declaring that the Book belongeth to the Bibleotheck of such a Paroch so that wherever any Book shall be found wanting the Title page and the last leaf it may be sufpected to be stollen from the Libraries and so may be confiscat to their use 8thly It will be convenient that there be a Book binder inevery Presbyterie to bind all the Books that belong to that Presbyterie for which end he must be provided with a House and all the Instruments fit for his Trade and with some small Stipend yearly to maintain him and then whatsoever Books he shall bind he shall be payed only for the matererials but nothing for his work or the keepers of the Bibleotheck or Ministers Servants may be taught to bind Books and may easiely bind all the new Books that shall be given in to that Library in Sheets 9thly It will be convenient that all the Bibliothicks in the Kingdom observe the same method of ranking and placeing their Books which method may be to rank the Books according to their name and number in the general Catalogue which name and number must be written upon a piece of paper and battered to the back of the Book or to some leaf of it that it may be easiely seen and read by any person that comes into the Bibliothick that so Ministers or Students when they shall happen to remove from one Paroch or Bibliothick to another they may not be at a loss where to find any Book for by this method they will peresently know in
OVERTURE OR Founding Maintaining of BIBLIOTHECKS In every Paroch throughout this KINGDOM Humbly Offered to the Consideration of this present Assembly Printed in the Year 1699. An Overture for Establishing of Bibliothecks in every Paroch throughout this Kingdom IT is as essential to the nature of Mankind to be desirous of Knowledge as it is for them to be rational Creatures for we see no other end or use for our Reason but to seek out and search for the Knowledge of all these things of which we are Ignorant For this sore travel hath God given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith That being born Naked Indigent and Ignorant we should be forced to enquire by the help of Reason into the Nature and Knowledge of all these things which are about us and to Invent and Perfect all such Arts and Manufactories as are necessary for the support of our Lives All which things are so numerous and the ways of attaining to the Knowledge of them so difficult longsome and uncertain that it would be but a very small Degree even of the meanest Art or Science which any man could attain unto by his own particular Study and Observation if he were destitute of all these Helps we receive from others by Word and Writing Therefore to facilitat this sore Travel God hath endued Mankind with a Faculty of Speech whereby they may Teach and Communicat to one another all such Knowledges and Observations as shall be found out by any one of them that so every one studying a part and contributing the small Mite of his Observations into the publick Stock they might at length advance Knowledge and Learning to that Degree which Humane Nature in this lapsed Estate is capable of And that there might be some considerable Progress made in this Work at first God did bestow upon the first Men long Lives with vigorous Imaginations and solid Judgments that thereby they might both Acquire great Stocks of Knowledge and Observations and might convoy them or communicat them to many Degrees of their Posterity But Men abusing this Blessing of long Life and exercising their Thoughts only upon Evil and that continually God in his Justice was provoked to shorten their Lives and to confound their Languages whereby this way of conveying Knowledge by Word of Mouth and Tradition became very imperfect and lyable to many Inconveniencies and therefore that these Means of encreasing Knowledge and of searching out all the Works of God might be still continued amongst Men God in his Infinite Mercy was graciously pleased to teach Men a new Way of communicating their Thoughts and Words by Writing which he did when he did write the Law with his own Finger upon the two Tables of Stone in Mount Sinai that thereby Men might more easily and universally communicat their Observations to all the rest of Mankind and might more certainly preserve them to all Posterity By this Art of Writing Knowledge and Learning were very much advanced till Books became so numerous and the way of writing with a Pen being both dear and slow Students could acquire only a small number of them whereby many Books were neglected and lost and Learning came to a stand and then at length fell into a great Decay for Men turned their Wits and Studies rather to collect and understand the Writings and Opinions of the Ancients than to enquire into the Nature of the things themselves in so much that all Philosophy was turned into the Opinions of Aristotle and Plato and all Theology was lodged in the Opinion of the Church or in the Popes Infallibility Yea Ignorance prevailed to that Degree that it was encouraged and preached up as the Mother of Devotion But at length Printing which is a more easy speedy and cheap way than Writing was Invented which remedied all these Inconveniencies of Writing and so recovered Learning at its last Gasp out of its long continued and almost fatal Decay Since which time Learning hath taken-on as it were a new growth and though it be not as yet recovered in several Parts yet many Arts and Sciences are advanced to a far greater Degree than what they had attained unto amongst the Ancients From all which Course of Providence we may clearly perceive that it is the Will and Design of our Lord and Maker that by sore Travel we should search out and know all his wonderful Works that we may Admire and Adore his Infinite Wisdom Goodness and other Perfections in them As also we may perceive that a full and universal communicating of our Thoughts and Observations to one another is the necessary and ordinary Means appointed by God whereby we may Attain unto this natural Knowledge so that whatsoever Inconveniencies do obstruct this free and universal communicating our Thoughts and Instructions to one another or do hinder Students from Attaining the Knowledge of all that hath been Discovered before them must of necessity much retard the Advancement of Learning and hinder the Encrease of Knowledge amongst us and therefore do deserve our serious Thoughts and utmost Endeavours to remove them Some of these Inconveniencies are 1. Books are so vastly multiplied and do so encrease dayly that most part of Students either want Money to buy any moderat Collection of them or 2ly they want Convenience to keep them for Books are very troublesome to Transport from place to place or 3ly they have them not in due time while they are young and free from Cares for after a Man is settled in the World then the Cares of his Family and the Affairs of his Calling do so take up his Mind that he can have no time nor heart to study 4. The Money that is bestowed upon Books must be looked upon as lost and this certainly is a great Discouragement 5. Many Books which a Student shall happen to buy will after perusal be found little worth at least for his purpose whereby he is lamentably disappointed and loseth both his Money and time 6. We live at much distance from these famous Towns where most part of Books are Printed that there are many useful new Books Printed which we never hear of and these we hear of cannot be brought home to us without great Expenses and Trouble 7. Although a Student had all the Advantages that can be reasonably expected in one man yet he cannot Acquire all the Books in the World that may relate to the Subject he studies and so he will still be uneasie and suspicious that there may be something worth his Knowledge in these Books he wants And it is not to be expected that any man can advance or improve any Art or Science to a full Degree till first he have a full and comprehensive Knowledge of all that hath been written and discovered of that Subject before him and thereforé compleat and free Libraries are absolutely necessary for the Improving of Arts and Sciences and for Advancing of Learning amongst us For effectuating of this and for