The Sun - Thursday, April 11, 1895

OSCAR WILDE'S BOOKS.
They Will Remain on the Shelves of the
Libraries of New York.

There seems to be no disposition on the part of those in charge of the chief libraries of New York to follow the example of the British Museum and the trustees of the Newark Free Library by issuing a ban against the books of Oscar Wilde. The works of Wilde are by no means popular with the library patrons of this city, and in several of these institutions his books are not to be found. At those in which they are kept the demand for them is reported as very light. In speaking about the books written by Wilde, librarian William T. Peoples of the Mercantile Library said yesterday:

"We have the works of this author on our shelves, and we certainly shall not withdraw them from circulation; in fact, I see no reason why we should. Before the recent developments his books were said to be very clever, and no particular fault was found with them. Now that these revelations have been made, people profess to see something terrible in ‘Dorian Gray’ and other of his works. But, apart from the question of Wilde's morality or immorality, the taking of these books from the shelves of our library will not stop the demand for them, and if a certain book is to be kept anywhere a public library is certainly the place for it. Our patrons are nearly all mature, and if I should detect a run on Wilde’s books among those upon whom they would probably work an injury, I would certainly stop it . No, we cannot take Mr. Wilde's name off his books, and I do not see how we can withdraw his works from circulation."

Librarian Butler of the New York Society Library said that the only works of Wilde on the shelves of that institution were "Dorian Gray," "Intentions," and his book of poems. "No, I do not think the trustees will order them withdrawn," he continued, "and personally I see no reason why they should be, as I have never heard them objected to on the score of immorality of text . There has been little or no call for ‘Dorian Gray,' and less for his other works."

Jacob Schwartz, Librarian of the Mechanics’ and Tradesmen’s Society, said that the books of Wilde would not be withdrawn from that library. "I have heard no objection to the books themselves," he said, "and I see no reason why they should be put under the ban. We have ‘Dorian Gray’ as it originally appeared in Lippincott's Magazine, and we could not remove it from the library without spoiling the entire volume of that particular publication. Several books have been withdrawn from this library on account of the text, but none because of the author's character."

Librarian Benjamin of the Harlem Library, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the city, said that Wilde’s books had not been withdrawn. "I have heard no objection to them," he continued, "and I see no reason why they should not remain on our shelves. There has been scarcely any call for his works."

At the headquarters of the New York Free Circulating library in Bond street, and at the branch Library, 135 Second avenue, it was said that the books of Wilde were not on the shelves.