SPECIAL EFFORTS 115 



the evils in cities and leads to earlier application 

 of remedies. Recently much attention has been 

 directed, for example, to the subject of juvenile 

 crime, and the probation system in place of jail 

 sentences for young offenders is being put into 

 operation in many places. Petty crime and im- 

 morality are certainly not lacking in rural dis- 

 tricts, and it would seem that there is a place 

 for the extension of the probation system to 

 towns and villages. 



Aside from the regular churches, schools and 

 agricultural societies, there are special organiza- 

 tions that are now extending their work to the 

 open country, and others that could readily be 

 adapted to country work. One of the most 

 promising of these newer agencies is the rural 

 library that is interested in its community. The 

 libraries are increasing, and they are developing 

 a greater sense of responsibility to the commun- 

 ity, not only stimulating the reading habit and 

 directing it, but becoming social centers for the 

 neighborhood. A library, if provided with suit- 

 able rooms, can afford a convenient meeting- 

 place for many kinds of activities and thereby 

 serve as a coordinating influence. Study clubs 



