Development Process of the Young-men's Association Libraries in the Fukushima Prefecture

Abstract

　Once we watch keenly the libaaries situation trom late in the Meiji-era to the early Showa-era, We tind that libraries had increased too rapidly in number. Many ot those libraries had been established by the young-men's association.
　The work try to think well why they were established and increased in those days.
　The work of young-men's association was so similar to each other that it was difficult to distinguish one from other in early time.
　But, the government and Local-autonomy became to encourage the young-men's association to establish libraries after the Russo-Japanese War.
　Following are the reason why they encouraged them.
　1. In memory of aiming the Russo-Japanese War.
　2. To make the village and town at the local autonomy stand out as the best example ot the district.
　3. In memory of the Crown Prince's (Togu Denka) journey.
　In establishing the libraries, Fukushima Prefecture made public standard high, and government, the Ministry of Education, gave notice on materials that libraries ought to be stock in late Meiji-era.
　All of them were intended to combine the whole nation in thought and activities. Since then, the work of libraries and young-men's association have become pare of social education.
　At first, young-men's association in itself had been derived from some requirement to promote the growth of hamlet, but gradwally it became employee well of the government.
　As the result, the young-men's association libraries have been established on a large scale.