The Project Gutenberg eBook of Manual of Library Economy, by James Duff Brown.

DIVISION I
INTRODUCTORY

MEMOIR

On Christmas Day 1878 a Scottish lad of seventeen, having realized a cherished desire and obtained an appointment as junior library assistant at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, presented himself before the then unimposing portals of that institution at the north corner of Ingram Street, and found them closed. He concluded characteristically that this was because the librarian was an Englishman. The lad who endeavoured to begin what was his real life-work on this unusual day was James Duff Brown, who was to become in many ways the greatest practical influence of his time in the British public library movement, who lived through its most expansive period, codified and published its methods and results, experimented boldly, faced and overcame a remarkable force of opposition, and left behind him a memory which present librarians revere, and works which will not easily be forgotten.

We have no record of his earliest years, other than that he was born at Edinburgh on 6th November 1862, and during boyhood showed tenacity and mental acquisitiveness. At thirteen he became an apprentice in the publishing house of Edmonstone & Douglas in his native city, and in the same year, when Mr Douglas left that firm at the establishment of that of Douglas & Foulis, he remained with Mr Douglas. A year later found him at Glasgow with the firm of W. R. McPhun & Sons. The work done for these firms gave him an initiation of a kind into literature, but the earlier Glasgow period was never a happy memory of his, and his true career began at the Mitchell Library. Here he spent ten years, enlarging his knowledge, specializing thoroughly in librarianship, devoting much of his leisure to musical lore, and by ability and purposefulness working his way[2] to responsible positions on the library staff. When he was twenty-one he began to collect material for his Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, which appeared four years later in 1886; at twenty-three was Glasgow correspondent to The Musical Standard; and he was the editor and reviser of the six large quarto volumes of Chalmers’s Caledonia which appeared 1887-90. The industry thus shown was inherent in his character. He told Mr T. A. Aldred that he acquired the early-rising habit in youth, and that most of his work was done in the mornings before he began his official day’s work at 9 a.m.; and the Mitchell was at some distance from his home. This habit, which few of us ever acquire, he retained through life. It is interesting to know that he served from 1886 to about 1888 in the Third Lanark Volunteers; a little booklet from his pen, A Volunteer Reconnaissance, records his experiences.

A large library, however liberally administered, does not often offer opportunities for a man’s larger initiative unless he occupies one of the chief positions; and the exercise of his gifts did not come fully until his appointment in 1888 to the newly-established Clerkenwell Public Library in London. The building is a comparatively small edifice occupying a triangular site, and hardly one in which experiments little short of epoch-making might be expected; but Brown was a man of ideas and courage who could make the most of such a building. Moreover, London offered him openings which he did not hesitate to take. Retiring in person as a rule, nervous in speech, and in appearance of no special significance, he yet threw himself with quiet energy into the work of the Library Association. It must be remembered that from about 1888 to 1898 the public library movement in England received its greatest impetus, probably because in those years the full effects of the Education Act of 1870 came into play. Few of the libraries founded in that period are entirely without marks of his influence. In 1891 he conceived the idea—very old in itself, but quite new in its application to municipal libraries in this country—of throwing open the shelves to the choice of readers; and he formulated a scheme, which he called by the somewhat tautological name of “safe-guarded open access,” and published it anonymously in The Library in a paper entitled “A Plea for Liberty to Readers to Help Themselves.” A visit[3] to America in 1893, where he attended the Chicago Conference of the American Library Association as a delegate of the Library Association, confirmed him in his opinion of the practical desirability of the system, although he says, “There was no such thing as proper safe-guarded open access as now understood anywhere in America when I was there”; but free access there was, without the locking wickets and other safeguards which he introduced at Clerkenwell. In brief, his method was to admit readers to the shelves, but by way of a wicket at which their credentials were checked unobtrusively, and to allow them to pass out at another wicket at which the books chosen were charged. Thus the reader was locked in the library while making his choice. The results of his experiment were presented to the Belfast Conference in a paper he wrote in collaboration with one of his Committee, Mr Henry W. Fincham, entitled “The Clerkenwell Open Lending Library,” which was modest and restrained in tone; but although the discussion that ensued was generous and appreciative to an extent, it was the fiercest yet known amongst librarians, and the question became the most contested one in our work. So sharp were the divisions the simple suggestion created that the municipal library profession went into two armed camps, and friendships and good-feeling were frequently destroyed by it. It is difficult for younger librarians to realize the courage and confidence that were needed to champion open access twenty-five years ago against the active antagonism of 90 per cent. of the profession. There were not wanting men, however, who were drawn to the champion, amongst them Mr L. Stanley Jast, then librarian of Peterborough, Mr T. Johnston, librarian of Croydon, and Mr Brown’s own assistants, Mr Charles Riddle in particular, who opened the first library outside London on this system at Bournemouth in 1895. In 1896 Croydon adopted it, Hornsey followed in 1898, and although progress was slow at first, to-day it has so far won the battle that the opening of a new library on any other system is a matter for surprise, and many of the more conservative libraries, even in the largest cities, have adopted it at least in some part of their system; moreover, the question itself has become impersonal, and no librarian to-day would criticize another for any views he might hold in connexion with it. It was, as Sir J. Y. W. MacAlister[4] declared in 1894, “the dawn of a new epoch; a hundred years hence the authorities of the greater municipal London, which will then be carrying on the work now only attempted by the present congeries of village communities, will pass a resolution ordering a tablet to be fixed to the wall of a quaint three-cornered building in Clerkenwell, to commemorate the fact that here, in 1894, the revolution had begun which in a few years had changed the entire system of public libraries throughout the land.”

Although safe-guarded open access was the principal practical contribution of Brown to library practice, he introduced other things of great importance. His Quarterly Guide was the first annotated library bulletin published in England. He invented an indicator, more compact and perhaps as effective as most others, as a challenge to another similar inventor. He improved the sheaf catalogue, and indeed many of the commonest appliances now in use were of his contriving. A description of these, and others, he gave in his Handbook of Library Appliances, 1892, published by the Library Association. As open access abolished the need for alphabetical indicator-keys, he was at liberty to consider the question of catalogues radically; and he advocated the classified catalogue and class-lists as fulfilling the needs of students and readers better than other forms. In this advocacy he secured the vigorous co-operation of Mr Jast; and in this matter also a great controversy ran for some years, dignified amongst librarians as “the battle of the catalogues.” The issue is still in doubt as to the entire desirability of the classified catalogue for all purposes and places, but to-day the classified catalogue is certainly as common as any other form.

His brain and pen were active throughout life. In 1897 he published, in conjunction with Stephen Stratton, a British Musical Biography, another valuable biographical dictionary. In 1898 he founded, and for many years was to edit, The Library World, an independent and radical journal of library methodology and politics, which has held its own to this day. Opinions of all kinds were expressed in its pages; Brown wrote innumerable articles for it; and many librarians of present distinction first saw themselves in print in its pages. Especially did Brown encourage through its pages the struggles of young and unknown[5] men at a time when encouragement was of priceless value to them. A list of his works is given at the end of this chapter, and will be sufficient to show his energy; but the appearance of his Manual of Library Classification and Shelf Arrangement, 1898, which contained his Adjustable Classification, was a real event, because it was the first comprehensive treatment of a till then little understood and much abused subject; as was that of his greatest work, the Manual of Library Economy, which first appeared in 1903, and has influenced all library methodology.

Quiet as he was in many ways, he was of a social disposition, a trait which found an outlet to some extent at the Library Association, of which he was a councillor from 1890 to 1911; but for closer purposes of camaraderie he founded, with Mr Jast, the well-known Pseudonyms, a dining-club of librarians and their friends, which had its origin in the ‘nineties, and flourished for many years. The meetings were held in various Bohemian restaurants in Soho, professional and literary topics were debated, and Brown reported them in The Library World. The reports had little relation to the actual proceedings, and few people were more entertained, and, incidentally, astonished at their own wittiness (as reported) than the Pseudonyms themselves. This is but one instance of his humorous way of regarding all things. In conversation, and in writing of even the most dryasdust subjects, it seemed impossible for him to talk or write without humour.

Brown’s sixteen years at Clerkenwell made the library perhaps the most reputed in the country. Mr Jast may be quoted upon this: “Mr Brown’s influence and reputation extended far beyond his own country. Foreign librarians visiting London almost invariably made for two places; one was the large and handsome room overlooking a stately west-end square, which Mr J. Y. W. MacAlister occupied for so many years; and the other was a small room, high up in a rather dingy-looking triangular building, overlooking a dingier street in Clerkenwell, which was so hidden away that one rather stumbled upon it than found it, where Mr J. D. Brown worked in his official capacity as Librarian, before he was called to a sphere more worthy of his labours, in Islington. How many librarians, how many members of library committees, how many workers in the Library movement have been charmed,[6] interested, and instructed in these two rooms?” Not only was he required to give advice in his own country; at different times he was called upon to lecture on “free public libraries” in the United States, in Holland and in Belgium. “A Bruxelles,” writes M. Paul Otlet, “il parla devant l’auditore du Musée du Livre et son succès fut très grand.” I cannot help thinking that his success depended more upon his subject and his clear writing than upon his speaking; he was on the whole an indifferent speaker, his nervousness was painful to himself and others, and his ineradicable Glasgow accent was a real obstacle. He told my wife that the only place in which he enjoyed speaking was the meetings of the Islington Staff Club; he confessed to a horror and nervousness in public speech.

In 1904 he was appointed the first Borough Librarian of Islington. Here the public libraries scheme had its very beginnings under his care, and he was responsible for the interior design of the fine central library and the north and west branches; probably also for the south-east branch, but of that I am not sure. These libraries, I dare affirm, represented the highest achievement in library-planning in this country, with their handsome, adequate and practical rooms, economy in working, and general suitableness for their purpose. Here he brought into practice two of his principal innovations. The first was the Subject Classification, a huge, minute scheme, which we describe in more detail in the later pages of this book, which challenged comparison with the great and more popular American schemes in its completeness, logical arrangement, and admirable notation. Its focus upon British requirements made it specially attractive to British librarians, and although it may never supersede the more universal Decimal System of Melvil Dewey, it is nevertheless a work of the greatest value to all librarians. The second and more revolutionary innovation was the exclusion of the newsroom as usually understood from the libraries. In his account of his visit to America, he mentioned with something approaching disapproval the absence of this department from American libraries and the sense of desertion which resulted there; but at Islington he adopted the American plan. I am told that the Islington public did not approve the omission quite as much as did its author, but the arguments he used for it were[7] common-sense ones, although he has had few, if any, British imitators.

To give in detail all his work for Islington would be to occupy a disproportionate space in a memoir of this compass. Suffice it to say that he provided this not entirely grateful Borough with a system which is the admiration of our profession. He gathered round him an accomplished staff, published a model select catalogue, encouraged the formation of an excellent staff guild for his assistants, and did many other invaluable things. He had long been a teacher of young librarians. When the Library Association courses were inaugurated at the London School of Economics he became the lecturer in library organization and routine, and served in that capacity for many years. As one of his students, I can vouch for his conscientious, painstaking teaching, his care in clearing up difficulties, the encouraging and friendly way in which he answered our questions, marked our exercises, and generally made our work of interest and value. No librarian who turned to him for advice ever went unhelped, whatever his age or school of thought. He wrote hundreds of letters to such purpose in his beautiful minute handwriting, and a collection of these would form, I believe, an excellent journal of contemporary librarianship. He seemed, in particular, to have a minute knowledge of all librarians and library assistants, their capacities and work accomplished. His obvious sympathy with young assistants first drew many of us to him. From the day I met him in 1896 at Bournemouth to his death he showed me by constant signs his regard for younger men and women who had a real interest in the work that he himself loved. He treated us with equal consideration in his correspondence, and the youngest correspondent received the same courtesy as his elders. He drafted the constitution of the Library Assistants’ Association, which with slight modifications has proved most wise and successful; and he frequently, especially in his last years, attended the meetings of this Association, taking part in the discussions when invited to do so, but seldom intruding his opinions unasked upon his young listeners, who, be it remarked, were always eager to hear him.

It is a difficult task to sketch “the man in his habit as he lived,” but a few words may be written. The portrait which forms our[8] frontispiece is almost life-like, with its thoughtful, quiet, and, if one looks carefully enough, intent and humorous face. In person he was small, but not too obviously so; fragile-looking, but yet compact and vital in appearance and movement; he had brown hair and beard, delicate features, deft and supple hands; he thought calmly, was a rapid, consistent, and persevering worker; what he began he finished. His writings have been pronounced by Dr E. A. Baker to possess unmistakable quality, although “he scoffed at the word ‘style’ as denoting some futile kind of verbal legerdemain” (I think he must have done so jokingly, as his own personal library showed that he was by no means blind to the qualities of literary expression). “Shrewd, practical common sense, rough on cranks and sentimentalists, unmerciful to muddlers, impervious to a good many ideas, but a steady assertor of those he had tried and approved—this was the stuff of Brown’s writing,” is Dr Baker’s estimate, and in the main it coincides with my own. His personal tastes may be inferred from his work. “He once told me,” writes Mr Aldred, “he knew three subjects only, viz., library economy, music, and Scotland. I forget the order in which he placed them. Being a Scotsman, probably Scotland came first. In many respects, however, J. D. B.’s knowledge was of the encyclopædic order—he appeared to know a little of any subject named.”

In early life he was pronounced to be consumptive, but he told me, “I have lived to see the doctors who condemned me in their graves,” by careful living, and probably by sheer will power. But in his later years he had to meet many difficulties at Islington, where the libraries became the sport of a political party and he had a committee which was unable to assess his powers. It is useless to revive this now, but it probably helped to bring about his early death. He first became seriously ill in 1911, and with a few intervals, when we believed him to be practically himself again, he gradually weakened. In the last few months of his life a stay at Bournemouth was tried as a final resource, and here he read musical biography assiduously and maintained the keenest outlook upon all things; but no improvement ensued in his health, and he returned to London a dying man. The end came at his house, 15, Canonbury Park South, Islington, on 26th February 1914; and he was buried, amid every sign of[9] regret and affection, at New Southgate Cemetery. His only memorial to the present are his works; I believe they will be an enduring one.

To sum up: Brown entered upon his library career at a time when the library movement received its greatest impetus, and brought the whole force of a fertile and inventive mind and a ready pen into its service. He wrote the first text-books actually intended for English public librarians, collected and systematized all available methodology, and, thoroughly believing in his mission, this man more than any other in his generation fashioned in this country a living, interesting profession out of the despised materials of the popular library. An impression written by Alderman H. Keatley Moore, B.A., B.Mus., J.P., a veteran worker for public libraries, who made his acquaintance early, may serve to conclude this necessarily brief account of our author:

“What was it especially that made one feel so clearly that one was in the presence of a true man, of an absolute master of his subject, of one, in fact, whom it was an honour to know?

“I think it was that curious quietness, the repose of a man who has thought out everything fully for himself, and is content to leave the facts as he has arranged them to tell their own story. He was still, because he was so strong; he was undisturbed by clamour because he had been through it all, and now stood in the open with the conquered fortress behind him, its strength his strength made visible; one gradually grew rather timid of this shy talker because he always had the facts on his side.... He was the most unaffected and modest man of real mark that I have ever met in my long public life. I shall always be glad to have known him. I shall always remember the great services he rendered to me, to my town, to our country. Across my sincere regret at his loss flickers the whimsical thought of how he would wonder at the fuss we are making over him.”

Bibliography

The following is a list of Brown’s separate publications. His articles were legion, and will be found by reference to the indexes of all library periodicals and transactions. Nearly all the[10] anonymously-written articles and editorials in The Library World from 1898 to about 1906 are his:

1886. Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: with a bibliography of English writings on Music. Paisley: A. Gardner.

1888. A Volunteer Reconnaissance.

1892. Handbook of Library Appliances: fittings, furniture, charging systems, etc. L.A. Series, 1.

1893. Guide to the Formation of a Music Library. L.A. Series, 4.

1897. Greenwood’s Library Year-Book. Scott, Greenwood.

(The second edition, 1900-01, was entitled British Library Year-Book.)

1898. Manual of Library Classification and Shelf Arrangement. Libraco Series. Library Supply Co.

(Chapter vi., which contains “The Adjustable Classification,” was published separately under that title.)

1903. Manual of Library Economy. Scott, Greenwood. Second edition, 1907. Library Supply Co.

1904. Annotated Syllabus for the Systematic Study of Librarianship. Libraco.

Classified List of Current Periodicals: a guide to the selection of magazine literature. L.A. Series, 8.

1906. Manual of Practical Bibliography. Routledge. Subject Classification. 1906, Libraco. Second edition, 1914, Grafton.

1907. The Small Library: a guide to the collection and care of books. Routledge.

1909. Guide to Librarianship: reading lists, methods of study, etc. Grafton.

(Supersedes the “Annotated Syllabus.”)

1912. Library Classification and Cataloguing. Grafton.

(Incorporates much of the matter in the “Manual of Library Classification” in revised form.)

1913. A British Library Itinerary. Grafton.

Works written in Collaboration

1897. With Stratton, S. S. British Musical Biography: a dictionary of musical artists, authors and composers born in Britain and its Colonies. Birmingham: Stratton.

1901. With Moffat, Alfred. Characteristic Songs and Dances of all Nations.

1915. Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access Libraries: their planning, equipment and organization. With Introduction by J. D. Brown. Grafton.

(This work was planned by Brown.)

[11]

INTRODUCTION
LIBRARIANSHIP IN GREAT BRITAIN. THE PRESENT SCOPE OF THE LIBRARY PROFESSION. METHODS OF THIS BOOK

I. Library economy is a term covering every branch of work concerned with libraries; and libraries may be defined in a phrase as institutions devoted to the collecting, conserving and exploiting of literature. Originally the prevalent character of libraries was that of conserving rather than exploiting institutions, and much of the technical equipment of the modern librarian has come into being as a result of their progress from their original “museum” to their present “workshop” character. Our subject, then, covers the founding, organizing, administration and routine of libraries. It is one of much wider compass than is commonly supposed. Whatever may have been the original intention, for example, of the pioneers of the municipal public library movement, and there are still many who seem to regard that movement as a counter-attraction to the seductions of the saloon bar and similar places of recreation, the present public library is a many-sided, active civic institution, making its appeal to all classes of the community as a centre of education, culture and recreation, with a trained service to direct it. Nearly every other type of library also is most concerned with the best means of attracting people to make use of literature, and is an active force in the community rather than a passive one.

II. Libraries have been recognized as important in all ages, and a brief study of the early civilizations of the East and of the Mediterranean countries, as well as all later periods, shows the existence of state, public, ecclesiastical and monastic libraries for which there was some sort of librarianship, with even such seemingly modern appliances as classification and cataloguing of a kind. But the library as we know it to-day, and librarianship in particular, may almost be said to be the creation of the last half of the nineteenth century. Earlier town libraries[12] indeed existed, the first, it is believed, being that at Norwich, which was opened to the public in 1608; but although there were individual instances, the municipal public library (commonly but erroneously called the “free library,” because no charge is made for its use) was a result of the Libraries Act of 1850 promoted by William Ewart, M.P., who had at his back the real pioneer of public libraries, Edward Edwards, whose Memoir of Libraries is the most monumental of treatises on library history and administration. The Act of 1850 had in view the needs of the poor, sanctioned the levying of a halfpenny rate, and, with curious want of vision, left the provision of books to the generosity of private donors. The debates upon the bill before it became law are curious and entertaining reading; and it appears that the special purpose of libraries was the prevention of crime! Progress was slow at first, but in 1853 it was stated that thirteen towns had adopted the Act. In 1855 its provisions were extended to Ireland, and in this amending bill the amount that might be levied for libraries throughout the kingdom was increased to a limit of one penny in the pound.

III. We need not follow the history of the movement, as an excellent monograph by J. J. Ogle, The Free Library, is available on the question; nor need we go into the parallel and in some respects more wonderful development of the movement in America. So far as this country is concerned libraries have grown up in every considerable town, with very few exceptions; but the whole movement has been retarded, even crippled, by the retention of the limit of one penny in the pound as the amount a local authority may spend on library provision. The advance in general education—it must be remembered that in 1850 not more than one-seventeenth of the children of the people were receiving an education which could be called satisfactory even when judged by the low standards of that time—has created a new reading public more vast than was contemplated by the promoters of the Act; but the only legal help towards meeting its demands has come from the increased product of rate assessments; the limit remains sixty-five years after its imposition. But the increase we have mentioned has not been negligible, even if it is entirely insufficient, and it has been assisted in a remarkable way by private generosity. Amongst many who[13] have provided towns with public library buildings, Passmore Edwards, Lord Brassey, Henry Tate, Colonel Gamble and Professor Sandeman may be mentioned; but the greatest impetus to the movement was given by the systematic and almost universal munificence of Andrew Carnegie, which began in 1886 and has been continued by him and by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, which he has endowed, to the present. His system has been to provide a suitable building on the condition that the authority accepting it adopted the Libraries Act and provided a site from other charges than the library rate. By this means scores of towns which were without or had only inferior library buildings now possess one in some way worthy of the name.

IV. The expansion of libraries gave rise to the modern profession of librarianship. The older libraries were usually in the charge of scholars, whose main work was that of “keeper” of the books, a title which the librarian in charge of the British Museum still bears, although it does not now comprehend his work. The municipal library required a man who was not primarily a scholar, although scholarship was an invaluable basis for his work; he was rather required to be an administrator, a purveyor of books, and, because of the very limited moneys at his disposal, something of a business man. For some years, however, there was no definite science or art of librarianship in this sense. Edward Edwards, in the second volume of his Memoirs of Libraries, laid firmly the foundations of present library economy in a résumé and exposition of the multifarious methods of cataloguing, classification, library planning and administration used in the various libraries of the world. Little followed in England until the growing needs of the work caused a few far-seeing librarians to find some means of bringing librarians together. This they succeeded in doing in the successive conferences of librarians, British and international, the first of which was held in London in 1877. Out of these sprang the Library Association in 1878, with Mr Henry R. Tedder and the late E. B. Nicholson as its first honorary secretaries, and the late Robert Harrison as honorary treasurer. In the first year the late E. C. Thomas succeeded Nicholson, and somewhat later he was associated in his office with Mr (now Sir) J. Y. W. MacAlister,[14] one of the most significant and creative personalities in our work; while Mr Tedder assumed the office of treasurer, which he holds to this day, an office in which his wisdom and counsel as well as his unsparing industry have done much to create the present stability of the Association. By means of frequent gatherings, especially by its annual meetings, the Library Association gradually brought together the whole body of librarians in this country, who read and discussed professional papers, published proceedings, initiated scheme after scheme for the promotion and improvement of libraries, and generally became the controlling factor in library polity. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1898. For many years it was recognized that training in technical methods was necessary for librarians, and the Association has devoted much attention to this work. At first it held summer schools and, from 1898, other brief courses for library students, and examined the students upon them. Later it established, in connexion with the Governors of the London School of Economics, regular courses of lectures at that institution. A carefully-designed and remarkably helpful syllabus of instruction was drawn up, and on this examinations were held and certificates leading up to a diploma in librarianship were issued. The latest phase of the educational work of the Association has been the securing of a grant from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust for the establishment of a School of Librarianship at University College, London, which it is expected will commence on 1st October 1919. This will primarily be a day school with courses of study founded on the syllabus of the Association, which has been carefully revised and extended to meet the new circumstances. It is ridiculous to prophesy, but if this School is a success it is probable that it will revolutionize the whole character of library service in this country.

V. There have been various definitions of the purpose of libraries and librarians, few of them entirely adequate. We shall not attempt another dogmatically, but we may suggest that that purpose is to provide a representative and systematically arranged collection of literature from the daily newspaper to the elaborate treatise and encyclopædic work of reference. The methods of doing this, and of exploiting in the public interest the collection when made, are the subject-matter of this manual.[15] Until this primary purpose of a library is fulfilled any attempts at those added activities which are advocated by some librarians to-day are likely to be mistaken, or at least ill-advised. The Library Association has not issued a comprehensive manifesto covering this matter, and might very well do so, if care were taken, as no doubt it would be, to give considerable elasticity to the definitions. At the Annual Meeting in 1917, however, it did adopt a series of resolutions of great importance, which, as the almost unanimous pronouncement of the profession, must find a place here. In the light of the rough definition given, their inadequacy as a comprehensive statement of library work is obvious enough, but they have great value as showing the trend of that work in the effort to meet the remarkable intellectual, industrial and other conditions created by the European War; and this seems to us a justification for treating each of the resolutions at greater length in the following pages:

1. “That the aim of the library as an educational institution is best expressed in the formula ‘Self-development in an atmosphere of freedom,’ as contrasted with the aim of the school, which is ‘Training in an atmosphere of restraint or discipline’; in the school the teacher is dominant, because it is possible to pass on a form, to teach an art; but in the library the pupil strikes out his own line, and becomes his own teacher; the library supplies the material upon which the powers awakened and trained in the school can be exercised; the library and the school depend upon different ideas, deal with different material in different ways, and there is no administrative relation between the two; furthermore, the contacts of the library with organized education necessarily cease at the point where the educational machinery itself terminates, but the library continues as an educational force of national importance in its contacts with the whole social, political and intellectual life of the community; that the recognition of the true place of the library in education must carry with it the provision of adequate financial resources, which is impossible under the present limitation on the library rate; such limitation therefore should be removed at the earliest possible moment.”

2. “That the creation in the child of intellectual interests, which is furthered by a love of books, is an urgent national need;[16] that while it is the business of the school to foster the desire to know, it is the business of the library to give adequate opportunity for the satisfaction of this desire; that library work with children ought to be the basis of all other library work; that reading-rooms should be provided in all public libraries, where children may read books in attractive surroundings, under the sympathetic and tactful guidance of trained children’s librarians; but that such provision will be largely futile except under the conditions which experience, especially in America where the importance of this work has long been recognized and where it is highly developed, has shown to be essential to success.”

3. “That in view of meeting trade conditions after the war, commercial libraries should be established in all the great trade centres of the kingdom, as a part of the municipal library system, where business men may obtain reliable commercial information, by means of the collection and arrangement for rapid consultation of all Government and other publications relating to commerce; that such libraries should act as outliers or branches of the Commercial Intelligence Department of the Board of Trade; and that such Department should further the work of these libraries in every possible way; that in the smaller towns commercial collections should be formed.”

4. “That technical libraries are as essential, both to technical education and to manufacture, as the laboratory or the workshop; that discovery and invention are stimulated by books; that the technical library, therefore, should be established as a special department of the public library in all important manufacturing towns, with a special organization, including a librarian trained not only in library method and in the bibliography of technology, but possessing also a sufficient technical knowledge to enable him to act as a source of information to inquirers.”

5. “That collections of books and other printed and manuscript matter bearing upon questions of local government should be established in connexion with municipalities; that such collections to be effective must be in charge of a trained librarian; that the management of such collections should be placed under the library committee; that the cost of such libraries will be small in proportion to the valuable part they will play in serving the needs, not only of officials entrusted with the carrying out[17] of public work, but also of members of the municipality responsible for local government finance and policy.”

VI. Since the succeeding chapters of this manual were revised the Ministry of Reconstruction has issued a report on libraries and museums which has been made by its Adult Education Committee. This traverses in a general way the ground covered by the Library Association resolutions and makes recommendations of much moment and gravity. The aim of the report is to explain the extent of libraries and to secure their co-ordination. It criticizes Resolution 1 on the ground that it represents the aims of education inadequately, and it deduces from several very cogent arguments the policy of placing libraries under the local education committees in order that they may be merged into and worked as an extension of the national education system. For London this would mean taking libraries from the boroughs and placing them in the care of the county. The matter is too unsettled to admit of argument here, but such a policy, if carried out, might alter radically the whole character of library provision and administration. The linking up of libraries is recommended by means of a central lending library in London, the municipal libraries, special libraries, and rural libraries; the central lending library would supply the more expensive, little-used books to students direct or through the municipal or rural libraries, and special libraries should be drawn upon in their specialities for books to be used throughout the country. To the end that the service should be developed to the greatest extent, the present income of libraries should be increased, either by an increase in the separate library rate or by abolishing that rate altogether and allowing the estimates of the library to be included in general education estimates.

It seems quite probable that the near future will see a removal of the main financial difficulties.

VII. This manual is based upon the syllabus of the Library Association, but excludes sections 1 and, in part, 2 (Literary History and Bibliography), and includes the subject-matter of the resolutions of 1917. Primarily it is a manual of municipal library practice, but is by no means exclusively so. Special libraries have their individual methods, and a general conspectus of librarianship cannot include them; and state, university,[18] institutional, club and private libraries are equally matters for specific treatment such as would be impossible here. But all libraries are faced with very similar problems of selection, accession, classification, cataloguing, etc., or at any rate they differ in these matters in degree rather than in kind; and it is hoped that for them much that follows will be at least interesting and suggestive. To this end the method aimed at is expository rather than argumentative; and when two or more methods are in vogue they have been placed side by side in order that the student may review them and form his own judgment of their relative merits. Where we are dogmatic we are so unconsciously, and we hope that aberrations of this kind will be passed over with forbearance.

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DIVISION II
FOUNDATION, COMMITTEES AND FINANCE

CHAPTER I
LEGISLATION

1. Municipal Libraries: Acts of Parliament.—The principal Acts of Parliament under which British public municipal libraries are now constituted consist of the following:—

Ireland

1855. “18 & 19 Vict., c. 40. An Act for further promoting the establishment of Free Public Libraries and Museums in Ireland.” (The principal Act.)

1877. “40 & 41 Vict., c. 15. An Act to amend the Public Libraries Act (Ireland), 1855.”

1894. “57 & 58 Vict., c. 38. An Act to amend the Public Libraries (Ireland) Acts.”

1902. “The Public Libraries (Ireland) Amendment Act.” Gives power to District Councils to adopt the Acts, and empowers County Councils to make grants in aid of libraries.

Scotland

1887. “50 & 51 Vict., c. 42. An Act to amend and consolidate the Public Libraries (Scotland) Acts.” (The principal Act.)

1894. “57 & 58 Vict., c. 20. An Act to amend the Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1887.”

1899. “62 & 63 Vict., c. 5. An Act to amend the Public Libraries (Scotland) Acts.”

England and Wales

1892. “55 & 66 Vict., c. 53. An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Public Libraries.” (The principal Act.)

1893. “56 Vict., c. 11. An Act to amend the Public Libraries Act, 1892.”

1898. “61 & 62 Vict., c. 53. An Act to provide for the Punishment of Offences in Libraries.”

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1901. “1 Edw. 7. An Act to amend the Acts relating to Public Libraries, Museums and Gymnasiums, and to regulate the liability of managers of libraries to proceedings for libel.”

[Note.—This Act does not deal with actions for libel. It was originally intended to do so, but the clauses were struck out of the bill, and the title escaped emendation.]

2. The whole of these are in force, and they repeal all the former Acts dating from 1850, while incorporating some of their provisions. In addition to these general Acts, a considerable number of local Acts have been passed on behalf of various towns, which include provisions for the modification of the general Acts, chiefly in regard to removing the limitation of the rate, and for other purposes. Such powers are usually contained in improvement or tramway Acts, and the principal towns which have obtained them include Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Halifax, Darwen, Sheffield, Cardiff, etc. Several towns, like Brighton, Huddersfield, Kingston-on-Thames, have also special Acts which confer the power of establishing libraries, independently of the general Acts, so that the public libraries of Britain are not constituted under one general law.

3. The Public Library Law is further modified or extended by various other statutes which were passed for different purposes, and the principal Acts of this kind are as follows:

“24 & 25 Vict., c. 97. An Act to consolidate and amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to malicious injuries to property,” 1861.

This gives power to prosecute for misdemeanour any person who unlawfully and maliciously destroys or damages any book, manuscript, etc., in any public museum, gallery, cabinet or library.

“56 & 57 Vict., c. 73. An Act to make further provision for local government in England and Wales,” 1894.

Enables rural parishes to adopt the Public Libraries Act, 1892, by means of a parish meeting or poll of the voters in the parish.

“62 & 63 Vict., c. 14. An Act to make better provision for local government in London,” 1899.

Confers the power of adopting the Public Libraries Act, 1892, on the Metropolitan Borough Councils, by extending to them the provisions of the Public Libraries Act, 1893.

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The remaining statutes which in any way deal with public or private libraries will be noticed in connexion with the departments of library administration, to which they specially refer, such as loans, rating, etc.

The only other Acts of Parliament which may in the future influence public libraries are the Education Acts passed since 1902. Under these Acts local Education Boards are empowered to “promote the general co-ordination of all forms of education,” and in many districts the education and library authorities are amalgamated for common purposes. It remains to be seen what further extensions will take place.

4. Main Provisions of the Municipal Libraries Acts.—A brief summary of the leading practical points of the various Acts will serve to give an idea of the powers which are conferred upon municipal authorities in regard to libraries:

(a) Adoption of Acts in Towns.—The Acts may be adopted in any city, county borough, burgh or urban district by a resolution passed by the council, at a special meeting of which a month’s notice shall have been given, and the resolution must be advertised publicly in the usual way, and a copy sent to the Local Government Board, if the adoption is in England or Ireland; while a notice of the fact of adoption must also be sent.

(b) Adoption of Acts in Parishes.—In parishes in England and Scotland the Acts can only be adopted by a majority vote of the householders or voters.

(c) Library Rate.—A rate of one penny in the £ on the rateable value of an administrative area is the limit fixed by the Act, but power is given parishes to fix a smaller sum by a popular vote, and urban districts of all kinds to remove or fix any rate within the limit of one penny by resolution of the council.

(d) Powers.—The Library Authority may provide public libraries, museums, schools for science, art galleries and schools for art, and for that purpose may purchase and hire land, and erect, take down, rebuild, alter, repair and extend buildings, and fit up, furnish and supply the same with all requisite furniture, fittings and conveniences. The Library Authority shall exercise the general management, regulation and control of every department established under the provisions of the Acts, and may provide books, newspapers, maps and specimens of art and science, and cause the same to be bound and repaired when necessary. Also appoint salaried officers and servants, and dismiss them, and make regulations for the safety and use of every library, museum, gallery and school under its control, and for admission of the public thereto. Power is also given to make agreements with other library authorities for the joint use of library or other buildings; and to borrow money, with the sanction of[22] the central authorities, for the purpose of buying sites, erecting buildings and furnishing them. The Irish Act of 1877 also gives power to establish schools of music as part of a library scheme.

5. Non-Municipal Libraries: Acts of Parliament.—The legislation affecting the large number of British libraries which are not supported out of the rates is neither extensive nor satisfactory. The chief feature of most of the Acts of Parliament which have been passed seems to be the benevolent one of granting certain facilities to various kinds of landowners to divest themselves of their property in order to provide sites for literary and scientific institutions. There are similar clauses in the Public Libraries Acts, and, of course, most of the Acts named apply to municipal libraries; but in reality this kind of legislation is not particularly valuable. To make the transfer of land for public purposes more easy is quite laudable, but it has not yet had the effect of inducing landowners to part with free plots of land as building sites, either to public library authorities or literary institutions.

6. The principal Act bearing on literary and scientific institutions is entitled “An Act to afford greater facilities for the establishment of Institutions for the promotion of Literature and Science and the Fine Arts, and to provide for their better regulation,” 17 & 18 Vict., c. 112, 1854. This is nearly all taken up with provisions for transfers of lands and other property, and with a few regulations concerning members, rules, altering, extending or dissolving the institution, etc. This Act was afterwards to some extent modified by “An Act to facilitate the transfer of Schools for Science and Art to Local Authorities,” 54 & 55 Vict., c. 61, 1891. These, and the other Acts referred to, which deal with transfers of property, have had very little to do with the development of voluntary literary and scientific institutions or libraries; the principal statute under which most of them are now governed being an Act passed primarily for quite a different purpose. This is the “Act to amend the ‘Companies Act, 1862,’” 30 & 31 Vict., c. 131, 1867, under Section 23 of which power is given the Board of Trade to grant licences to literary and similar associations, providing for registration with limited liability, and conferring all the privileges attaching to limited companies. In connexion with this Act, and those of 1862 and 1877, the Board of Trade have issued[23] a series of circulars and forms, which include draft rules, articles of association, etc. Under these licences a considerable number of British literary institutions have been established and organized.

7. British Colonial Library Legislation has proceeded very much on the lines adopted in the mother country, and in every case the permissive character of the Acts has been preserved, and, in most cases, the rate limitation. On the other hand, some effort has been made to keep in touch with schools and universities.

In South Africa a Government proclamation established the South African Public Library at Cape Town in 1818. This was further regulated by an ordinance passed in 1836, which gave the library the right to receive a free copy of every publication issued in Cape Colony. Other libraries in the large towns now receive grants from the Government, and a large number of smaller libraries also receive grants equal to the annual average amount raised by subscriptions and donations during the three preceding years; but in no case shall the amount of the Parliamentary grant exceed £150 for any one library in one year. No grants are made if less than £25 is raised by subscription. In return for the grant, reading-rooms and reference libraries are to be open free to the public, and an annual report has to be presented to the Government. In Natal the same arrangement is made, though on a much smaller scale. In both colonies books are only lent for home reading to subscribers. In 1874 an Act was passed by the Legislature of Natal for regulating literary and other societies not legally incorporated.

In Canada, under a General Libraries Act of 1854, County Councils were authorized to establish four classes of libraries: (1) Ordinary common school libraries in each school-house for the use of children and ratepayers; (2) a general public library available to all ratepayers in the municipality; (3) professional libraries of books on teaching, etc., for teachers only; and (4) a library in any public institution under the control of a municipality. Arrangements were made whereby the Education Office sold books at low rates to the school libraries; and afterwards the Education Department of the Legislature gave annual grants, equal to the amounts contributed by members for book purchase,[24] to mechanics’ institutes, etc., and subsequently increased such grants for books to $400 (£80) annually. The province of Ontario, in 1882, passed “An Act to provide for the Establishment of Free Libraries,” on lines very similar to the English Acts. Power is given any city, town or incorporated village to provide libraries, newsrooms, museums and branches, on the petition and with the consent of the qualified electors. The management is vested in a board chosen from the Town Council, citizens other than councillors, and the Public School Boards. The library rate is limited to an “annual rate not exceeding one half of a mill in the dollar upon the assessed value of all rateable, real and personal property.” This form of limitation is borrowed from the practice of the United States. About ninety places have adopted this Free Libraries Act in Ontario. In 1895 an Act was passed in Ontario to enable mechanics’ institutes to change their names and transfer their property to municipalities on condition that the libraries were made free to the public.

The Australian colonies have all passed separate laws, somewhat similar to those in force in other parts of the Empire, in regard to their adoption being left to local option, and rates being more or less limited. In 1870 Victoria passed an Act establishing the Library, Museum and National Art Gallery at Melbourne, and in 1885 “The Free Libraries Act” was passed. But, in 1890, these Acts were repealed by “An Act to consolidate the Laws relating to Libraries.” The Melbourne Public Library, which was established in 1853, is now wholly supported by Government, and it lends books to any municipality in the colony. In addition, the Government make grants from public funds to most of the mechanics’ institutions, athenæums and other literary societies in Victoria.

South Australia has quite a body of library laws, dating from 1863, when the South Australian Institution was incorporated, but most of them have been repealed or incorporated in the two principal Acts regulating institutes and free libraries. By the various Acts passed in connexion with institutes or literary societies, grants in aid are made by Parliament on lines similar to those in force in the other colonies, while rules and regulations are made and power given to transfer such institutes to the municipalities. Public libraries are regulated by “An[25] Act to establish Free Libraries in Corporate Towns and District Councils,” 1898, subsequently amended by an Act of 1902. This Act gives local authorities power, on the request and with the consent of the ratepayers, to adopt the Act, subject to the rate not exceeding 3d. in the £. Municipal libraries are also entitled to receive the same grants as are made to institutes.

In New South Wales public libraries may be established under the “Municipalities Act,” 1867. The Government makes grants for the purchase of books on a scale according to population, and other funds must be provided by the subscriptions of members. Schools of art are entitled to receive a Government grant in proportion to the amount of monetary support accorded by the public. In addition, the Sydney Public Library (established in 1869) is entirely supported by the Government, and it sends out carefully selected boxes of books to 128 institutes throughout New South Wales, the entire cost being defrayed by Parliament.

In Western Australia grants are made to institutes as in the other colonies, but there is no general Library Act in existence yet. In 1887 the Government established a Public Library at Perth, and contributes £3000 per annum for its maintenance. The only legislative enactment concerning libraries in Western Australia is an Act for establishing a Law and Parliamentary Library for the Legislature, which was passed in 1873 and amended in 1889.

Queensland passed an “Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to Municipal Institutions, and to provide more effectually for local government,” 1878. This was extended by the “Divisional Boards Act” of 1887, and now Municipal Councils or Divisional Boards may make bye-laws for the establishment, maintenance and management of public libraries. Brisbane Free Public Library, the only library of importance opened under this Act, has an annual grant from the municipal funds varying from £800 to £1000. One hundred and forty schools of art throughout the colony also receive Government grants for library and other purposes to the extent of about 8s. 2d. for every pound subscribed by members.

Tasmania has a model library law, which is worthy of adoption in every civilized country. It is contained in “An Act to[26] amend the Law relating to Public Libraries,” passed in 1867. It is so short, and so much to the point, that the whole of it may be quoted. After a two-line preamble it declares that: “The Municipal Council of every municipality may, from time to time, apply such sum as it sees fit, out of the rates of such municipality, in and towards the formation and maintenance of Public Libraries within such municipality.” That is the whole Act, and it gives no indication of the grudging limitations which other countries inflict. The only blemish on this admirable statute is the fact that it is not compulsory. Most of the Tasmanian towns being small, only Hobart has put the library law into force, by appropriating a penny rate to the support of the Tasmanian Public Library (1849), which is also maintained by Government grants. The small libraries throughout Tasmania receive grants, on the usual conditions, from the Government.

The library law of New Zealand is based on a series of Acts, similar to those passed in this country for the regulation of municipal libraries and literary institutions. The principal Acts are: (1) “An Act to promote the establishment of Public Libraries,” 1869, giving power for the governing body of a city, village or district to adopt the Act with the consent of the ratepayers, and to levy a rate not exceeding 1d. in the £; (2) “An Act to confer powers on Public Libraries and Mechanics’ Institutes,” 1875—a series of rules for incorporation and management; (3) “An Act to promote the establishment and support of Public Libraries,” 1877. In this Act it is laid down that the grant for public libraries is to be apportioned among provincial districts, in proportion to the population of such districts, and that a subsidy equal to the amount of the library rate is to be paid to municipal libraries established under the Act of 1869. Free admission to reading-rooms is permitted, but no person to be allowed to borrow unless he contributes not less than 5s. per annum.

None of the West Indian dependencies have legislation relating to libraries, although grants are paid from Government funds towards the maintenance of libraries in different British possessions.

In India the Government subsidizes only libraries connected[27] with the leading departments of State, such as law and parliamentary libraries for the use of legislators and the Councils forming the Indian Government. It cannot be said to redound to the credit of the Government that the only public library systems in India have been established in native States. The Gaekwar of Baroda has instituted such a system, which extends from the capital city to the smallest village, and his example has been followed by the native State of Indore.

The British colonial libraries are thus established and regulated on lines very similar to the municipal libraries of this country, and literary institutions of all kinds are incorporated and recognized in the same way as in the United Kingdom. There are numerous differences, however, in points of detail, because, although the permissive clauses are retained for municipal libraries in every case, in some cases, such as Tasmania and South Australia, the rate limit is either non-existent or greatly increased. Again, it is a universal provision in colonial administration for the Governments to assist all kinds of libraries, to the extent of contributing, within limits, as much money as is raised by the subscriptions of members or produced by a municipal library rate. Also, more attempt is made, especially in Canada, to embody the libraries as part of the national system of education, and in this respect our colonies are ahead of the mother country.

8. The Library Legislation of the United States is of very great importance, because of its variety, liberality and consistent aim to make libraries an essential part of the system of national education.

As Dr Thomas Bray was the first to procure library legislation in England, so was he the first to obtain a law of this kind in North America. He founded a library in South Carolina, which in 1700 formed the subject of an Act passed by the Legislative Assembly of South Carolina for its regulation and protection. In 1715 a similar law for the same purpose was passed by the Legislative Assembly of North Carolina. In subsequent years many laws were passed by different States for the incorporation and regulation of all kinds of social, subscription, mercantile and other libraries, much on the same lines as were found necessary in other countries, in order to give such associations legal[28] standing and recognition. In some of the States laws have been enacted providing for the payment of an annual grant to proprietary libraries, on condition that they are made free to the general public for reference purposes. This plan of utilizing existing library facilities for the public benefit is common to both the United States and our own colonies, and there are many less effective ways of securing reading privileges at a comparatively cheap rate. It would add enormously to the educational resources of London, for example, if, in return for an annual Government grant, the general public could have access to the reading-rooms of some of the more important literary, scientific and artistic libraries, especially those which are rich in the current periodical literature of other countries.

In the “Report of the Commissioner of Education” for the United States, 1895-96, vol. i., there is a very elaborate account of the “Library Legislation in the United States,” to which reference must be made by those who want minute details of the laws of the different States of the Union. Here it is only possible to deal with the laws affecting school and municipal libraries, and to give typical examples of the legislation in each class.

In 1835 the New York State Legislature passed a law establishing libraries for the school districts of the State. These libraries were much extended and improved by later laws, and till 1853 they practically supplied the place of the public libraries. Other States established these school district libraries, open to scholars and all citizens, Massachusetts and Michigan following in 1837, Connecticut in 1839, Iowa and Rhode Island in 1840, and others at various dates down to 1876, when Colorado passed a similar law. The failure of this system in many places led to the first Town Library Law being passed by the Legislature of Massachusetts in 1848, under which the City of Boston was authorized to establish a free public library and levy a tax of $5000, or £1000, for its support. This was the first State law passed in America, and in 1849 New Hampshire passed a general law for the whole State. Massachusetts next extended its library law from the City of Boston to the whole State in 1851, and Maine followed in 1854. The other northern States followed slowly, till now nearly all the States, save a few in the South and[29] West, have laws enabling municipal libraries to be established. Previous to this, most of the States, as they became incorporated in the Union, established libraries for the use of the legislative councils in the capital towns of each State, and these State Libraries, as they are called, constitute a very important class of public library in the United States. The first actual municipal library opened in the United States was that of the town of Peterboro’, in New Hampshire, which in 1833 established and supported out of the local taxes a public library, which still exists. From this it appears that there was nothing either in the Federal or State law of the United States to prevent any town from supporting a library at the public expense if it saw fit. The principle of interference in local affairs by central authorities is, however, a thoroughly Anglo-Saxon convention or principle, and though the Federal Legislature in America does not impose local laws on the State authorities, these State legislatures impose the same restrictions upon local municipal authorities which are common throughout the British Empire.

The main provisions of the State Library Laws of America are:

(1) The adoption of the library laws of the State by any city or municipal council, with or without the petition or consent of the ratepayers. The practice differs in the various States, but it is permissive and not compulsory in every State.
(2) Power to levy a rate for the establishment and support of municipal libraries, varying from the fraction of a mill per dollar on the taxable value of the town to any sum the council may see fit to levy.
(3) Power to appoint trustees and do everything necessary for the equipment and efficient administration of the libraries.

It is important to note that in the United States the basis of taxation is entirely different from what it is in this country. Here rental, minus a certain deduction, is adopted as the unit from which to make up the rateable value of a town. In the United States the value of all property is taken, instead of mere[30] rental, as the unit from which the rateable value is built up. If a house in England is worth £420, and rents at £36, it would be assessed at about £30, and the library rate would be levied upon the £30, producing 2s. 6d. In the United States the same house, plus contents, would pay rates on the £420, being the value of the property, but on a smaller poundage. One mill on the dollar is the thousandth part of 4s. 2d., or about one-twentieth of 1d. If, therefore, the library rate in an American town is 1 mill, or the twentieth of 1d., on the dollar, property valued at £420, or $2100, would pay a total library rate of about 8s. 6d. Other classes of property, such as live stock, crops, etc., are also taxed, so that in America the produce of even a comparatively small library rate is much greater than in a town the same size in England, and this fact should always be kept in mind when comparisons are being made between the library systems of the two countries.

There is one other point which should be mentioned as illustrative of the difference of the methods of the United Kingdom and the United States in regard to the adoption of the library laws by municipalities. In those States of America where a poll of the citizens is required before the libraries can be established, no special vote is taken, but instead, at the annual election of councillors, the voting papers bear the question: Are you in favour of a library being established at a tax of —— mills on the dollar? Thus at one election the municipal council is returned to office, and their library policy dictated to them by the ratepayers. The liberal library laws of the United States have produced a great number of very large and magnificently equipped public libraries, which are administered by well-educated officers, who are paid adequate salaries for the work they accomplish. No other country in the world can show such a scheme of libraries closely in touch with all the other educational bodies and recognized by the State as part of the national system of education.

In one respect the library authorities in the United States have shown more wisdom than those of other countries, by establishing Boards of Library Commissioners charged with the responsibility of supervising the library work of the whole of a State. These Library Commissions are established in some of[31] the States, but not in all, and are generally composed of five or six educational experts. They have power to advise in the establishment of local libraries in every respect as regards selection of books, cataloguing, etc., and may expend public money in the purchase of books for libraries in towns which do not possess municipal libraries. They are also authorized to pay for all clerical work required in connexion with the Board, to issue reports and collect statistics, and in some cases to organize travelling libraries. All these State Library Commissions issue handbooks, and those of New Jersey and Wisconsin will give some idea of the important work in co-ordinating the library forces of America now being accomplished by these Commissions.

9. No country in Europe has a library law like that in force in Britain and the United States, but a certain amount of recognition is accorded to public libraries by the State in most countries. Municipal libraries exist in France under State direction, but very few towns in other countries have done much to foster public libraries in their midst; but in recent years movements for the establishment of municipal libraries on British or American lines have been initiated in several European countries, and such libraries are now to be found in Norway, Holland and Germany. In some cases endowed or university or royal libraries are recognized or partly supported by the State or the municipal authorities, but so far no European nation has passed a general library law which gives communities direct control of the establishment, organization and support of public libraries by means of a tax or rate.

10. It is fitting to close this chapter with a brief reference to future library legislation in Great Britain. The most urgent and insistent need, without which further development is impossible, is to remove or raise the limitation of one penny in the pound on the library rate, which was fixed by the Act of 1855. Over forty places, including nearly all the large towns, have acquired extended rating powers by means of special local Acts, but such a course is practically prohibitive in the small towns, where relief is generally needed most. In view of the growth of the demand for branch libraries, technical and commercial departments, children’s reading-rooms, and for educational work in many directions—extensions certainly never contemplated by[32] the original Acts—the penny limitation is an anachronism, which it was the business of Parliament to have removed long ago. Another anomaly which presses for remedy is that the County Councils, alone of all the related local government bodies, such as Borough and Urban District Councils, have no expressed power of adopting the Libraries Acts. The consequence has been detrimental to the establishment of village libraries. A Parish Council may adopt the Acts, and a few parishes have done so, but the yield of a penny rate in a parish is so small that in most cases it is impossible to meet even necessary administrative expenses, with nothing whatever left over for books and papers. It is not surprising in these circumstances that the rural population of the country is still deprived of the social and educational advantages of the public library. What is obviously indicated is a larger administrative authority, such as the County Council, which could group the parishes, pool the income from the rate, and administer from one centre a system of travelling libraries, combined with local stationary collections of books and the provision of suitable reading-rooms in the various districts. Such schemes have been initiated in about a dozen counties by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust in conjunction with the County Councils, but while the Scottish Education Act of 1918 gives County Education Authorities power to provide and maintain libraries, there is no mention of libraries in the English Education Act of 1918. These and other needed reforms in the library law are made in a Bill, now being promoted by the Library Association, which every well-wisher of the movement must hope will receive the sanction of the Legislature without further delay.

11. The solution of the problem may, indeed, come from another direction, as the present President of the Board of Education (Mr H. A. L. Fisher) indicated in an interview with a library deputation (April 1919) that the powers relating to public libraries then held by the Local Government Board were to be transferred to another department. The Board of Education was thus indicated, and it may be that new sources of support, means of co-ordination, and possibly periodical Government inspection of libraries, may flow from the transfer; but it is too early to speculate upon the matter.

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Bibliography

12. English Legislation:

Chambers, G. F., and Fovargue, H. W. The Law Relating to Public Libraries and Museums, etc. 4th edition. 1899.

This is the principal work on the subject.

Fovargue, H. W. Summary of Library Law. N.D.

13. Foreign and Colonial Legislation:

Canada. Hardy, E. A. The Public Library. 1912.

Colonies. Society of Comparative Legislation. Legislation of the Empire, 1898-1907. 4 vols. 1909.

France. Pellisson, M. Les Bibliothèques à l’étranger et en France. 1906.

Richou, G. Traité de l’administration des bibliothèques publiques. 1885.

Robert, U. Recueil de lois, decrets, etc., concernant les bibliothèques publiques, etc. 1883.

Germany. Franke, J. Der Leihbetrieb der Öffentlichen Bibliotheken. 1905.

United States. Bureau of Education. Report of the Commissioner, 1895-6. Vol. i., chapter ix., Library Legislation in the U.S., pp. 523-599.

The fullest account.

Yust, W. F. Library Legislation. Preprint of American Library Association, Manual of Library Economy, chapter ix. 1911.

Annual reviews of the library legislation in the U.S. appear in the Library Jl.

For articles, see Cannons, pp. 90-96: LWK, Legislation, Library Commissions, pp. 241-245.

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CHAPTER II
ADOPTION OF ACTS, FOUNDATION AND COMMITTEES

14. Methods of Adopting the Public Libraries Acts.—There are only two methods prescribed by the Libraries Acts under which public libraries can be established. In rural parishes a parish meeting, called upon a requisition signed by ten or more voters and held at the time and place appointed, may adopt the Acts by a bare majority of those present and voting. At least seven days’ notice of the meeting must be given, but it is better to allow a month. Should a poll be demanded, it must be conducted by ballot according to the rules laid down by the Local Government Board. Full particulars, including forms of requisition, will be found in Chambers and Fovargue’s Law Relating to Public Libraries, 1899.

15. As already stated in Section 4, any county borough, urban district, burgh or other similar authority may adopt the Libraries Acts by a resolution of the council, without reference to the voters. A month’s notice of motion must be given in the customary form, and a bare majority of the council can pass the resolution. A copy of the resolution adopting the Acts must be sent to the Local Government Board, and it must also be advertised in the local papers and posted on the doors of all the churches and chapels—where such notices are usually posted. It is best to make the resolution state a particular date when the Acts are to come into operation, as is required by the Scotch Act. In some places the Acts after being adopted have been allowed to become a dead-letter owing to neglect of this necessary precaution. As the urban districts and burghs are given power to fix the amount of rate within the limitation of one penny, it is not necessary to include in the resolution adopting the Acts any stipulation as to the amount of rate. A useful form of resolution is as follows:

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That the Public Libraries Act [state date of principal Act] and all subsequent Acts amending the same be, and are hereby adopted, for the county borough of ————— [state place], and shall be in force throughout the borough [or other area] on and after the . . . . . . day of . . . . . . . . [state year].

16. As the power of adopting the Acts in populous areas is now vested in the local authorities, there is no longer, as formerly, any need to educate opinion among ratepayers as to the necessity for establishing public libraries. The Library Association has issued a useful pamphlet, The Establishment of Public Libraries, 1909, and most of the other propagandist literature of a useful kind appears in the various books of Mr Thomas Greenwood (Public Libraries, British Library Year Book, etc.), and these should be consulted by anyone in a rural parish who desires to raise the question in a practical form. As regards urban districts the initiative may safely be left in the hands of the intelligent members of council, who will sooner or later move in the direction of placing their districts in line with all the other large towns in the country.

17. At present about 534 towns and districts in the United Kingdom have adopted the Public Libraries Acts, or local Acts, and this number includes every large town in the country. The principal areas still unprovided with public libraries are the Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone and the towns and districts of Bacup, Crewe, Scarborough, Swindon, Govan, Leith, Pollokshaws and Wishaw; together with Dover, Jarrow, Llandudno and Weymouth, which, though they have adopted the Acts, have taken no steps to put them into force.

18. Endowments.—Little need be said about the foundation of public libraries by endowment or bequest. The wills of Stephen Mitchell and George Baillie, of Glasgow, are models of what a liberal bequest should be, both as regards the amounts bequeathed and the conditions laid down for the formation of the library itself. The practical condition attached to all the gifts made by Mr Andrew Carnegie and Mr J. Passmore Edwards for public library purposes should be adopted by every benefactor who proposes to found a library. This is the very sensible one that, if the gift of money is accepted by the community, the local authority must adopt the Public Libraries Acts, in order to maintain the library in a state of efficiency for all time. The[36] only alteration suggested in the form of future bequests is that, when money is offered to a small town on the condition that it adopts the Libraries Acts, the whole of the gift should not necessarily take the form of a building fund. Small towns usually have very inadequate incomes from the library rate, and for this reason it might be wise if a fair proportion of the gift were directed to be invested as a book fund. A large library building without books is by no means as useful to the people as a much less ambitious building provided with a fund which permits of the annual purchase of £50 to £100 worth of books, independently of the library rate. At the same time, the endowment of libraries in the manner suggested would not always act as an encouragement to town councils to provide proper funds for libraries; indeed, it might act as an excuse for withholding them.

19. Appointment of Committees.—The first step after the Libraries Acts have been adopted by a local authority will be the appointment of a committee, and it is desirable that only capable men should be elected. The best interests of the library will be served by a committee consisting of good business men and literary or professional men or women, in about equal proportions. It is quite evident that the legislature did not contemplate the formation of public libraries by committees consisting exclusively of the rank and file of local authorities, who are chiefly concerned with paving, drainage and other equally material matters. By Section 15, Sub-section 3, of the “Public Libraries Act, 1892,” it is ordained that “an urban authority may if it think fit appoint a committee and delegate to it all or any of its powers and duties under this section, and the said committee shall to the extent of such delegation be deemed to be the library authority. Persons appointed to be members of the committee need not be a member of the urban authority.” The “Public Libraries (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1877,” gives similar power to elect members outside the local authority. Section 4 ordains that “the committee in which the general management, regulation and control of such libraries, museums or schools may be vested under the provisions of the 12th Section of the principal Act may consist in part of persons not members of the council or board or commissioners.” By the “Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1887,” Section 18 ordains[37] that the local authority shall “appoint a committee, consisting of not less than ten nor more than twenty members, half of whom shall be chosen from amongst the magistrates and council, or board, as the case may be, and the remaining half from amongst the householders of the burgh or parish other than the magistrates and council, or board, and three members of such committee shall form a quorum.” It is further ordained, Section 21, that this committee “shall manage, regulate and control all libraries and museums established under this Act, or to which this Act applies; and shall have power to do all things necessary for such management.” It is thus clear that local authorities are fully empowered to select the best expert advice it is possible to obtain in the district, and that the administration of the library should not rest entirely in the hands of the local authority. It is therefore advisable that library committees, while consisting of a majority of members of the local authority, should be strengthened by a good proportion of members selected from among the best qualified citizens. The principle of co-option is compulsory in the case of Education Committees, and so far as this principle is concerned the arguments for its adoption on Library Committees are equally cogent.

20. Constitution of Committees.—The portions of the Acts already quoted make it plain that in Scotland the library committees shall be independent bodies, with power to provide everything necessary, without requiring the sanction of the local authorities, or doing more than from time to time reporting their proceedings. In Ireland, under Section 12 of the principal Act, “the general management, regulation and control of such libraries and museums, etc., shall be, as to any borough, vested in and exercised by the council or board, and as to any town, in and by the town commissioners, or such committee as they respectively may from time to time appoint, who may from time to time purchase and provide the necessary fuel, books, appoint and dismiss officers, make rules,” etc. This approximates closely to the English law, which differs from that of the Scottish in leaving the power of appointing an independent or semi-independent library committee in the discretion of the local authority. The English Act has already been quoted in the previous section, and it now remains to give reasons why every Public Library[38] Committee should be independent of the control of the local authority, save for certain purposes. The fact that, in Scotland, the hybrid composition of the committee is regarded as a reason for making it practically independent of the local authority offers a strong argument in favour of a similar course being pursued in England and Ireland. A mixed committee is entitled to act without the special sanction of the local authority, if only for the reason that all its members cannot take part in the ratifying proceedings of the council or board. It seems illogical to invite capable citizens who are not members of the council to pass certain resolutions and then submit them for confirmation to a council on which they have no vote or voice. Furthermore, a committee of any kind appointed to administer an Act, like the Public Libraries Act, which lays down clearly what may be done and how much may be expended, does not require the same kind of oversight and control as an ordinary committee appointed for some municipal purpose with comparatively unlimited powers of expenditure. No committee appointed for an educational purpose should be subject to the delays and difficulties caused by having to submit all its proceedings for confirmation by a superior authority. All these arguments furnish reasons why local authorities in England and Ireland should follow Scotland in giving Public Library Committees a complete or partial delegation of powers under the Public Libraries Acts.

21. Delegation of Powers.—A delegation of powers under the various sections of the Acts quoted should provide for a fair measure of independence for the committee, with a fair share of general control on the part of the local authority. As a matter of policy, as well as in the public interest, it is very desirable to maintain harmonious relations between a central board and its acting committees, and for these reasons information as to the proceedings of a committee should always be available, if required. But, for the reasons already set forth, a Public Library Committee should be a reporting and not merely a recommending body. With the exception of public libraries in the Metropolitan Boroughs, which are compelled by Section 8 (3) of the “London Government Act, 1899,” to receive the sanction of the Borough Council and its Finance Committee for expenditures over £50,[39] every Public Library Committee in England and Ireland should be constituted under a special delegation of powers, such as was contemplated and authorized by the Acts already quoted. A fair and workable form of delegation of powers, which has been adopted with good results, is as follows:

That the [name of authority] hereby delegates to the Public Library Committee all the powers and duties vested in it as the Library Authority under the Public Libraries Acts, 1892, and all subsequent amendments, with the following reservations:—

1. The sanction and raising of loans for new buildings or other purposes.
2. The making and collection of the annual library rate.
3. The confirmation of agreements with adjoining library authorities for the joint use of libraries.
4. The confirmation of the appointment or dismissal of the librarian.
5. The sanction of any scheme for the formation of branch libraries.
6. The proceedings of the Public Library Committee to be reported monthly to the [name of authority], but only for confirmation and sanction as regards Clauses 1 to 5 of this constitution.
7. The librarian to act as clerk to the Public Library Committee.

As regards Metropolitan Borough Councils, it may be desirable to add a clause to the effect that no expenditure exceeding £50 be incurred without an estimate being first obtained by the Finance Committee of the Borough Council. But it is doubtful, if even this restriction is necessary, if, when the rate is made, the Borough Finance Committee passes an estimate for the whole amount of the public library rate, to be expended on general library purposes according to a budget or scheme prepared by the Public Library Committee. This will get over the difficulty of having to obtain fresh estimates every time £50 worth of books is ordered. The “Public Libraries Act (Amendments) Act, 1901,” contains a clause making it quite clear that for library purposes a Metropolitan Borough is an urban district.

22. Standing Orders.—The standing orders or bye-laws regulating Public Library Committees need not be very elaborate. Generally, they should be the same as those governing other committees of the local authority, with the exceptions as to powers. The committee should be elected annually by the local authority, and the number of members should be small rather than large. The needs of districts differ, but a Public Library[40] Committee of over twelve may be an encumbrance rather than a help to the institution. At the same time a larger committee means a larger representation on the Council, and help from more people who are actually or nominally interested in the library service. Probably the largest committee in England is that at Wallasey, which has thirty members, of whom thirteen are Council members. Where such large committees exist it is usually found that the actual executive work devolves upon a sub-committee, such as the Book Sub-Committee. Meetings are generally held once a month; certainly there is ordinarily no occasion for the committee to be called more often, and in some towns a quarterly meeting is found to be sufficient. A chairman should be elected annually by the committee; he should invariably be a Council member, as he is the natural representative of the committee on the Council; but the vice-chairman may fittingly be a co-opted member. The principle of a constant change of chairmen, adopted in some Councils, is a bad one on a Library Committee, as the work is quite different, in many respects, from other departments of the public service, and knowledge and experience are required if a sound and consistent library policy is to be pursued. This is impossible under a system in which chairmen come and go annually. The same remarks apply to the committee as a whole; its personnel should remain reasonably stable. Three members should form a quorum. The committee should control its own clerk, who ought to be the librarian, although, as we have implied, this is by no means generally the case, and, indeed, is sometimes impossible under the standing orders of the Council. The Public Libraries Acts require that a separate account be kept of receipts and expenditure from the library rate, and library committees should see that this is done in all cases where the accounts are kept and payments made by the Council officials.

23. Duties of Committees.—To a considerable extent these are fixed by the delegation of powers granted and the standing orders adopted. But there are certain broad principles which should be observed by library committees in the ultimate interest of their work. The chief of these is that the committee is concerned rather with library policy than with library administration; with what shall be done rather than with how it shall be[41] done. The administration, planning, arrangement, methods, etc., of a library are technical matters purely appertaining to the librarian; and many libraries are stultified by well-meant and conscientious interference in details of this character by library committees. The committee has the right, and it is its duty, to expect the results of its policy to be visibly effective in the library service, but it should confide the means of obtaining those results to its librarian; only in this way can the special training which librarians now bring to their work be made of maximum use to the community. With the modifications implied in these principles the duties of the committee cover:

1. General oversight of buildings, staff and the work of the various departments of the library.
2. Careful supervision of the selection of books.
3. Compilation and revision of public rules and regulations.
4. Regular checking of accounts and expenditures, including those of all officers.
5. Regular meetings on fixed dates.
6. Every member of committee should become acquainted with the elements of public library administration, and for this purpose should possess copies of all the live Acts of Parliament.

24. To cover the work effectively, various sub-committees are necessary, which should be small, but large enough to give each member of the committee an actual interest in some definite department of library work. Usually the sub-committees appointed include a Book Sub-Committee, which undertakes the examining of all lists of books suggested for purchase; an Accounts Sub-Committee, to which all financial matters are committed; and a Staff Sub-Committee, which is concerned with the appointment, dismissal, remuneration, and training of the employees. Some of the large libraries have a Buildings Sub-Committee to regulate the proper maintenance of library properties; Lectures and Extension Sub-Committee; Branches Sub-Committee; and such other groupings as the local circumstances warrant. In most cases, however, the needs of the authority are met by the three sub-committees first-named; and the multiplying of sub-committees is not desirable where there is not enough business to keep them interested and occupied.

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Bibliography

25. Adoption of Acts:

Fovargue, H. W. Adoption of the Public Libraries Acts in England and Wales. 1896. (L.A. Series, No. 7.)

Greenwood, T. Public Libraries, 1891, p. 76.

Library Association. The Establishment of Public Libraries, 1909.

Lord, J. E. The Free Public Library. Preprint of A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ., chapter vi., 1914.

Wire, G. E. How to Start a Public Library. 1902. (A.L.A. Tracts, No. 2.)

26. Committees and Trustees:

Bostwick, A. E. Administration of a Public Library. Preprint of A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ., chapter xii., 1911.

Greenwood, T. Public Library Committees. In his Public Libraries, 1894, p. 352.

Notes for Library Committees. In Greenwood’s Year Book, 1900, p. 1.

Hardy, E. A. The Public Library, chapter v., p. 103.

Sayers, W. C. Berwick. The Library Committee: its Character and Work. 1914. (Library Assistants’ Association Series, No. 6.)

Wynkoop, Asa. Commissions, State Aid, and State Agencies. Preprint of A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ., chapter xxvii., 1913.

For articles, see Cannons, E 1-3, Library Organization and Administration; E 8-12, Personnel, etc.

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CHAPTER III
FINANCE, LOANS AND ACCOUNTS

27. The Library Rate.—The general library Acts passed for Ireland, Scotland and England all limit the amount to be raised by rate for library purposes to one penny in the pound on the annual rateable rental of all properties within the areas, with certain exceptions or modifications as to gardens and agricultural lands. Great doubt exists as to what is meant by a penny rate and on what value it is to be levied. Some authorities maintain that the income from a penny rate can only represent the net sum realized by a penny on the rateable value, after all deductions have been made on account of empty houses and other irrecoverable items. Against this may be set the actual practice in several places, of paying over the full sum which a penny rate on the nominal rateable value would produce, without any deductions whatsoever. As the Public Libraries Acts have placed a limitation on the amount of the library rate, it may be assumed that the libraries were intended to benefit to the full extent of the rateable value. At any rate the Acts are silent on the point, and practice differs so much that it is fair to say that a public library, because of the present limitation, and because some places now give the full product, is entitled to the full amount which a penny rate would yield when calculated on the full rateable value of the town or district, without deduction of any kind, either for unproductive properties or cost of collection. It has been decided that no deduction can be made from the income produced by the library rate on account of the cost of collection, and as this rate is now collected as part of a general or other unlimited rate, it seems unfair to saddle it with any part of the cost of collection. If it were collected as a separate rate, or with rates similarly limited by Act of Parliament, the position would be different. The difference between the amount paid over to public libraries and the actual sums which would be[44] produced were the rate charged on the full rateable value is sometimes considerable. The losses range from over 20 to 5 per cent., and thus a considerable limit is placed upon the book-purchasing power of a large number of libraries.

28. Unexpended Balances.—In some places the local authority has appropriated unexpended balances of the public library rate and applied them to other local purposes. This action is clearly illegal, and could only have been taken by those who are ignorant of the decisions of the Local Government Board on the point. It is true the Acts do not specify how unexpended balances of the library rate are to be dealt with, but it is equally true that as the money was raised under a special Act for a strictly defined purpose, it cannot be diverted to any other purpose, nor can it be carried forward as a portion of the library rate for a succeeding year. No doubt the wording of the Act is responsible for the interpretation which has been put upon the section entitled “Limitations on expenditure for purpose of Act.” It reads: “A rate or addition to a rate shall not be levied for the purposes of this Act for any one financial year in any library district to an amount exceeding one penny in the pound.” The Local Government Board have decided that any unexpended balances of the library income must be carried forward to next year’s library account, without prejudice to the next year’s library income. This decision has been upheld by all the district auditors of the Local Government Board, and it is difficult to understand the reason why a few places still cling to the belief that the library rate can be further limited by this illegal procedure of appropriating unexpended balances. Committees who are threatened with this action can always protect themselves against the injustice by taking care that there are no balances to appropriate; but it will prevent them from saving a little money for necessary book purchases, cleaning or other purposes. It should be pointed out, furthermore, that the section of the Act above quoted does not really refer to the total amount to be raised by rate in a given year, but only to the poundage or rate which may be charged for library purposes, namely, not more than a penny in the pound. The question of the product of this rate of a penny is not mentioned anywhere in the Acts, and it is this lack of clear definition—the failure to distinguish the[45] amount of a rate from the total amount which it will produce annually—which is responsible for many of the difficulties hitherto met with in administering the Libraries Acts.

29. Annual Estimates.—The Scotch principal Act is the only one which requires an annual estimate or budget to be prepared by the library authority for the information of the local authority. Section 30 of the Act of 1887 provides that “The Committee shall in the month of April in every year make up, or cause to be made up, an estimate of the sums required in order to defray the interest of any money borrowed, the payment of the sinking fund, and the expense of maintaining and managing all libraries and museums under its control for the year after Whitsunday then next to come, and for the purpose of purchasing the books, articles and things authorized by this Act,” etc. This estimate has to be submitted to the local authority, who “shall provide the amount required out of the library rate to be levied by it, and shall pay over to the committee the sum necessary for the annual expenditure by it in terms of its estimate.” By the standing orders of most local authorities yearly or half-yearly estimates have to be prepared and submitted by the various committees, and as practice varies everywhere, it will be well for the library authority to follow the local practice.

30. Local circumstances alter the conditions materially in every place, and hitherto there has been a lack of uniformity in presenting financial statements which makes any attempt to produce a model budget to be suspect. The form of the statement is often governed by the practice of the Borough Accountant, who arranges the order of items in accordance with his own views; but wherever it is possible to do so, it would be well if the form of annual estimate conformed with the order adopted in the report made by Professor W. G. S. Adams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust in 1915, On Library Provision and Policy, which would arrange in some such order as in the table on page 46.

Each of these items will probably need analysis, and the order given here may be inverted; indeed, the form shown is merely meant to be suggestive and to show the nature of the information which the Council usually requires when it is considering the annual estimates.

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Public Library Committee Estimate, 1919.
Expenditure.
Actual 1917.			Estimate 1918.	Actual 1918.	Estimate 1919.
1.	£897	Books and Binding	£900	£910	£920
2.	£300	Newspapers and Periodicals	£350	£380	£380
3.	etc.	Salaries and Wages	..	..	..
4.	..	Rent and Loans	..	..	..
5.	..	Rates and Taxes	..	..	..
6.	..	Maintenance:	..	..	..
7.	..	Lighting	..	..	..
8.	..	Heating	..	..	..
9.	..	Cleaning	..	..	..
10.	..	Balance	..	..	..
Income
1.		From 0d. rate	..	..	..
2.		From other sources	..	..	..

Fig. 1.—Form for Annual Estimates.

31. The distribution of the income over the various items is again subject to local circumstances; but, thanks to the inquiry of Professor Adams, a table of comparative distribution of income drawn from the figures of about 500 library systems throughout the kingdom has been published, which gives the best information at present available. It is qualified by the facts we have emphasized in the last paragraph, and still more by the changed conditions which result from the European War, which have increased such items as salaries, and reduced the book-purchasing (and indeed every other purchasing) power of libraries considerably. We give the table of percentages of expenditure for libraries with, and without, loans, merely remarking that it may serve as a rough guide by which library committees may work. Again, the librarian, in submitting his budget for the use of his committee, will analyse the items into general administrative, central, reference and branch libraries’ expenditure, and under each will show salaries as distinct from wages paid for unskilled service; and books will be divided into “new,” “replacements,” etc.; periodicals into those filed permanently and others; maintenance charges into building expenses, furniture and fittings, stationery, repairs to fabric and furniture, and so on. The Council as a rule does not require so detailed a statement.

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Classified Percentages of Library Expenditure

			Libraries with Loan Charges.																	Libraries without Loan Charges.
Income.			Books and Binding.		Peri- odicals and News- papers.		Salaries.		Rents and Loans.		Rates and Taxes.		Other Items, in- cluding Main- tenance of Premises, Light, Heat, &c.		Total		Income.			Books and Binding.		Peri- odicals and News- papers.		Salaries.		Rents and Loans.	Rates and Taxes.		Other Items, in- cluding Main- tenance of Premises, Light, Heat, &c.		Total
£			%		%		%		%		%		%		%		£			%		%		%		%	%		%		%
8000 & over			19·	06	4·	96	37·	5	15·	46	2·	41	20·	58	99·	97	1000 & over			19·	93	6·	37	39·	22	..	2·	03	32·	43	99·	98
4000	-	8000	18·	81	5·	31	39·	96	12·	54	1·	81	21·	55	99·	98	750	-	1000	25·	4	7·	95	44·	17	..	3·	16	19·	29	99·	97
3000	-	4000	17·	97	6·	07	41·	74	17·	42	1·	09	15·	68	99·	97	500	-	750	20·	31	9·	98	45·	49	..	3·	86	20·	23	99·	97
2000	-	3000	19·	53	6·	44	39·	33	13·	5	2·	38	18·	78	99·	96	400	-	500	18·	48	10·	07	40·	90	..	5·	81	24·	6	99·	86
1500	-	2000	21·	09	6·	24	37·	87	13·	13	2·	3	19·	01	99·	64	300	-	400	15·	9	12·	31	46·	91	..	2·	9	21·	9	99·	92
1000	-	1500	19·	07	7·	43	37·	18	16·	47	2·	21	17·	62	99·	98	200	-	300	17·	13	13·	25	42·	98	..	4·	00	22·	61	99·	97
750	-	1000	17·	58	7·	81	38·	97	10·	8	2·	22	22·	6	99·	86	100	-	200	16·	2	15·	66	45·	1	..	2·	54	20·	47	99·	97
500	-	750	17·	55	10·	88	36·	32	11·	81	3·	10	20·	22	99·	88	50	-	100	20·	16	15·	82	34·	29	..	5·	68	24·	02	99·	97
250	-	500	13·	12	10·	25	38·	9	15·	09	4·	00	18·	61	99·	97	Under 50			28·	65	21·	85	36·	46	..	2·	26	10·	75	99·	97
100	-	250	16·	31	13·	13	33·	63	21·	31	3·	14	12·	45	99·	97
Under 100			14·	32	16·	15	25·	84	24·	48	2·	66	19·	52	99·	97

			Libraries with Loan Charges.
Income.			Books and Binding.		Peri- odicals and News- papers.		Salaries.		Rents and Loans.		Rates and Taxes.		Other Items, in- cluding Main- tenance of Premises, Light, Heat, &c.		Total
£			%		%		%		%		%		%		%
8000 & over			19·	06	4·	96	37·	5	15·	46	2·	41	20·	58	99·	97
4000	-	8000	18·	81	5·	31	39·	96	12·	54	1·	81	21·	55	99·	98
3000	-	4000	17·	97	6·	07	41·	74	17·	42	1·	09	15·	68	99·	97
2000	-	3000	19·	53	6·	44	39·	33	13·	5	2·	38	18·	78	99·	96
1500	-	2000	21·	09	6·	24	37·	87	13·	13	2·	3	19·	01	99·	64
1000	-	1500	19·	07	7·	43	37·	18	16·	47	2·	21	17·	62	99·	98
750	-	1000	17·	58	7·	81	38·	97	10·	8	2·	22	22·	6	99·	86
500	-	750	17·	55	10·	88	36·	32	11·	81	3·	10	20·	22	99·	88
250	-	500	13·	12	10·	25	38·	9	15·	09	4·	00	18·	61	99·	97
100	-	250	16·	31	13·	13	33·	63	21·	31	3·	14	12·	45	99·	97
Under 100			14·	32	16·	15	25·	84	24·	48	2·	66	19·	52	99·	97

			Libraries without Loan Charges.
Income.			Books and Binding.		Peri- odicals and News- papers.		Salaries.		Rents and Loans.	Rates and Taxes.		Other Items, in- cluding Main- tenance of Premises, Light, Heat, &c.		Total
£			%		%		%		%	%		%		%
1000 & over			19·	93	6·	37	39·	22	..	2·	03	32·	43	99·	98
750	-	1000	25·	4	7·	95	44·	17	..	3·	16	19·	29	99·	97
500	-	750	20·	31	9·	98	45·	49	..	3·	86	20·	23	99·	97
400	-	500	18·	48	10·	07	40·	90	..	5·	81	24·	6	99·	86
300	-	400	15·	9	12·	31	46·	91	..	2·	9	21·	9	99·	92
200	-	300	17·	13	13·	25	42·	98	..	4·	00	22·	61	99·	97
100	-	200	16·	2	15·	66	45·	1	..	2·	54	20·	47	99·	97
50	-	100	20·	16	15·	82	34·	29	..	5·	68	24·	02	99·	97
Under 50			28·	65	21·	85	36·	46	..	2·	26	10·	75	99·	97

Fig. 2.—Returns compiled from Professor Adams’ Report on Library Provision and Policy [Carnegie United Kingdom Trust], Sec. 31.

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32. We must consider in some detail the principal expenditures to which library committees are subject.

33. Loans.—The Libraries Acts give fairly full instructions as to loans for public library purposes. In England under the principal Act “every library authority, with the sanction of the Local Government Board . . . may borrow money for the purposes of this Act on the security of any fund or rate applicable for those purposes.” In parishes the regulations for borrowing prescribed by the “Local Government Act, 1894,” are to apply. As a preliminary to borrowing, an inquiry is held locally by a Local Government Board inspector, who receives evidence as to proposed buildings, sites, amount required, etc., and also hears objections to the proposal. The Local Government Board print bills announcing the inquiry, and these must be posted and paid for by the library authority. At such inquiries full particulars should be prepared as to income, date of adopting Acts, etc., as well as particulars of the proposed scheme. After the inquiry is held it is generally about three months later before the sanction of the Board is received. This states the amount sanctioned and for what period the money can be borrowed for sites, buildings, furniture or books, as the case may be.

The security for loans is declared by the “Public Health Act, 1875,” Section 233, to be the “credit of any fund or all or any rates or rate out of which they are authorized to defray expenses incurred by them in the execution of this Act.” And it is further laid down that “they may mortgage to the persons by or on behalf of whom such sums are advanced any such fund or rates or rate.” It thus appears that neither library buildings nor the library rate can be mortgaged for the purposes of library loans, but only the rate or rates out of which the expenses of the Public Health Act are paid. This practically means the general rate of a district.

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34. The Local Government Board will fix the period for which sums of money for particular purposes may be borrowed. Generally the periods are as follows:

For	sites or lands	60	or 50 years.
„	buildings (including fixtures like counters, screens, wall and standard bookcases, wall newspaper slopes, barriers, etc.)	30	years.[1]
„	books	10	„
„	furniture (tables, chairs, desks, and movable furniture only)	10	„

The money may be borrowed from the Public Works Loan Commissioners, County Councils, Banks, Friendly Societies or private individuals. The rate of interest varies, according to the state of the money market. Four per cent. may be regarded as an average interest at present, but library authorities have borrowed for as low as 3 per cent.

[1] A loan for purchasing an existing building will not be sanctioned by the Local Government Board for a period exceeding twenty or twenty-five years.

35. The methods of repayment vary, and this must be entirely a matter for local arrangement, and should follow the practice in vogue with other municipal loans. An equalized repayment of principal and interest on the annuity system has the advantage of distributing the payments uniformly over the whole period, and of placing part of the burden on succeeding ratepayers as well as upon those who establish the library. This is much fairer than making the pioneer ratepayers practically bear the whole foundation cost of establishing an institution which increases in its value to the community as it progresses. On the other hand, buildings are sure to depreciate in value, and the question of repairs is a constant one, so that some authorities maintain that loans on structures should be paid off by annually diminishing instalments of principal and interest. In Scotland repayments of principal must be made from a sinking fund which is to be formed from a certain proportion of the rate put aside annually.

The arrangements for negotiating a loan and drawing up the necessary deeds should be placed in the hands of a solicitor, but in many cases the accountant or town clerk of the district is[50] responsible for all arrangements, and will see that the deed is duly sealed as prescribed by the Act.

In connexion with this it should be noted that by Section 237 of the “Public Health Act, 1875,” a register of the mortgages on each rate must be kept, and that “within fourteen days after the date of any mortgage an entry shall be made in the register of the number and date thereof, and of the names and description of the parties thereto, as stated in the deed.” Furthermore, “every such register shall be open to public inspection during office hours at the said office [local authority’s office] without fee or reward.” As the auditor will call for this register, the clerk to the library authority should see that it is provided, if the local authority has not already done so.

36. The arrangements for loans in Ireland and Scotland are somewhat similar to those just described. In Ireland no power to borrow was given under the principal Act, but the Amendment Act of 1877 gives the power, provided the commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury approve. The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland may lend, and power is given to mortgage, as security, either the borough fund, town fund, or the library rate itself. In Scotland the local authority may borrow, without any other consent, on mortgage or bond on the security of the library rate, a sum or sums not exceeding the capital sum represented by one-fourth part of the library rate, capitalized at the rate of twenty years’ purchase of such sum. A sinking fund must be formed, consisting of an annual sum equal to one-fiftieth part of the money borrowed, which is to be invested and applied to the purpose of extinguishing the debt.

Before leaving the question of loans, it may be well to offer a word of warning against the danger of overborrowing, which has very seriously crippled the work of various libraries. In some places as much as one-half the library income has to be devoted to the repayment of principal and interest of loans; in others, one-third is similarly spent. One-fourth is the maximum which in any case should be set apart for the purpose.

37. Assessment to Rates and Taxes.—The assessment of public library buildings to rates and taxes has been for long a burning question, and is still far from final settlement. The limitation of the library rate to a penny in the pound has always been[51] considered by library authorities a strong reason why all additional burdens on the meagre income raised thereby should be resisted. But all local authorities and assessment committees did not think likewise, and a good deal of friction resulted.

In 1843 was passed “An Act to exempt from County, Borough, Parochial, and other Local Rates, Land and Buildings occupied by Scientific or Literary Societies,” 6 & 7 Vict., c. 36, under which a few public libraries obtained certificates of exemption from the payment of local rates, from the Registrar of Friendly Societies, as allowed by this Act. Some of these certificates were recognized by the rating authorities, others were ignored, and it was frequently maintained that a public library was not a scientific or literary society within the meaning of the Act. In 1896, however, a complete change took place as regards this point, by a decision of the House of Lords, which ruled that public libraries were literary societies or institutions for the purposes of the “Income Tax Act of 1842,” under which such institutions were granted exemption from the payment of income tax. Although the case, brought by the Corporation of Manchester against the Surveyor of Income Tax for Manchester, did not directly refer to the Act of 1843, the decision that public libraries were literary institutions effected all that was necessary for the purpose of claiming exemption from local rates under the “Literary Societies Act of 1843.” A full report of this case and decision is printed in the Library for 1896, in the Times law reports and elsewhere. The effect of this decision was to remove any doubt from the mind of the Registrar of Friendly Societies, who has power under the Act to grant certificates exempting public libraries from the payment of local rates, and as a result many libraries obtained certificates, and now enjoy complete or partial exemption. It is not necessary to quote the Act of 1843, which can be obtained for one penny from the King’s printers, but the procedure requisite for obtaining a certificate of exemption may be noted.

38. An application claiming exemption under the 1843 Act must be addressed to the Registrar of Friendly Societies at London, Edinburgh or Dublin, as the case may require. With this must be enclosed a copy of the rules and regulations of the library, signed by the chairman and three members of committee,[52] and countersigned by the clerk or librarian. These rules must include the following, or others in similar terms:—

1. “The —— Public Library is a society established for purposes of literature and science exclusively.”

2. “The library is supported in part by a rate levied in accordance with the Public Libraries Acts, and in part by annual voluntary contributions of money and gifts of books and periodicals. The Library Committee shall not make any dividend, gift, division or bonus in money unto or between any of the members.”

These two rules are absolutely necessary to a successful application, and, if not already incorporated, should be included by special resolution of the library authority before application is made. It is best to send printed copies of the rules, and it should be noted that three identical copies, all signed, must be sent. On these the registrar endorses his certificate, and sends one to the Clerk of the Peace for the district, one to the library authority, and retains one. The form of certificate usually attached is as follows:

It is hereby certified that this society is entitled to the benefit of the Act 6 & 7 Vict., c. 36, intituled “An Act to exempt from County, Borough, Parochial and other Local Rates, Lands and Buildings occupied by Scientific or Literary Societies.”

Date.

Seal of
Registry of
Friendly
Societies.

The application should show that annual voluntary contributions of money, books and periodicals are received, but there is no direction laid down as to the amount of voluntary contributions which will pass muster. The point is somewhat vague, but it may be assumed that the amount received from gifts, subscriptions, sales, books, periodicals, etc., need not form a substantial proportion of the income. As the English Registrar accepts[53] donations in kind as annual voluntary contributions, it is only necessary to value these to make up a respectable sum.

39. Certificates are not granted as a rule in cases where a charge for admission is made. Furthermore, it is doubtful if the exemption from local rates would be allowed by hostile local authorities for any occupied portions of library buildings. A caretaker’s or librarian’s residence would in all probability be separately assessed, if the certificate were otherwise recognized. By a decision of a Court of Quarter Sessions at Liverpool in 1905, it has been decided that the Corporation of Liverpool is liable for local rates on a library building; but it is not possible to say how far this may affect libraries holding these certificates. Legislation is pending, and till something is definitely settled, the question must remain open.

40. The House of Lords’ decision already noticed also freed public library buildings from income tax, but it should be distinctly understood that inhabited house duty can be charged for the whole of a building, even if only partly occupied as a residence, when included under one roof, unless it can be shown that the library and residence do not communicate directly with each other.

41. Insurance.—Library buildings and their contents should be fully insured against fire. To ascertain insurable value take the cost of buildings at the contract price, including all charges which would have to be incurred again for rebuilding; furniture at the contract price; lending library books at 3s. 4d. per volume all over; and reference library books at 5s. per volume all over, and thus obtain a total. An allowance is sometimes made for depreciation, but a full covering value is always safe. The policy will state these various items separately for the purposes of insurance, but will likely charge a uniform percentage on all. 1s. 6d. per cent. is a fair charge in a good office, but insurances can be effected for as low as 1s. 3d. per cent. Library buildings form a safe risk, and unless in a case of temporary premises with bad surroundings, 1s. 6d. per cent. should be regarded as a maximum charge. Some offices return the premium once in five years or so by way of bonus. Insurance policies should be revised every few years to keep pace with the growth of the library. Paintings, valuable MSS. and rare books must be made[54] the subject of special insurances. The same may be said of temporary exhibitions, especially of loan articles, which ought to be covered by a policy for the period of the show. Plenty of fire-buckets should be provided in public library buildings to cope with the first outbreak of fire. Hydrants, save in large buildings, are not necessary, on account of their cost and practical inutility. If a fire cannot be checked at its onset by means of buckets, it is time to ring up the fire-brigade.

42. Another insurance that should be provided is against claims for damage or injury to children who use juvenile departments which may be caused through any defect in the building or its fittings; and in connexion therewith it should be remembered that children cannot legally be held contributory by their carelessness or misbehaviour to such accidents as would cause injury.

43. Health insurance must be paid by the library committees for all employees of sixteen years of age and more who earn less than £250 a year.

44. Contracts, Agreements, Requisitions.—Contracts for regular supplies should be renewed annually. The principal items of this kind are:

Books, bookbinding, periodicals and newspapers, printing, stationery, cleaning materials.

Local sentiment is generally in favour of procuring all supplies locally, where possible, and when this can be done without absolute disadvantage to the library it is the most convenient course. Tenders can be invited either by public advertisement or on the nomination of members of committee and the librarian. To begin with, public advertisement is, perhaps, the fairest way; afterwards, quality of service and other considerations will decide. Specifications should be prepared and sent out according to requirements.

45. All specifications and contracts should be carefully preserved. The former should be entered up in a specification book, which need be but an ordinary foolscap folio blank book, ruled faint. Accepted contracts should either be filed in boxes or guard books, or copied into a contracts book similar to the specification book. Accepted estimates for occasional work[55] should be fastened to the accounts. It is important to be able to lay hands on any given document or its terms without the slightest delay. All tenders for regular supplies and estimates for occasional work should be opened in committee, in meeting duly convened, unless by special resolution the librarian or a sub-committee is authorized to deal with them. Envelopes, printed with the address of the library and having the words “Tender for ——” printed boldly in one corner, should be enclosed with all invitations for estimates to prevent the risk of accidental opening.

46. In connexion with contracts it is important to note that Public Library Committees and officers are subject to the penal provisions of the “Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889,” 52 & 53 Vict., c. 69, in the event of bribes or commissions being given or received in connexion with pending contracts or supplies. As this does not seem to be generally known, the essential words of the Act are quoted:

“Every person who corruptly solicits or receives, or agrees to receive, for himself, or for any other person, any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage, as an inducement to any member, officer, or servant of a public body, doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction in which such public body is concerned; and every person who shall, with the like object, corruptly give, promise, or offer any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage to any person, whether for the benefit of that person or of another, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour. Any one convicted of such an offence shall be liable to imprisonment for two years, or to a fine of £500, or to both imprisonment and fine; and, in addition, be liable to pay to such public body the amount or value of any gift, loan, fee, or reward so received by him; and be adjudged incapable of holding any public office for seven years, and to forfeit any such office held by him,” etc.

47. Agreements for leases, loans, joint use of libraries with adjoining authorities, or between committee and librarian or other persons, should be drawn up by a solicitor. Minor agreements may be drawn up by the library authority, but they should all be stamped with a sixpenny stamp if in connexion with a consideration of £5 and over. The legal limits within which agreements between various kinds of library authorities can be made are duly set forth in the various Public Libraries Acts, and, as these matters seldom arise in the course of ordinary library routine, there is no need further to consider the subject.

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48. Suggestions on Management.—It is well to keep a book or to provide forms to enable readers to make suggestions on the management of the library. Frequently such suggestions take the form of complaints, but it is a useful thing to allow free opportunity for the expression of public opinion. In some libraries separate books are kept for propositions of new books not in the library and suggestions on management. A simple form, on which the reader can make suggestions on management or of books, is preferable. When these forms are made readily available, and are kept in public view, together with a locked box in which the slips can be lodged through a slit in the lid, they are much more effective as a means of drawing suggestions than special MS. books which have to be asked for. A useful form of slip is the following:—

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
I beg to make the following suggestion (if a book or periodical, please give publisher and price):—



	Name
	Address
	Date
Please fold across and leave in “Suggestions” Box.

Fig. 3.—Suggestion Slip.

A small locked box to contain these, and lettered on side “Suggestions,” should be provided. If one of these boxes is placed in each important department of the library, readers will be encouraged to air their views. Even if nothing more valuable should be received than a complaint about a draught or the manner of the librarian, it is better than the dull indifference and apathy which are met with in libraries where readers are discouraged from taking any part in the administration. Occasionally some brilliant, if impossible, suggestions on management[57] are received by means of these slips and boxes, and suggestions of desirable books can always be depended upon. Every means of interesting readers in the work of the library should be adopted, and this will be found a very effective method.

49. Accounts.—By the principal English Act, Section 20 (1), it is ordained that “separate accounts shall be kept of the receipts and expenditure under this Act of every library authority and its officers, and those accounts shall be audited in like manner and with the like incidents and consequences, in the case of a library authority being an urban authority, and of its officers, as the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of that authority and its officers under the Public Health Acts.” In Ireland the same provisions apply, that is, library accounts are to be kept and audited like those of the local authority, and copies of the accounts are to be sent within one month after auditing to the Lord Lieutenant. In Scotland the accounts are to be kept separately in special books, and are to be audited by “one or more competent auditors.” In all cases the books are to be open to public inspection, and in Scotland abstracts of the accounts are to be inserted in one or more newspapers published or circulated in the district.

No special system of library book-keeping has been laid down, the nearest approach to a form being that prescribed by an order of the Local Government Board, dated 26th November 1892, for parishes whose library accounts are audited in like manner to those of Poor Law Guardians. In Greenwood’s Public Libraries, fourth edition, 1894, pages 343-345, some details are given of this system, and the first edition of this Manual also gives specimens of forms, etc.

50. Financial Statement.—The form of financial statement for public libraries in parishes, prescribed by the Local Government Board, alluded to in Section 49, is the best for all purposes. As shown in the section on Annual Estimates, it provides for every kind of receipt and expenditure. Printed blanks giving the whole of the items copied from the L.G.B. Order of 1892 have been published. In addition to a blank tabular form for showing particulars of loans, etc., the statement includes spaces for the undernoted items, all duly set out to form a balance sheet:

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Receipts.
Rates.
Fines and penalties.
Donations and subscriptions.
From parliamentary grants.
From other local authorities.
From sale of securities in which sinking fund is invested.
From all other sources, specifying them.
Sale of catalogues, etc.
etc.
Expenditure.
Buildings, repairs, maintenance.
Books, periodicals, etc.
Salaries and remuneration of officers and assistants.
Establishment charges not before included.
Loans:	Principal repaid	-	Out of invested Sinking Fund.
Loans:	Principal repaid	-	Otherwise.
„	Interest.
Payments to other local authorities.
Other expenditure.

51. Audit.—In cases where library accounts are audited under the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” it is imperative that all the forms and consequences should be borne in mind. District auditors have power to surcharge expenditures for items which in their opinion cannot be legally incurred under the provisions of the Public Libraries Acts, and it should also be remembered that the committee-men who sign the disputed cheque are held liable. The powers vested in library authorities are so wide that it is very doubtful if some district auditors are not exceeding their authority by objecting, as they have done in some places, to payments for publications, subscriptions to societies, expenses of lectures, and other items. In cases of surcharge appeal for relief should be made to the Local Government Board, when it is a first offence, or when there is good grounds for challenging the decision of the auditor. The cost of auditing accounts is laid down in the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” according to the following scale. The library authority is required to purchase the necessary stamps to cover the amount:

Under £20			=	£0	5
£20	and under	£50	=	0	10
50	„	100	=	1	0
100	„	500	=	2	0
500	„	1,000	=	3	0
1,000	„	2,500	=	4	0
2,500	„	5,000	=	5	0
5,000	„	10,000	=	10	0
10,000	„	20,000	=	15	0
20,000	„	50,000	=	20	0
50,000	„	100,000	=	30	0
100,000	and upwards		=	50	0

Needless to say, very few libraries will have to pay more than £10. The charges for auditing by a firm of chartered accountants are generally according to an agreed scale.

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Bibliography

52. Rating:

Greenwood, Thomas. Public Libraries, 1891, p. 376.

Adams, W. G. S. Report to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust of Library Provision and Policy, 1915.

Chambers and Fovargue. Law relating to Public Libraries, 1899.

Credland, W. R. Rating and Taxation of Public Libraries. In Greenwood’s Year-Book, 1897, p. 45.

For articles, see Cannons, B 38-44, Taxation, etc.

53. Insurance:

Davis, C. T. Fire Prevention and Insurance. In Greenwood’s Year-Book, 1900, p. 53.

Poole, R. B. Fires, Protection, Insurance. U.S. Education Report, 1892-93, vol. i. p. 724. For articles, see Cannons, D 46, Fire Prevention, Insurance.

54. Accounts:

Brown, J. D. Manual of Library Economy, Ed. 1, 1903, p. 30.

Hopper, F. F. Order and Accession Department. In A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of chapter xvii., 1911.

For articles, see Cannons, E 6-7, Accounts.

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CHAPTER IV
THE MATERIAL OF THE ANNUAL REPORT. STATISTICS, WORKING RECORDS. FORM OF THE ANNUAL REPORT

55. Statistical Methods.—It seems desirable to describe here, as being concerned with committee work, the various statistical and other methods adopted to show the operations of the library. Every business concern of any consequence has what approximates to a statistical department, in which records are kept and analysed of every transaction of the business, and from these useful deductions are made. Such statistics, with the necessary proviso that the keeping of them should not impede more obvious work, are desirable for libraries, and although they are necessarily of a quantitative rather than qualitative character, they are nevertheless of value as showing the use made of the several departments and of the various classes of the stock. Statistics usually kept include: the stock; accessions; the issue of books and material in each department according to their classes; the number of readers’ tickets in force; and the attendances at the reading rooms. Sometimes records are kept of the occupations and ages of readers, and the wards from which they are drawn.

Hitherto all these statistics have been of doubtful comparative value, owing to the great divergence in the methods of computation adopted, and the methods of administering the library have a definite effect upon the resultant figures. For example, in the few libraries where so brief a time as a week is allowed for the reading of a volume, the issue figures will be higher than in those where a fortnight or more is allowed. Then, the amounts charged as fines for undue detention of books, ranging from 1d. a week or part of a week to 1d. a day beyond the time allowed, make a difference of some moment. Again, in some libraries it is usual to record the number of borrowers continuously, only counting off the lapsed tickets, while in others only those[61] borrowers who are actually using the libraries within the year are counted. It would be well if an effort were made to standardize all these methods. A scheme for standardizing the form in which they are to be presented has been reached, and is described below (Section 62).

56. A satisfactory record of the relative circulation of books can be made only of a classified stock. Certainly comparisons cannot be fairly made while one librarian classes his periodicals as science, useful arts, etc., and another groups his together as miscellaneous. Then, some librarians, rightly we think, separate Juvenile Fiction issues from Adult Fiction issues; and, indeed, divergences and anomalies are frequent and are confusing.

Suggested rulings for Issue Record books, for lending and reference libraries respectively, are given on page 62.

The record book should have about thirty-five lines to the page, exclusive of the headings, to allow one line for each day and leave room for adding up the columns. The dates, 1 to 31, may be printed down each column, but this will mean leaving gaps for Sundays. It is better to write the dates in for each month, omitting Sundays, which may be entered on a separate page or pages. The issues of each year should be kept together in a series; and a page or more, as required, should be left for the necessary summaries, which can be entered up to show the total issues month by month in cumulative form. If this is done regularly the figures for the annual or other reports are quite easily obtained. The accessions book, if kept entered, added and classified up to date, will give similar information about books.

57. It is usual to count volumes separately. Thus a work in five volumes is counted as 5 in the record. Illustrations, pamphlets, broadsides and other material in separate form are usually counted in the same way, but are sometimes indicated as being of this separate character in separate columns. There are minor problems in counting which interest librarians, and upon which opinion is divided. Thus, when a series of prints are formed into a public exhibition, it is sometimes the practice to count each print as having been issued once. They may, however, have been examined by hundreds of people during the exhibition, and sometimes an allowance is made for that fact. Again, the consultation of a magazine in the reading[62] rooms is usually not counted; but the same magazine when bound is counted if issued from the shelves in the reference library. Directories, time-tables, and similar quick-reference works are often omitted from the statistics. There seems no reason why all these uses of material should not be recorded, so long as the character of the use is made clear in the reports of the librarian. Otherwise the frequent complaint of librarians that their figures represent only part of their work seems to be justified; and it is well to remember that public criticism of libraries is in the main based upon their statistics. At the same time if the recording of statistics means the placing of barriers between books and readers, it is a safe principle to prefer fewer statistics and more accessibility.

1
	Month: September 1918.										Lending Library Issues.
Date.	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Illus- tra- tions.	Lan- tern Slides.	Blank I. (Other Mate- rial).	Blank II. (Other Mate- rial).	Total.	D. Aver- age.	Remarks.
1
2
3
4
5
etc.
2
	Month:										Reference Library Issues.
Date.	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Illus- tra- tions.	Lan- tern Slides.	Blank I. (Other Mate- rial).	Blank II. (Other Mate- rial).	Total.	D. Aver- age.	Remarks.
1
2
3
4
5
etc.

Fig. 4.—Suggested Rulings for Issue Record Books.

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The record of the number of readers should be confined to those whose tickets are “live” ones. This does not mean necessarily that tickets not in active use at the time statistics are compiled should be regarded as “dead.” A borrower may leave his ticket in abeyance for several months with the intention of using it later. It does mean that only those tickets should be counted which are valid at the time. As we have seen, validity ranges from one to three or more years in different libraries, and the figures as a rule will be only approximately sound. If, however, all valid tickets are included, and if the number of tickets issued within the year covered by the annual report is also indicated, the record will be a serviceable account of the use made in relation to the population of the district served. It is usual to show the number of actual borrowers divided into burgesses and non-burgesses; of non-resident borrowers (employees, scholars, etc.); and of supplementary tickets (non-fiction, teachers’, illustration, music, etc.) held by them.

58. Where it is thought necessary to keep records of the occupations of readers, a blank line for the name of the occupation is included on the application voucher (see Section 368) from which the records are made.

59. It is not usual to keep formal statistics of the number of visitors to newspaper and periodical rooms; the attendances are either not recorded or are estimated. In some cases, however, a daily count is made at monthly or other intervals and the yearly attendance is gauged from this. It is obvious that such figures have no great value. A series of visits to the rooms will assure any librarian or member of committee of the amount of use that is made of them equally well.

60. Brief paragraphs, presenting the record of work weekly or monthly, and the number of borrowers, are sometimes sent to the local newspapers. This is a good plan, and the matter[64] is more acceptable if presented in literary rather than in merely tabular form. At each meeting of the library committee a fairly complete statistical record of the work since the last meeting is presented, in which the factors we have discussed, together with the percentage of fiction issued, and comparisons with the corresponding weeks or months of the previous year, are made. The committee is thus kept closely acquainted with the results of its work.

61. The Annual Report.—The annual report of the library committee is the summary and crown of its labours, and is often the most direct means of contact between the committee and the community. Such reports deserve more attention than is commonly given to them by librarians, and in this matter the American librarian—who is essentially a business man and does not often produce useless documents—may give hints to his British brethren. A report should be a complete history of the operations of the library in all its departments; and if improvement is necessary it is in the direction of reducing the mere statistical and in increasing the literary matter to be included. Elaborate tables of issue, stock, etc., of central and branch libraries have a use for the librarian and may be kept at the libraries, but their publication is of interest to few other people, and they are better given in summary. Plain and clear reports, in which comparisons with other libraries by name should be avoided, and which present the salient statistics without the use of confusingly elaborate tables, give the best results. Illustrations and an occasional diagram rendering in graphic form the statistical results of work are not necessarily superfluous, and may brighten the report considerably. The report will not be a less authoritative document if it is attractive. The information which a library report ought to convey may be indicated briefly as follows:

Title-page.

List of members of committee and library staff.

Narrative report.

[This is the most interesting feature from the public point of view. It is usually a review of the year founded upon the statistics, etc., in the appendix, and is properly presented as if written by the committee and signed by the chairman. Frequently, however, it takes the form of a report written by the librarian to the committee, to be adopted as the[65] committee’s report. Each method has advantages. The committee can appeal to the council upon any part of its policy with greater authority than the librarian. On the other hand, the librarian can express views of the work and needs of the library from his own standpoint. The character of the document, however, would seem to require that a report should be the committee’s. Sometimes, as usually in America, the question is solved by having a brief report from the committee, followed by a longer one from the librarian.]

Appendix of documents:—The following forms may be used conveniently to present the statistical record:—

Stock

	Central.		Branches.		Total.		Grand Total.
Class.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Report Year.	Last Year.
0	000	000	000	000	000	000	0000	0000
1
2
3
etc.
Total

Number of volumes added during the year, with proportions purchased and donated. Grand total purchased. . . . . . Do. donated. . . . . . . . Number of volumes worn-out and withdrawn. Other particulars in brief paragraph form.

Issues

	Central.		Branches.		Total.		Grand Total.
Class.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Refer- ence.	Lend- ing.	Report Year.	Last Year.
0
1
2
3
etc.
Total
Averages

Columns for juvenile and other departments, if they exist, must, of course, be included.

Borrowers

Total number report year and last year. Number holding extra or students’ tickets.

Reading Rooms

Attendances at newsrooms, magazine rooms, etc.

List of donations.

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Lists of periodicals and annuals (only if no other means of revising printed list is available).

Financial statement. (See Section 50.)

Memoranda relating to district, showing population, area, valuation, date when Acts adopted, date of opening building, other leading facts.

62. Library Association Summary.—The appendix outlined above may be reduced considerably by substituting for most of the items a summary in the form recommended by the Library Association. The financial statement, however, should always be given in full, even by libraries the accounts of which are kept by the municipal treasurer or accountant. It is clearly impossible to gauge the character of any library’s work if the distribution of expenditure in performing it is not shown. The summary recommended by the Library Association resembles a summary used in American library reports, and is the outcome of a suggestion made to a meeting of the North Central Library Association in 1916 by Mr E. L. Hetherington, then Secretary of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Its purpose is not only to present the statistics of libraries in a succinct and simple manner, but by its general adoption to secure a uniform record from all libraries by which satisfactory comparisons may be made. No library report should appear without this summary, even if the librarian chooses to retain his more elaborate tables; and, in view of its utility and the proposed generalness of its use, we append it in full with the Library Association’s explanatory notes.

General Statistics:

(i)	Population as at last Census.
(ii)	Amount of rate in the pound.
(iii)	Cost of Library Service per inhabitant.
(iv)	Total Cost of Library per inhabitant.
(v)	Number of Separate Establishments.
(vi)	Number of Staff—Librarians and Assistants.
	(a)	Whole Time—Male.
	(b)	Whole Time—Female.
	(c)	Part Time—Male.
	(d)	Part Time—Female.
	(e)	Total—Male—Female.

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Income and Expenditure:

Income.				£ s. d.	% of Total Income.
		(i)	From rate
		(ii)	From other sources
		(iii)	Total income
				£ s. d.	% of Total Expenditure.
Library Service Expenditure	-	(i)	Books
		(ii)	Binding and Repairing
		(iii)	Printing of Catalogues
		(iv)	Newspapers and Periodicals not permanently retained
		(v)	Library Fittings and Furniture
		(vi)	Printing, Stationery, Office Requisites
		(vii)	Salaries of Librarians and Assistants
		(viii)	Total
				£ s. d.	% of Total Income.
Fabric Charges	-	(ix)	Rents and Loans
		(x)	Rates and Taxes
		(xi)	Upkeep of Buildings
		(xii)	Heating, Lighting and Cleaning, including wages
		(xiii)	Total
		(xiv)	Total Expenditure

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		1 Lending.	2 Reference.
Stocks.
(i)	Number of volumes at beginning of year
(ii)	Volumes withdrawn during year
(iii)	Additions during year
(iv)	Total volumes at end of year
(v)	Number of replacements during year
(vi)	Volumes per head of population according to last Census
Issues.
		Total.	Daily Average.
(i)	Lending Library Issues
(ii)	Children’s Reading Room Issues
(iii)	Reference Library Recorded Issues
(iv)	Reference Library Open Shelves (estimated)
(v)	Issues from Lending Library (see (i) above) per head of population according to last census
Borrowers.
(i)	Percentage of Borrowers to population.
(ii)	Number of Supplementary Readers’ Tickets held.
(iii)	Total Borrowers’ Tickets in use.

Instructions to be Studied in Preparation of the Figures Detailed Above

General.

1. Asterisks with relative foot-notes should be placed against any figure which includes abnormalities; for example, if any item of the expenditure includes certain special or non-recurring charges, the amount of that expenditure should be detailed in a foot-note with an explanation of the item.

General Statistics.

2. Head (iii) should express in pence the cost of the total library service—per inhabitant according to last census.

3. Similarly head (iv) should express the cost of the total library expenditure per inhabitant.

4. Head (v) asks for the number of separate establishments. The[69] figure should include the central library, but if delivery stations are also included the number of such subsidiary establishments should be stated in a footnote.

Income.

5. Head (i) should be confined solely to the income from the library rate.

6. Head (ii) should include income from all other sources, whether from interest on investments, rents, sales of catalogues, fines or special subscriptions or donations.

Expenditure.

7. Under head (iv) should be included only the cost of periodicals not permanently retained. In cases of periodicals which are subsequently bound and added to the permanent library stocks, their cost should be included under head (i) books and head (ii) binding.

8. Care should be taken that head (vii) should be confined to the salary payments made to the library staff proper. All wages paid to caretakers, cleaners, messengers and the like, should be included under head (xii).

9. It will be observed that there is no separate heading for “miscellaneous” or “other items.” It is desired that all items of expenditure should be allocated to the headings detailed above.

Stocks.

10. It is recognized that the word book or volume has no definite technical meaning, and is usually an indeterminate expression useful for popular purposes.

It may therefore be useful to make the following definitions for the guidance of the Libraries:—

Volumes mean books as they stand on the shelves.

Pieces mean separate works or parts (each usually having a separate title-page to itself, as with pamphlets, parts of periodicals, and the like).

Papers mean lesser items, usually with less than 5 pages, as broadsides, cards, fly-sheets.

Items mean volumes, pieces and papers.

Works mean whole literary productions whether in several volumes or only one piece.

Thus: Ten pamphlets bound together, with five broadsides at end, are one volume, ten works or pieces, fifteen items. A dictionary in twenty volumes would count as twenty volumes, pieces and items, but one work, and in a sense one book.

Having regard to these definitions care should be taken, in recording the number of volumes in a library, to reckon ten pamphlets or parts as the equivalent of a single volume.

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Issues.

11. Head (iii) should give the issues from the reference library actually recorded.

12. Head (iv) should give the estimated use made of the books from the open shelves of the reference library.

13. Sunday use of libraries should be separately recorded.

Bibliography

63. Statistics:

Hetherington, A. L. Library Statistics. In L.A. Record, v. 19, p. 3, 1917. [Also separately.]

For articles, see Cannons, E 135, Library Statistics.

64. Annual Report:

Bostwick, A. E. Administration of a Public Library. In A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of chapter xii., 1911.

For articles, see Cannons, E 136, Annual Report.

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DIVISION III
STAFF

CHAPTER V
THE LIBRARIAN

65. General.—The success or failure of a library depends almost entirely upon the ability and energy of the staff. Opinion upon this question has been almost revolutionized in the past twenty years, and only very occasionally now do we find some misguided library authority placing so special an institution in the keeping of stickit ministers, unlucky schoolmasters, retired soldiers, minor journalists, unsuccessful booksellers, and similar remnants of the failures or superannuated in other walks of life. No untrained person is likely to attain more than the poorest or most commonplace results and will undoubtedly prevent the library from serving the community to anything like its potential capacity. Indeed, the work of the librarian is a professional occupation demanding for its successful accomplishment a training as complete and special at least as that required of the teacher. A committee fails signally in its public duty if it does not recognize this fact in the choice of its librarian; and the public has a right to demand that the man appointed to occupy any technical public office shall have had both training and experience.

66. The appointment of a chief librarian should be the first step taken by a committee. Numberless blunders, often resulting in great subsequent expense, have been made in the past through the mistaken economy of proceeding with buildings, methods and book-selection before such appointment. These matters are essentially the work of the librarian and not of the committee; and any little amount that may be saved from the salary of the librarian is invariably lost because of the adoption of faulty apparatus or plans; amateur experiments are usually[72] expensive. If, at the beginning of its career, a library committee is unable to engage a qualified librarian, application should be made to the Library Association for the nomination of a professional adviser, who for a reasonable fee would give invaluable assistance at the time when such assistance is really vital.

67. Qualifications.—As is the case with the prominent members of every other profession, good librarians are born, not made. Training and experience cannot create such natural endowments as enthusiasm, originality, initiative—in short, positive genius for the work; but training and experience in sound methods will provide a passable substitute. Experience, however, depends for its value upon its character, and long years in inefficiently-managed libraries will not suffice for modern needs. Owing to the wide difference between the methods of, say, thirty years ago, and the more scientific methods of to-day, it is necessary to judge the experience of any librarian by the school in which he has been trained. This does not mean that a library which has been in existence thirty years or more is operated by obsolete methods; most of the larger libraries, indeed, have kept pace with, and have helped to originate, the modern methods which are to be preferred. At the same time the practice of appointing librarians from larger libraries in preference to those from smaller ones is often mistaken. A small library may afford its staff opportunities for a more comprehensive training than a large one, but it may not be so extensive in detail. In short, the size of the library in which a man is trained is no index to the character of its service, and this character is the main factor in considering experience.

The physical qualifications of a librarian should include good health, freedom from deformity, defect or incurable disease, and his or her age should not usually be less than twenty-five. Age is not so important in cases of promotion, as the committee has first-hand and accurate knowledge of capabilities to guide it. As regards the physical condition of librarians, it may be said generally that the same principles which guide selection in business appointments should be the rule in library appointments.

68. The professional attainments of a librarian should be judged mainly by their suitability for the duties to be performed.[73] The degree of attainment differs in individuals, and it would be unfair to expect so many useful qualifications in a librarian who is to receive £200 per annum as in one who is to receive a much larger salary. But there are certain broad principles to be considered, the cardinal one being that only trained librarians should ever be appointed to chief positions. A committee is safe in selecting candidates from amongst diplomates, fellows and members of the Library Association, as these ipso facto have received the training indicated. We give in Sections 99-101 some account of the compass and activities of the Library Association, and commend what is there written to the consideration of library committees. Here it may be said that a diplomate is a librarian who has received at least three years’ training in a library recognized by the Association, has gained the six provisional certificates of that body in literary history, bibliography, classification, cataloguing, library organization and library routine, and has in addition shown a knowledge of Latin and one modern foreign language, and has presented an acceptable written thesis showing independent research upon some department of librarianship. The diploma is a very considerable attainment, and is at present held by few librarians, but the number increases, and no doubt its possession will influence future appointments considerably. It was initiated in 1901, and therefore too recently to have made it possible for all eligible candidates for appointments to have acquired it. To meet this situation, and to set up a standard of qualification, the Library Association adopted in 1911 a scheme for the classification of librarians into fellows, members, and student-members. A fellow is a librarian of approved experience who held office prior to the end of 1914, a librarian who holds the diploma, or a university degree plus approved library experience, or an assistant librarian of proved reputation and capacity who held office prior to the date named. All other librarians at the initiation of this scheme were classified as members (except very young men and women who became student-members and whose degree of training may be judged from that name). After 1914 admission to fellowship has generally been restricted to diplomates, or graduates with library experience, save in exceptional cases where great and proved capacity has been shown; and admission[74] to membership has been restricted to chief librarians, or to assistants who hold four of the six diploma certificates. Other factors may apply in individual cases, but there are very few librarians or assistants of character and ability who are either members or certificate-holders of the Association.

With due allowance for the size and means of the library, and the salary to be offered to the librarian, the following list of qualifications may serve as a guide to a committee as to what they may expect.

LIBRARIAN’S QUALIFICATIONS

1. Training for at least three years in a library which is classified according to some recognized bibliographical scheme [Decimal, Expansive, Library of Congress, Subject or other].

2. A wide knowledge of English and Foreign Bibliography and Literature, and an intimate and exact knowledge of the contents of modern, and especially technical, scientific, and historical, books.

3. Sufficient acquaintance with languages to enable the translating of title-pages with the aid of dictionaries.

4. A knowledge of business routine, including elementary book-keeping and accounts.

5. Practical acquaintance with the leading systems of book classification.

6. Full knowledge of the various methods of cataloguing, with a thorough grasp of the modern literature of the subject.

7. Experience in staff management.

8. Practical knowledge of all modern systems of library working, including book-binding, book-buying, charging and maintenance.

9. Knowledge of modern periodical literature, and the management of news-rooms.

10. General culture, the ability to make a useful public speech, tact, courtesy, and, in fact, good “personality.”

69. Advertisements and Application Forms for Appointments.—Advertisements for librarians are usually inserted in one or all of the following:—The Times, The Athenæum, The Spectator and The Municipal Journal. A useful form of announcement may be subjoined:

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Appointment of Chief Librarian

A Chief Librarian is required for the Liberton Public Library. Candidates must be Diplomates, or Fellows, or Members of the[75] Library Association (or be certificated by that body), and have had at least three years’ training in a library employing scientific classification. Salary to commence, £. . . ., rising by annual increments of £. . . . to a maximum of £. . . . . The application, which should be accompanied by three recent testimonials, is to be made on a special form which may be obtained from the undersigned. All applications should reach the undersigned not later than [allow three weeks]. Second class railway fares and reasonable expenses of selected candidates will be allowed. All canvassing will disqualify.

A. B. C.,
Town Clerk, or Clerk to the Committee.

The practice of requiring candidates to apply on a special form is fairly general, and has the advantage of securing uniformity in the information supplied, and in emphasizing the particulars considered to be the most important. For very important positions the method may be not so advantageous, as valuable conclusions may be drawn from the manner in which candidates present their applications. The following draft form may be suggestive to committees:—

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMITTEE

[Address.]

Application for Librarianship

The candidate is particularly requested to answer every question in full, and return to A. B. C. [address], by 12 o’clock on [date to be named], marked on outside of envelope, “Librarianship.”

1. Full name.
2. Address.
3. Age next birthday.
4. Married or single.
5. Number of family if married.
6. Is your health good?
7. Have you any physical defect (deafness, lameness, etc.)?
8. Present occupation.
9. Length of service in present occupation.
10. Former occupations, if any.
11. Are you a Fellow or Member of the Library Association?
12. Do you hold the Diploma or any of the Provisional Certificates of the Library Association?
13. Do you possess any of the following qualifications?—
- Practical knowledge of modern literature.
- Practical knowledge of scientific classification.
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- Practical knowledge of library planning.
- Knowledge of accounts and book-keeping.
- Experience in management of staff.
- Practical knowledge of modern library management.
14. State system used in your library for the following departments, and which you would adopt if appointed here:—
- Classification.
- Printed catalogue.
- Manuscript catalogue.
- Book issue method.
- Reference library method.
15. Have you originated any library device, or published books or articles on practical phases of library work?
16. Do you possess any degrees or certificates of an educational kind?
17. Have you made a special study of any particular subject?
18. When could you enter upon duty if appointed?
19. Add here any further relevant particulars [leave large space].

Selected candidates, when interviewed, should be examined on the questions scheduled above and on the qualifications specified in Section 68. A few questions by the chairman, based upon these, in addition to the independent suggestions of members of committee, will generally result in obtaining a very fair estimate of the qualifications of each candidate.

70. Salaries.—Owing to the limitation of the library rate and a general underestimate of the librarian’s utility, salaries in municipal libraries are not very liberal, and may be described as inadequate. In the state, university and some of the endowed and proprietary libraries the salaries range much higher, taken all round. These appointments, however, especially such as the British Museum, India Office, the Houses of Parliament, the universities and similar institutions, are seldom offered for competition. In public municipal libraries the salaries of chief librarians range downward from about £800. Some of the large London proprietary libraries, and many of the provincial libraries of a similar kind, give salaries to about the same maximum.

A careful analysis of the income, population and work of the principal English and American libraries has enabled the following table to be produced, showing the amount which a library can reasonably pay for a good officer. This scale is considerably below the American one, but slightly higher than the English.

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Fig. 5.—Table of Librarians’ Salaries which should be paid
by Libraries possessing the incomes undernoted

Library Annual Income from Rate.	Librarian’s Salary.
£	£
20,000	1000
15,000	800
10,000	750
8,000	700
6,000	600
5,500	550
5,000	500
4,500	450
4,000	425
3,500	400
3,000	350
2,500	325
2,000	300
1,900	290
1,800	280
1,700	270
1,600	260
1,500	250
1,400	240
1,300	230
1,200	220
1,100	210
1,000	200
900	190
800	180
700	170
600	160
500	150
400	120
300	90
200	60	-	For part of time only.
100	30	-	For part of time only.

[The above table is rather higher than that given in the last edition, as regards the libraries with incomes exceeding £3000, and is based upon my own inquiries and conclusions as they have been affected by the European War. Few librarians receive normally £1000, and it is quite clear that the present salaries for the greater libraries are most inadequate, having regard to the responsibilities involved.—Editor.]

71. The only other point of importance arising out of the question of librarians’ salaries is that of providing a residence on the library premises. This policy has been adopted in London more than anywhere else. It affects the question of salary to some extent, though not quite so much as has been claimed. A committee of a £4000 library might argue that, by providing a good house in a valuable position, they are only entitled to give a salary of £325, the balance of £100 being represented by the house. The practical reply to this is, that a house under these conditions, although it could rent at £100 or even more, is just worth to the librarian exactly what he would be prepared to pay for house rent if he lived away from the library. Any[78] allowance or deduction should accordingly be based upon this consideration. In small libraries it is not advisable to incur additional cost in the erection of buildings by providing a residence for the librarian in order to save on his salary. Beyond the advantage of having a librarian living on the premises as a kind of superior perpetual caretaker, there is little to be gained by complicating a library building with such an excrescence as a residence. If houses are provided at all, they should be mainly used by caretakers who have to get up early, and there is a decided convenience in having an officer of this description always at hand. If possible, residences should be erected as far away from public reading-rooms as they can be, the occupation of rooms over news-rooms, etc., having been proved to be unhealthy in many cases. The accommodation provided for a caretaker usually consists of a sitting-room or large kitchen, parlour, two bedrooms, and the usual offices. In some London libraries very liberal provision has been made for librarians living on the premises, the accommodation consisting of three large living rooms, four or five bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, bathroom and other offices. The whole question of residence or non-residence is one for library authorities to decide for themselves, but the matter is another proof of the necessity which exists for appointing librarians before buildings are erected.

72. Superannuation.—There is no general law at present under which public librarians can retire on a pension after a certain age has been reached. Some towns have made separate arrangements for the superannuation of all their officers, but even this is far from common. The National Association of Local Government Officers, which deserves the support of librarians and committees, has a Bill before Parliament, the object of which is to procure for municipal officers the same regulations as to superannuation as are in force for poor-law officers, but this has not yet passed into law.

73. Conditions of Librarian’s Appointment.—There are several points requiring notice in connexion with the conditions upon which librarians are appointed. It is not usual to draw up a formal agreement, but if this is done it should be executed by a solicitor, and specify the principal obligations, terms and duration of the appointment.

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1. In large libraries it is usual to stipulate that the librarian must devote the whole of his or her TIME to the duties of the office. This simply means that no other office can be held concurrently, but particularly a paid office. A librarian’s private time can be devoted to any hobby he chooses, be it gardening, cycling, photography, literature, music or sport. Provided, always, such recreations do not render a librarian less fit for his public duty. Official time occupied in any work which has for its object improvement in professional knowledge should be allowed within reasonable limits. Attendances at meetings called for professional purposes, or visits to other places for the purpose of acquiring professional knowledge, would, we take it, be considered quite legitimate. Where a certain number of hours daily or weekly has been fixed, the question of the disposal of a librarian’s leisure time will not arise.

2. Notice of intention to DETERMINE AN APPOINTMENT might be stipulated for in an agreement. The usual practice is one month’s notice on either side.

3. A public librarian who handles public money should be required to obtain security from a recognized guarantee office. The amount insured against will generally be fully covered by a sum equal to 10 per cent. of the annual income of the library. Thus, a library with an income of £2000 should make £200 the insurable sum, as this will cover any possible defalcations of the librarians, who, under any circumstances, in such a library, can never handle more than about £60 or £70 in the course of one month. The premium for municipal officers averages about 5s. per cent., and, of course, the library authority should make the annual payments to keep the policy alive.

4. The VACATION allowed to librarians varies with the conditions of each place. In some cases five weeks are allowed, irrespective of the time occupied by conferences or other annual meetings. Usually four weeks are given. As a rule, committees will not be found niggardly in this matter when they have an officer whom they can respect and trust. In American libraries a month is often allowed, and in some cases much longer periods.

5. The only ANNUAL CONFERENCES of any importance in connexion with public library work are those of the Library Association and the Museums Association. Practice differs as regards libraries sending delegates to the annual conferences of the Library Association. In some cases where a library is a subscribing member, and, in addition, the librarian is also a member in his own name, it sends a member of the committee and the librarian, and pays their expenses. In other cases the librarian alone is sent, and his expenses paid. In still other cases the librarian is allowed the time to attend, but has to pay his own expenses; while, sometimes, the chairman of committee attends, and either pays his own expenses or has them paid by the committee.

Every library which desires to keep abreast with modern ideas in library work should send its librarian to the annual conferences of the Library Association, and pay his expenses. All public libraries should[80] join this association as institution members, and their librarian will naturally be a member in his own right. There is more knowledge and good obtained by a librarian coming into personal touch with other librarians during a conference week than can ever be achieved in a state of hermit-like seclusion. The sum spent on a library conference to insure a librarian’s attendance is by far the most profitable investment a library committee can make in a single year.

Some doubt exists as to whether members of committee can be sent at the expense of the library rate, and, so far as parishes are concerned, it has been decided by the district auditors that they can not be sent unless at their own personal expense. Municipal boroughs have power to send committee delegates if so disposed, but the matter remains doubtful as regards Urban District Councils.

74. Duties of the Librarian.—The duties of a librarian practically cover every section of this Manual, and it is therefore needless to go over the same ground here. It may be assumed, however, that the librarian also acts as clerk to his committee, and a few of the more personal duties of the librarian may be specified. It has been recommended that a librarian should act as clerk, and some reasons may be given why this course should always be taken. The librarian is the only official who holds all the threads of work and routine in his hands or who thoroughly understands the practical working of the institution. By combining the functions he remains in touch with his committee, and can much better understand their views than if a second person acts as intermediary or interpreter. The plan is also more economical, as town clerks sometimes take a salary for acting as clerk to the library committee, or charge a proportion of office expenses to the library. Both courses are quite unnecessary. It is not desirable, when a library committee has obtained a complete or partial delegation of powers, to have its work controlled or interfered with by another municipal department. Even when a library committee remains but an ordinary committee of a local authority, it is not desirable for the town clerk to do more than depute a junior clerk to attend meetings for the sole purpose of recording minutes. The chairman and librarian should call all meetings and arrange all necessary business. It is too often overlooked that library committees are appointed to carry out special work under a special Act of Parliament, and that, in consequence, they are performing duties outside the ordinary routine of municipal work.

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75. The following summary of the more important duties of the librarian is applicable to the average library, but must be adjusted considerably in large libraries, where the chief librarian is mainly an administrator. Such large libraries have special departmental experts, and it is clear that over many of these items the chief librarian can exercise only a general supervision. Where there are large trained staffs he should avoid details and concern himself with the general direction of all departments; otherwise he will become immersed impossibly in minutiæ to the great detriment of the library service as a whole:

1. He must superintend and prepare all the business for the library committee, including summoning meetings, preparing agendas, checking accounts, compiling lists of books, preparing reports and taking minutes of proceedings.

2. He must attend all committee meetings, and such of the local authority meetings as may be fixed.

3. He must prepare all specifications for contracts, and bring forward in plenty of time all business which arises regularly, either monthly, quarterly or annually.

4. He should sign all orders and be responsible for all correspondence connected with the library. He should keep copies of all orders and important letters, as well as copies of any specifications or other documents.

5. He must fix the time, duties and daily work of the staff, and superintend and check their attendance and work in every department.

6. He must see that order is maintained among readers throughout the main building and branches, and that the rules are enforced within reason, and that the opening and closing of the library are done punctually.

7. He must carefully supervise the selection of books and periodicals for addition to the library, and examine all necessary lists, catalogues and reviews for that purpose.

8. He should check all cataloguing and classification work.

9. He should be prepared when called upon to aid readers, as far as possible, in any line of research, and should be easily accessible at all times when on duty.

Bibliography

76. The Librarian.

Cowell, Peter. Public Library Staffs, 1893. L.A. Series, 3.

Fletcher, W. J. The Librarian: His Work and Training for It. In his Public Libraries in America, 1894, p. 80.

Hardy, E. A. The Librarian. In his The Public Library, 1912, p. 109.

Hulme, E. W. Ideals Old and New, 1914. Library Assistants’ Association, Series 5.

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Baldwin, E. V. Library Service. A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of Chapter xiv., 1914.

For articles, see Cannons, E 13-43, Librarianship.

77. Library Training.

Baker, E. A. Education and Training of Librarians. In Library Association. Public Libraries: Their Development and Future Organization, 1917, p. 89.

Brown, J. D. Guide to Librarianship, 1909.

Library Association. Information relating to the Professional Examinations and Syllabus, 1919. (Issued annually as a rule.)

University College, London. Prospectus of School of Librarianship (in the Press—June 1919).

The American libraries or universities of Atlanta, Brooklyn, California, Cleveland (Univ.), Illinois, Michigan, New York (State), Drexel Inst., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St Louis, and others have library schools, which issue periodical calendars and circulars of information of a suggestive kind. There are about forty such library schools.

For articles, see Cannons, E 26-28, Assistants, Qualifications, Training, etc.; A 135-175, Library Schools in America.

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CHAPTER VI
ASSISTANTS

78. General.—The organization of the library staff under the chief librarian is naturally governed by the number of assistants and the size of the system they work. Most libraries have a second qualified librarian who is variously called Deputy-Librarian or Sub-Librarian [or sometimes he is called Chief Assistant Librarian, Deputy Chief Librarian, or, more rarely in England, Vice-Librarian. There is still considerable confusion in the nomenclature of library offices, and it would be well if a uniform system were adopted. (See Appendix I.)]. Large libraries have, in addition, a hierarchy of assistants, as follows: 1. A Superintendent of Branches, where there are several libraries in the system, as at Birmingham, Glasgow, etc.; 2. Librarians-in-Charge of the several departments; 3. Branch Librarians; 4. Senior assistants; 5. Junior assistants. The qualifications of Deputy, Superintendent of Branches, Librarians-in-Charge and Branch Librarians differ from those of the Chief Librarian in degree rather than in kind, and to these positions only trained men should be appointed. In many cases they are appointed from staff, not always to the benefit of the library. It is a sound plan to throw open all the higher appointments in libraries to competition, in which competition, of course, any member of the existing staff should be allowed, without prejudice, to compete. One of the mistaken policies, especially of large libraries, has been to promote men because of mere length of service. Such service is undoubtedly valuable, but is not necessarily a proof of qualification for higher library positions.

79. Deputy-Librarian.—It may be affirmed that appointments to any senior position should be subject to the same principles, and to conditions similar to those governing the appointment of chief librarians. In small libraries the means at the disposal of the committee do not always permit of a salary sufficient to[84] attract a diplomate of the Library Association, or a man similarly qualified, but no assistant who is inexperienced or is without the certificates of the Library Association should ever be appointed to the important position of Deputy-Librarian. The duties of the Deputy-Librarian comprise the whole administration of the library system under the chief librarian, the general supervision of every department, and the direction of the duties of the whole staff. He becomes acting-chief librarian in every absence of his principal, and should be qualified to assume this position both by his knowledge and his personality. It is therefore clear that his technical training must in general be as sound and catholic as that of his chief; and in addition to this quality, he should possess initiative, disciplinary powers, discretion, and loyalty to his chief and to the existing system. In detail his duties will vary according to the size of the system; and in small libraries he will be merely the superior assistant, taking part in every operation (except the merely mechanical ones, which may be performed by untrained juniors) of the library; in somewhat larger libraries he may arrange the hours and duties of the staff and superintend them, and check all cataloguing and classification. In the largest libraries his work is almost purely administrative.

The conditions of the appointment of a Deputy-Librarian are somewhat difficult to describe, owing to the divergences we have named. He usually, but not always, works similar hours to the remainder of the staff; has his own office, or, at any rate, private desk; and is usually invested with considerable authority. It should be the aim of the chief librarian to make this office a worthy one—and to see that only worthy persons occupy it. A good deputy gives tone to the whole staff, as he comes into more intimate contact with it than the chief librarian. The salaries paid to Deputy-Librarians are again matters which vary; they range from £100 to £300, and in a few places to much higher sums than this. [In the last edition it was laid down that the deputy should receive a maximum of not less than half of that of the chief; but we think any dogmatic statement of that kind objectionable, as being subject to numberless variations in various places.]

80. Superintendent of Branches.—This librarian acts as a[85] liaison officer between the chief librarian and the branch librarian in systems where there are many branch libraries. He must be qualified to assess the work of each library and to co-ordinate the whole branch system, to look over time-sheets, examine into the performance of the assistants, judge their capacity and training, advise as to the books required in particular localities, and, in general, make the units of the system smooth-working parts of a homogenous whole. It is probable that a capable superintendent is an economy of some consequence in a large system. Few libraries, however, with less than a dozen branches possess such an officer, his duties usually in other cases falling upon the chief or deputy librarians. The superintendent is subordinate to the deputy-librarian, and his salary is something more than that of a branch or departmental librarian.

81. Departmental Librarians.—Of recent years the tendency in library work has been towards specialization, and in most libraries of any size assistants are given more or less permanent charge of departments, and are usually called librarians-in-charge. The librarian of a branch library falls into this category although he may not occupy exactly the same level on the staff as the librarian-in-charge of the reference library; as, also, in libraries which have such departments, does the head of the cataloguing staff, the order division, etc. In the great libraries the librarian-in-charge of the reference department is easily the head of the grade we are discussing, as he must obviously be a person of considerable bibliographical acquirements in addition to being the possessor of a complete library training, and his work lies with inquirers, research workers, and similar readers who require skilled and sympathetic assistance. In the majority of libraries all librarians-in-charge are regarded as official equals. Their salaries are obviously governed by the wealth and work of the library concerned, but a rough calculation ranges them at from the inadequate minimum of £90 to about £250 or more, with many intermediate scales. The duties of a librarian-in-charge involve the responsibility of conducting the department according to the prevailing library policy, the arranging of the duties of the staff and the seeing that they are performed, the training of the staff, the maintenance of order in public rooms,[86] and the exploiting of the department to the utmost in the interest of the public.

82. Library Councils.—In some libraries the chief librarians have formed the deputy-librarian, the superintendent of branches and the librarians-in-charge into a committee which is variously named, but is commonly called by the large name of the Library Council, which meets weekly or monthly in the chief librarian’s office and discusses the current methods of the library system and the means whereby its activities may be improved and its influence extended. Such a council has necessarily only a consultative function, and all decisions it reaches are subject to the chief librarian. Regular agenda are often used and minutes kept of such meetings, and they are surprisingly fruitful in useful and practical suggestions. Even quite impractical suggestions should be encouraged at such meetings, as they often throw light on the general work and lead to other suggestions of a useful character. More and more both in this country and in America the chief librarians are taking their senior colleagues into their confidence in this way, and thus a community of interest is created and an enthusiasm is fostered which are well worth having.

83. Assistants.—In America the library assistant is in the best instances a person who is a graduate of a college or who has had a high school education; who, in addition, has taken a course of one year, or, in special instances, two years at a library school. Not all or even the majority of assistants are of this type, as the American library is unable to afford a large number of workers so highly qualified. On this side of the Atlantic the American system is an impossible ideal in existing circumstances; not one library in the kingdom—except, occasionally, the Government libraries—could pay the initial salaries which such training should command. Indeed, the whole question of staffing libraries is affected in most adverse manner by the inadequacy of library incomes. Assistants must as a rule be chosen from amongst young people just leaving school—often Council elementary or secondary schools. They are therefore people in almost every sense, except, it may be, natural ability, incapable at the beginning of their library career of anything more than the mere mechanical tasks. They have to be educated before they are[87] trained technically in most cases. To secure the right material it is becoming the practice to demand of candidates for library work a fair general knowledge, and the Library Association has asked that some such certificate as matriculation, or the Oxford and Cambridge Locals, should be required of them. Where the supply of candidates so qualified does not exist, the chief librarian sets a simple qualifying examination paper to test the common sense and education of candidates. Appointments are usually made for a probationary period of about three months, at the end of which time it is possible to judge in a rough way whether the youngster will benefit by library training or not. Owing to the limited prospects the work offers the librarian has a moral obligation to see that appointees who are unsuitable are encouraged to seek other occupations as soon as their unfitness for librarianship is proven. Where both sexes are employed exactly the same type of qualifications should be required from each, and equal remuneration should be paid. The smaller salaries sometimes offered to girls have ill results both upon the individual candidates and upon the library.

84. Hours.—The last exhaustive inquiry into the hours worked by municipal library assistants was made by the Library Assistants’ Association in 1911, who embodied its results in a valuable report. Hours are naturally influenced by the prevailing length of working-time in commerce and in other walks of life. The average number worked in libraries in 1908 was 48 weekly; in 1911 it was 45·22; but the tendency is to make it 42 hours. The difficulties which face a librarian in arranging a time-sheet are that he has usually too small a staff, and cannot afford a larger one, and that the library is in many or all of its departments open from twelve to fourteen hours daily. This involves evening work on several days in the week, and means that the hours are irregular and broken. At the same time the nature of library work is exacting, and much more efficient work can be expected from a seven-hours’, or even shorter, day than from a longer one. Study, recreation and social experience are absolutely necessary for successful work; and time-sheets should be arranged to make these possible. There is no excuse whatever for the at one time prevailing time-sheets which required assistants to work from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with[88] an interval of 1¹⁄₂ hours for dinner and a similar interval for tea. The librarian whose staff is so small that these hours are necessary to keep the library open is attempting at the expense of the health and whole natural life of his staff to do more work than the community has a right to expect. Even with the seven-hour day the broken hours involved form the least attractive feature of library work. The time-sheet suggested by the Library Assistants’ Association is given as a practical solution of some of the difficulties we have enumerated—not as an ideal but as the result of experience. It provides for a half-holiday weekly and for hours of recreation and study. It should be the aim to make the use of the sheet regular, so that every assistant may know what evenings, for example, he has at his disposal throughout the year. Modifications are sometimes made during the summer months, when the work is slacker, in the direction of giving the assistants more free time.

SUGGESTED TIME-SHEET (LIBRARY ASSISTANTS’ ASSOCIATION)


	Monday		Thursday
A		A
A		A
B		B
B		B
C	8.45	C
C	8.45	C
D		D
D		D
E		E
E		E
F		F	8.45
F		F	8.45
G		G
G		G
H		H
H		H
	Tuesday		Friday
A		A
A		A
B		B
B		B
C		C
C		C
D	8.45	D
D	8.45	D
E		E
E		E
F		F
F		F
G		G	8.45
G		G	8.45
H		H
H		H
	Wednesday		Saturday
A		A
A		A
B		B
B		B
C		C
C		C
D		D
D		D
E	8.45	E
E	8.45	E
F		F
F		F
G		G
G		G
H		H	8.45
H		H	8.45

Fig. 6 (Section 84).

Hours of duty 42 per week. Each assistant has a half-day and an evening off, works one night until 10 o’clock, and comes on one morning at 8.45. The library is assumed to be open all the week, and where an early-closing day is in vogue, the time-sheet is simplified by confining nearly all the half-holidays to that day.

The time-sheet would be much improved if 5 p.m. were substituted for 6 p.m. on the evening off; an assistant leaving at 6, after he has had a meal, has very little evening left. It should be the endeavour so to adjust the sheet that each assistant is off every other evening, the half-day counting as one. Local circumstances will suggest variations, which can easily be made.

85. The whole staff question, so far as junior assistants are concerned, may be modified by the Education Act of 1918. This has raised the age at which children may leave school, and requires of them part-study until the age of 18. Seeing that the juniors at present engaged are of 14 years and upwards, this may mean duplicate junior staffs, with accompanying problems of remuneration. It may be that specialized library training may be accepted in lieu of the continuation classes contemplated by the Act. But the matter is at present in a state of transition, and we can only indicate the new problem.

86. Sunday Work.—Some libraries remain open on Sundays and on public holidays, usually for a part of the day. About half of these pay extra remuneration for hours worked on these days; others allow time off through the week for it; and in one or two places Hebrew assistants are specially employed for Sunday duty.

87. Junior Assistant.—The work of the assistant in his first library years is largely mechanical: the preparing of books for circulating; labelling, card-writing, tagging; keeping shelves in order and replacing returned books; charging and issue-desk work of the simpler kind. There is much work in every library of this unskilled character which forms a useful training in business habits, order, regularity, etc. It is unfortunate, however, that the smallness of staffs often makes it necessary to put the work of issuing books to readers in the hands of juniors. The actual charging of books is indeed a mechanical process, but its performance is carried out at one of the main points of contact with the public where knowledge and experience are of great value. Larger libraries have, as a rule, departmental staffs which are confined to the work of the particular department to which they are accredited. This is undoubtedly the most business-like and economical method; but every assistant should be given the opportunity of learning the work of every department and should be required to do so. This may be done by transferring the assistants at not too lengthy intervals. In smaller libraries this departmental division does not exist, and an assistant may work in the lending library in the morning, in the reference library in the evening, and at a branch to-morrow, just as the exigencies of the service dictate.

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90]

88. Senior Assistant.—The name senior assistant is bestowed upon assistants with a few years’ experience and training, including as a rule the possession of two or more certificates of the Library Association. They occupy a position somewhat analogous to that of non-commissioned officers, and act as reliefs to the librarians-in-charge. Often they are made responsible for some branch of the routine, as, for example, book-binding, defaulters, registration of borrowers, etc., and this is a good method, provided that any one assistant is not confined rigidly and for too long to one task. A sense of responsibility is a useful quality which can be fostered in this way. Usually senior assistants are promoted from the junior staff, but not always; and it is becoming a general condition of promotion to this grade that the candidate shall have taken some part of the Library Association course. Promotion should never be made unless the candidate has shown a disposition to qualify in some such manner.

89. Work Book.—It is a good plan to use a work book or duty book, in which the daily duties of each assistant can be entered. By means of such a book it is easy to change the work about, in order to give every assistant an opportunity of doing everything in turn; and it is necessary because of the changes worked on the composition of the staff by the time-sheet.[91] A good form of work book for a library where the staff is not departmental is shown in the ruling below, which can be adjusted to meet the conditions in large libraries. The names or numbers of the assistants are written or printed in the margin, and against these the particular duty, or set of duties, to be performed that day are written. This book is generally made up by the deputy-librarian and checked by the librarian. In small libraries the librarian can write up this record. Apart from its value as a simple means of distributing and fixing duties, it makes a capital record of visitors or callers, errors, absences of staff, progress of certain pieces of work, checks of various kinds, and may even be used as a staff time-book. The form given on page 92 (Fig. 7) is a guide to the work of a library and a check upon results. For convenience’ sake the assistants are numbered in order of seniority.

90. The method of using this book is very simple. If there are ten assistants or under, one page only is used, each member of the staff receiving an appropriate number. If there are more than ten assistants two pages must be used, the numbers on the second page having the figure 1 prefixed to them, and the 10 being altered to 20. Thus page 2 will appear as 11, 12, 13, 14, etc. If there are more than twenty assistants a third page can be used, the existing numbers having 2 prefixed as before.

Each assistant on arriving or departing enters on the “Time-Sheet” his or her exact time in the spaces reserved, beginning the day with the first column. The assistants who check and tidy a to d in the mornings write their initials opposite the particular duty, while those who attend to the charging system, date stamps, overdues and cash for change also initial the item, the amount of change being stated. Against each assistant’s number is written his or her duties for the day. The first page or pages of the work book should be reserved as a key, and the names of the assistants should be written against the numbers which represent them. The column “New Orders” is for new instructions for all the staff. These should be entered briefly in red ink from the bottom towards the top of the page. The Notes lines will receive all items specified and any other notable incidents occurring in the course of each day, such as “Breakdown of Electric Light,” “Drunken man expelled,” etc. The[92] work book must be kept in one recognized place, and every assistant should be held responsible for entering up his own notes and time. Any note of a general kind must be entered by the senior officer present on duty. The work book should be submitted to the chief librarian every morning.

		Dep.	Department.		Initial.
	9″

14″		Date

	Time-Sheet.		Daily Checks.
	1		a	Reference
	2		b	Lending
	3		c	Reading Room
	4		d	Juvenile
	5		e	Overdues
	6		f	Charging System
	7		g	Change (money)
	8		h
	9		j
	10		k
					New Orders.
	1
	2
	3
	4
	5
	6
	7
	8
	9
	10
	Notes.--[Callers, Complaints, Errors, Lost or Found Property, etc.]

Fig. 7.—Staff Work Book (Section 89).

91. Salaries.—Salaries are the most difficult question the[93] library profession has to meet. Up to the present few library workers have been paid more than a living wage, and many have received barely that. It is obvious that increases in this direction are essential in the new conditions; but it is equally obvious that no library should spend so much in salaries that it is unable to purchase new books or to administer them. We saw in Section 31 that the average amount spent on salaries in the United Kingdom was about 42 per cent. of the entire income; and the staff, including the chief librarian, must be recompensed from the sum represented. The following figures show what was paid in the various positions in 1911:—

Income of Library Authority.			Librarians in Charge.			Senior Assistants.			Junior Assistants.
£			£			£			£
500	-	1,000	73	-	100	46	-	80	19	-	52
1,000	-	1,500	54	-	65	58	-	90	19	-	52
1,500	-	2,000	84	-	120	77	-	125	24	-	65
2,000	-	3,000	78	-	180	84	-	95	20	-	60
3,000	-	4,000	122	-	250	65	-	100	26	-	80
4,000	-	5,000	107	-	160	90	-	130	26	-	65
5,000	-	10,000	148	-	225	100	-	170	29	-	78
10,000	and over		95	-	160	108	-	170	26	-	56

Fig. 8.—Salaries paid in 1911.

It will be seen that these “actual” figures are full of anomalies and divergences, and the inadequacy of payment they reveal is in some grades positively remarkable. The European War has produced conditions under which it is impossible for many of these payments to sustain life, and the case for better payment is an imperative one. At the same time the argument is not for increased salaries out of present library means, but for increased library means wherewith to pay increased salaries. Any other course, in present circumstances, would lead many libraries into bankruptcy. Salaries are subject to deduction, in the case of assistants earning less than £250 per annum, for National Health Insurance; and in some towns having superannuation schemes, contributions, amounting on the average to 2¹⁄₂ per cent., are exacted for that purpose.

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The following salary scale for junior and senior assistants has been used in smaller libraries whose incomes exceed £1000:—

Juniors—	1st	year	£26	0
	2nd	„	31	4
	3rd	„	36	8
	4th	„	41	12
Seniors—	1st	„	52	0
	2nd	„	62	0
	3rd	„	72	0
	4th	„	82	0
	5th	„	92	0
	6th	„	104	0

(Thus, an assistant must, as a rule, wait ten years in order to earn two pounds a week!) All salaries, whether paid monthly or weekly, should not be subject to any deduction on account of absences from illness (except in so far as the matter is governed by National Health Insurance rules), holidays, or other causes. The annual increases should only be granted provided the report of the chief librarian is satisfactory. No assistant should be allowed to hold the view that increases in salary are automatic and not dependent upon satisfactory service. It is a good plan to arrange for the whole of the staff increases to become due at the same date, so that they can all be considered at one meeting of the committee.

92. Vacation.—The time granted for annual holidays ranges from three weeks or more for deputy librarians and departmental librarians to one week for juniors. A week or ten days is not sufficient for rest and change, and a fortnight is the minimum that should be allowed.

93. Staff Training.—In present circumstances every library should have a definite official system of training for its staff, and every assistance in and inducement to study should be given. The low salaries paid in libraries demand that assistants shall at least receive in part return the best equipment that can be given them. The first essential is general education approximating to matriculation, and definite study of literature should be required from the first year. Where such training has not been acquired previously, junior assistants should be required to read in such[95] manner that they may at the age of sixteen take the Preliminary Test offered by the Library Association, and no assistant should be retained permanently, in his own interests as well as in those of the library, who is unable to pass that Test. Not until the Test is passed should assistants be encouraged to study the more technical divisions of the Library Association syllabus. Chief librarians should supervise the training of the whole staff and hold periodical brief examinations to convince themselves that it is being pursued systematically. Every librarian-in-charge should be held responsible for directing the studies of his subordinates, and in small libraries the deputy-librarian should assume this duty. Some libraries have staff guilds which hold regular classes, sometimes with outside teachers in special subjects; and the plan is to be commended. All books that may be required should be provided by the library, and class fees and examination expenses are paid in many towns—a method which deserves universal adoption. Every professional certificate won should command some financial recompense, however small; and, other things being equal, promotion should be given only to assistants who hold certificates. In a few libraries, but in an increasing number, a certain amount of study is allowed in official hours; this is a matter of time-sheet arrangement, as sporadic reading in ordinary library hours is not to be encouraged.

94. The Library Economy Library.—The foundation of all training is a collection of works on library economy and bibliography. A library without this is not properly equipped, and some libraries have much to seek in the matter. Every recognized text-book on the theory and practice of every department of librarianship, all library periodicals, the best examples of catalogues, bulletins, reading lists, annual reports, and the standard bibliographies, should be available on the freest conditions to the whole staff. Some libraries set apart a definite fund for the purchase of such works; and its expenditure is one of the best ultimate economies in which a committee can engage. Moreover, the institution which ostensibly provides the literature of all other professions is obviously in a ridiculous position if it does not provide the literature of librarianship. In Appendix II. we give a list of the works which should form the professional collection of every library of average size; and even small[96] libraries should endeavour to become possessed of the majority of them.

95. Women Librarians and Assistants.—The employment of women in libraries is not universal in this country, and very few women hold the position of chief librarian, and these only of small libraries. In the United States the proportion of women librarians and assistants is nearer 95 per cent. than the 14 or 15 per cent. of Britain. There can hardly be a doubt, however, that women will be more extensively employed in British municipal libraries than they have been hitherto. In large towns it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and retain the services of intelligent lads who will devote themselves to the work, and it is unnecessary to affirm nowadays that a well-educated, intelligent girl is just as suitable for public library work as a well-educated lad. If women are employed in libraries, they should be paid at the same rate as men or lads performing similar duties. There is no reason why a woman should be paid less than a man for doing exactly the same work. Everything recommended regarding qualifications, duties, etc., should apply to women as well as to men. It is the opinion of some librarians that, if women are employed, the staff should be composed entirely of them, as a mixed staff requires various kinds of separate accommodation.

96. Caretakers.—A satisfactory janitor or caretaker, generally speaking, is a valuable member of staff, and is rare. A good man seldom stays very long, so easy is it for him to seek and obtain promotion. Caretakers’ wages vary all over the country, according to the size of the library, amount of work and perquisites. In cases where a residence is provided, it is usual to secure the services of a man and his wife, and furnish him with a uniform and the usual light, coal, etc. In such cases the wages are usually less than when a man has to find his own residence. From 25s. to 30s. weekly is the wage given when a house is provided. In other instances, according to circumstances, the wages vary from 27s. 6d. to 50s. weekly. In large libraries extra assistance should always be provided, and the cleaning should be done early in the morning, before the hour of opening. A sufficient staff of cleaners should be provided to enable this to be done without interfering with the service of the public.[97] Three hours every morning should suffice to clean any library, and it is important to employ plenty of help. The wages of cleaners vary from 9d. an hour downwards, but it is more often the practice to pay so much a week according to circumstances. Rates for this class of work differ so much that it is impossible to do more than roughly indicate a possible basis.

A caretaker should be made responsible to the librarian for the cleanness and order of the building, and his duties should include a certain number of hours’ attendance in uniform as general overseer of the rooms and their frequenters. It is imperative that this official should not be allowed to develop the attitude of a Jack-in-office, and in all his patrol work courtesy and firmness should be required. Eight or nine hours daily should be considered full time for a caretaker, and suitable arrangements must be made to enable him to remain off duty at hours when the business is quiet. In large libraries it is customary to employ more than one janitor or caretaker.

97. Staff and Public.—It is most important that good relations should exist between readers and the whole of the staff. It is a well-known fact that one or two overbearing assistants can render a public library more unpopular than almost anything else. Assistants should school themselves to endure with philosophy the impertinence of the small number of the general public who contrive to make themselves objectionable in every town, and not visit on the heads of the inoffensive majority the sins of the inconsiderate few. The staff of every public library should learn as a first lesson that they are the servants and not the masters of the people, and that mutual self-respect can be maintained without undue familiarity on the one side or aloofness on the other. The supercilious “official” attitude, with which public servants are so frequently credited, is to be completely repressed and kept under, and the public should be taught to appreciate their own libraries, and to understand that the doors of a municipal library are always open to receive and welcome every class of citizen. At the same time, preference should not be shown for any particular frequenter or group of frequenters, and gossiping must be suppressed.

98. Staff Accommodation.—In libraries of every size private rooms of suitable dimensions should be provided for the librarian[98] and the assistants; with work- and store-rooms for the staff and caretaker. The librarian’s room in small libraries may be made large enough to serve as a committee room, and in all cases should have separate lavatory accommodation. A large safe or strong room is often attached to the librarian’s room, or in a secure part of the basement, in which to store valuable documents and books. It should be shelved to contain such documents as registers, minutes and other local records in a convenient manner, and should be kept well ventilated and dry for the safe preservation of its contents. Strong rooms vary in size from 4 feet × 6 feet × 8 feet, to large apartments 20 feet × 20 feet and upwards. The usual furnishings of a librarian’s room comprise a desk, table, bookshelves, chairs, hat and umbrella stand, and other office furniture. Staff mess-rooms should be fitted with tables, chairs, cupboards, with a locker for each assistant, cooking apparatus and other appliances. Work-rooms for staff use must be fitted to suit the class of work carried on, whether cataloguing or preparing books, binding or filing. Store-rooms for general purposes and for the use of the caretaker should also be provided, fitted with all necessary cupboards and shelving. Separate staff rooms and lavatory accommodation should be provided in libraries with staffs composed partly of men, partly of women.

Bibliography

Cowell, Peter. Public Library Staffs, 1893, L.A. Series, 3.

Library Assistants’ Association. Report on the Hours, Salaries, Training, and Conditions of Service in British Municipal Libraries, 1911. L.A.A. Series, 4.

Brooklyn Public Library. Rules for the Guidance of the Staff, 1906.

Michigan University. Library Staff Manual, 1912.

Bodleian Library. Staff Manual. Annually.

For articles, see Cannons, E 20-43, Staff Management.

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CHAPTER VII
LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS

99. Although there is no such co-ordination of libraries as there is of schools under central Government control, and therefore not the same apparent necessity for combination amongst librarians, the library profession is closely linked by means of library societies to which every librarian with any claims to consideration is attached. The largest of these societies is the American Library Association, which has nearly 4000 members; and many continental European countries have such societies. In the United Kingdom the principal societies are the Library Association and its branches, and the Library Assistants’ Association.

100. The Library Association.—This body, which is the centre and controlling force of British librarianship, was founded in 1877 at the First International Library Conference, which was held in London. In 1898 it received a Royal Charter by which it became the responsible representative body of the profession. Its objects as set out in the Charter are to unite all persons engaged or interested in libraries by means of conferences and meetings for the discussion of bibliography and all other phases of librarianship; to promote the better administration of libraries; to improve the position and qualifications of librarians; to promote the adoption of the Public Libraries Acts and the establishment of reference and lending libraries for use by the public; to watch and promote legislation affecting public libraries; to encourage bibliographical study and research; to publish information of service to the members or which in any way furthers the interests of the Association; to collect and maintain a library and museum; to hold examinations in librarianship and to issue certificates of efficiency; and to maintain in every lawful way the interests of libraries and their workers.

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The Association is not purely professional. It seeks the co-operation in membership of library authorities, members of library committees and all persons who are interested in libraries, as well as library workers themselves. The presidency of the Association has until quite recently usually been held by a public man who was not a librarian. The executive is a council consisting of president, past presidents, honorary secretary, solicitor and treasurer, and twelve members of any grade representing London, and twenty representing the remainder of the United Kingdom, who, with the exception of the past presidents, are elected annually.

The membership consists of Honorary Fellows, Fellows, Members, Associate Members and Student Members. The Honorary Fellowship is given for distinguished service to the objects of the Association; Fellows are holders of the Library Association diploma, chief librarians who held office before December 1914, and, in some instances, librarians who are graduates of universities; Members are librarians [2] who hold four professional certificates and have had three years’ approved library experience, or librarians 25 years of age or more, who held office before December 1914 and have had not less than six years’ approved experience; Associate Members are librarians not qualified as Fellows or Members, and non-librarians; Student Members are persons under 25 years of age who are studying for librarianship; and libraries and institutions are received as Institution Members. Fellows and Members have the right of using the initials F.L.A. and M.L.A. respectively after their names so long as they remain subscribing members. The entrance fee to all grades of membership is one guinea, and the annual subscription is also one guinea, except for Student Members, who pay a half-guinea yearly.

The scheme of classification of members set out in the last paragraph has been in operation since 1914, and in course of time the classes will show the degrees of qualification possessed by their members. In 1914, however, many quite undistinguished people were made Fellows simply because they held the chief office in a library, however small or badly managed that institution[101] might be. Hereafter, if the Council carries out its duties properly, as there is every reason to believe it will, only men and women qualified by a searching examination will become Fellows or Members. All classes of members (except student members, who do not vote) enjoy equal privileges in the Association.

The Association holds monthly meetings from about November to June in London, at which professional papers are read and discussed. It also holds an Annual Conference, usually early in September, when it is generally the guest of some municipality, and when the greater part of its members foregather for the discussion of library questions. The Annual Conference is the principal library event of the year, and every library worker who can should attend, as more is to be learned during that week than in many months of solitary reading or study of library problems. Library committees should not only encourage their librarians to attend; they should send delegates of their own members, and in the case both of these and of the librarians, defray their expenses. The papers and discussions are published in The Library Association Record, the monthly official journal of the Association, which is issued free to all members.

[2] The word “librarian” includes “library assistant.” After all, “librarian” is the name of a member of a profession, not the holder of a position.

101. Educational Work.—From the standpoint of this book the most interesting part of the Association’s work is that of its Education Committee. The Committee holds examinations yearly in May, and the scheme of examination for the Diploma includes six provisional examinations, a language test, a thesis, and, if desirable, further oral examination, etc., as follows:

(a) Provisional certificates are granted for:

1. Literary History.
2. Elements of Practical Bibliography.
3. Classification.
4. Cataloguing.
5. Library History, Foundation and Equipment.
6. Library Routine.

(b) A satisfactory essay upon some aspect of each of the above subjects is required as part of the examination.

(c) Practical experience of not less than 24 hours a week for at[102] least 3 years as a member of the administrative staff of one or more libraries approved by the Council.

(d) A thesis showing original thought or research on some subject within the purview of the syllabus, the subject being previously approved by the Council.

(e) A certificate approved by the Council, showing an elementary knowledge of Latin or Greek, and one modern foreign language. In the absence of such certificates the candidates may be examined by gentlemen appointed by the Council.

Each of the examinations may at present be taken separately; and the method of preparation is left to the individual candidates. It may be by individual reading, by the correspondence classes provided by the Association, or by attendance at the courses of lectures which the Association also provides. No student, however, is admitted to the examination who has not passed matriculation, the senior Oxford or Cambridge Local, or some similar examination. For those who cannot obtain one of these certificates, the Association prescribes its own Preliminary Test (held in May and October), which consists of papers in the general school subjects and in such matters as will test the candidate’s powers of observation and his common sense. The Association publishes a yearly Syllabus setting forth in detail these conditions, a detailed synopsis of the required subjects, lists of text-books, classes, etc., and a full list of certificate-holders.

The address of the Association is at Caxton Hall, Westminster, London.

We conclude these remarks by saying that librarians may be judged by their relations with the Library Association. Membership is in a broad sense the seal upon their experience and qualifications; and the catholicity of the Association’s educational work and its record of activity on behalf of libraries and librarians command the respect and adherence of all who are likely to read this book. No library worker of whatever grade whose income exceeds £100 a year should consider it consistent with his self-respect to remain outside this Association.

102. The Library Assistants’ Association.—This is a purely sectional association for assistants in municipal and institutional[103] (but not commercial lending) libraries, and was founded in 1895 by the members of one of the Library Association Summer Schools, to educate and to protect the special interests of assistants, and to provide them with a freer platform than the Library Association seemed to offer. By means of monthly meetings held throughout the winter at various libraries, the reading of papers, discussions, etc.; by study circles, summer schools, international visits to libraries, and other activities, it has changed for the better the whole tone of the library service, and has won for itself a distinct place amongst professional associations.

It is organized on lines similar to those of the Library Association, being governed by a President, Honorary Treasurer, and Honorary Secretary and a Council of ten London and ten non-London members. Its membership is of Honorary Fellows, elected for special distinction or services; Fellows who are chief librarians who were formerly members; Members, assistant librarians earning salaries of £52 per annum and more; and Associates, assistants earning less than £52. The Association has several branches; maintains a good professional library (housed at the Central Public Library, Islington); issues free to all members a monthly journal, The Library Assistant; and has been responsible for various valuable brief publications included in the “L.A.A. Series.” The subscriptions for membership are 5s. per annum for Fellows and Members, and 2s. 6d. for Associates.

The value of the Association has been widely recognized, and library assistants, of whatever age or rank, would serve their own interests and those of their profession by adhering to it.

103. Other Societies.—Other purely library Societies which may be mentioned are the Panizzi Club and the Society of Public Librarians. The Panizzi Club, which was founded in 1914, is mainly composed of university, Government and institutional—but not municipal—librarians. It has not yet published any proceedings, and is interested in the compiling of co-operative bibliographies, and in doing such other work as will co-ordinate and improve the service of the libraries it represents. The Society of Public Librarians is a small body of librarians which meets in London for the reading and discussion of papers. It[104] does not seek to add to its membership except by the nomination of existing members.

104. Societies which are not mainly for librarians, but which are of considerable interest to them, are the Bibliographical Society and the Museums Association. The Bibliographical Society, founded in 1892, has its headquarters at 20 Hanover Square, London, W.1, and exists for the promoting of the study of the book and manuscript mainly in their historical and bibliographical characteristics. It meets monthly for the reading and discussion of papers, and publishes, to members only, valuable works on matters within its province. The annual subscription is one guinea, and the entrance fee is a similar sum.

The Museums Association, founded in 1889, has for its object the bringing together of museum officials, members of museum committees, and others interested in museum work for mutual discussion and help. Its membership is made up of persons who pay a subscription of one guinea per annum, and associates who pay a half-guinea. An annual meeting, usually lasting four days, is held in July, when papers are read and discussed. The Museums Journal, published monthly, contains the transactions.

105. Staff Guilds, etc.—It will be appropriate to say a little here about the private organizations of library staffs, known as guilds, or clubs, which are becoming a feature of larger libraries here and in America. The members of the staff band themselves together for mutual improvement and recreation with a committee chosen of their own numbers to direct their activities. These latter include classes in library economy, literature, and other subjects of interest to assistants for the younger members of the staff, and reading circles, elocution classes, etc., for the older ones. Recreations, as cricket, swimming, walking, photography and other sports, are also arranged by the guilds; and at Croydon there is an annual excursion which is recognized by the public, the libraries being closed for the purpose on the chosen day. Croydon, Fulham and Glasgow have issued staff magazines in connection with their clubs; these are usually cyclostyled publications. The Islington club has distinguished itself for social gatherings, and the New Year’s gathering of the Glasgow club is one of the features of the library year. Wisely conducted, these guilds have a great influence for good, are an[105] incentive to study, and produce that better work which comes from mutual understanding amongst library workers. They should be recognized by the library committee and the chief librarian, but should be perfectly autonomous.

106. Bibliography

Library Assistant.

Library Association Record.

Library Association Year Book.

Thorne, W. B. The Library Assistants’ Association: an outline of its development and work. “Librarian” Series, 2.

For articles, see Cannons, A 1-243, Library Associations.

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DIVISION IV
BUILDINGS

CHAPTER VIII
THEORY AND GENERAL REMARKS

107. Theory.—Although the subject of library buildings has been frequently treated by various writers, there is a lack of literature on the important question of size limitation and the modifications arising therefrom. Controversy has raged round such questions as stacks versus alcoves, general versus special reading rooms, general versus separate book stores, and so on, but on the much more important question, “What size is the library to be?” hardly any theories or definite statements exist. Beyond a vague general recommendation to secure as large a site as possible, in view of future extension, writers on library architecture have not committed themselves to any principle which would guide those responsible for new library buildings in estimating the provision to be made. The chief reason for this is no doubt the cherished tradition that libraries are to be made as large as possible, because they are the repositories of the literature of the ages and the storehouse for every kind of printed matter. The museum idea of a public library, however, is now giving place to the workshop idea, and few librarians nowadays of average-sized municipal libraries hold the view that it is their function to provide and retain every book, irrespective of its value or appeal, and to attempt to rival the British Museum or Bibliothèque Nationale on a reduced scale.

108. There are several very important considerations to be advanced in favour of limiting libraries both as regards book storage and accommodation for readers, and these shall be set out in order. However much one may sympathize with the view that all public libraries ought to collect everything—on the[107] grounds that it may one day be used, and that nothing which illustrates past life, customs, etc., should be ignored—it is only fair to point out that this work is already being done effectively by general or special libraries in all parts of the country. This particular form of literature conservation is the chief province of the great State libraries like the British Museum, Patent Office, India Office, National Libraries of Ireland and Wales, etc.; the university libraries; the endowed or special libraries like the Advocates’ (Edinburgh), Mitchell (Glasgow), John Rylands (Manchester); the great proprietary libraries of a special kind like the Royal Colonial Institute, Athenæum Club, Signet (Edinburgh), London Library, etc.; and scientific, law and collegiate libraries of all kinds. The burden of carrying on this tradition of universal garnering need not be borne by municipal libraries, except in the case of great towns such as Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol, where the libraries may reasonably be expected to be as representative as possible.

109. The workshop form of public library provides for the systematic and continuous revision of the stock of the library, and in this way it becomes practicable to fix a rough limit to the size of a building. This is a most important matter, because it is undoubtedly the result of a general cultivation of the museum idea which has led to the formation of some municipal libraries, a great portion of whose contents could be discarded without perceptible inconvenience to anyone. While the wisdom of acquiring additional land for future extension, should it be required, can be admitted, the wisdom of erecting and furnishing large buildings on the assumption that they ought to be filled as speedily as possible can be questioned safely. The result of overbuilding is to cripple the early and most critical years of the library’s existence with heavy loans and their repayment, while the upkeep of a great building ultimately designed to accommodate 100,000 volumes and 500 readers, though starting with only 10,000 volumes and 100 readers, is sure to be out of all proportion. Library buildings should bear some proportion to the funds available for their maintenance and the percentage of the public they are likely to attract.

110. The chief danger with most library authorities is the tendency to erect a library building having no relation to the[108] funds available for its maintenance. The laudable desire for a handsome architectural exterior, which all public buildings ought to have, is frequently carried to such an extent that utility is completely sacrificed to an ornamental outside appearance. Where funds are plentiful, as they would be without a limited rate, there is no reason why a fine-looking building should not be provided, but where money is strictly limited it is necessary to consider the plans rather than the elevation. In any case, the interior arrangements should never be subordinated to the desire for mere outward show and ornament, and a library building in the hands of a competent architect can be made of a suitable and dignified design notwithstanding the rate limitation. In too many cases most of the money provided for library buildings has been spent on the structure, with the result that the interior fittings have been cut down to the cheapest and meanest varieties. The outside of a library building is its least important feature, and should never be so extravagant as to imperil the utility and appearance of the interior arrangements. There are library buildings now existing on which much money has been lavished apparently for the purpose of providing façades to dazzle the townsfolk, but which, nevertheless, are not only inconveniently planned inside, but furnished and fitted up in a style which suggests a kitchen rather than a public institution. This is often brought about by a wrong division of the money borrowed for building and furnishing purposes. A sum is set apart for furniture, which would be ample if such permanent fittings as bookshelves, counters, screens, etc., were not included. But when these are provided out of a furniture loan it is seldom that a large enough sum is borrowed. It is important to remember that such fittings as bookcases, counters, screens, wall newspaper slopes, barriers, lifts, galleries, etc., form permanent parts of the building, and ought to be included in the building loan, which can be borrowed for thirty years. A furniture loan must be repaid within ten years, and only such movable items as tables, chairs, desks, office furniture, etc., should be bought from this fund.

111. Assuming, also, that a building must be provided which will bear some relation to the number of persons who will be attracted, the stock to be housed, and the funds available for[109] maintenance, the following factors are presented as a basis from which estimates can be made:—

It has been definitely ascertained that 6 per cent. of the population of the average town become borrowers. For this number the average stock of books provided in lending libraries is three per borrower. Books are kept out on an average ten days each, or twelve days non-fiction, eight days fiction. In a year of 306 days each borrower will read about thirty books. Here, then, is a basis from which to start in providing accommodation for a lending library. If a town has 50,000 inhabitants, it will attract 3000 borrowers, who will require 9000 volumes as a minimum lending stock. The annual issue should be 90,000 volumes. It follows that the minimum lending library accommodation in a case like this should comprise shelving for 9000 volumes, and lobby or other spaces for at least seventy-five persons present at one time. In theory an issue of 300 per day should mean an average hourly attendance of thirty per hour, but in actual practice it must be recognized that borrowers attend at uncertain parts of the day, and most commonly during the last two or three hours in the evening; therefore it is safe to allow for the accommodation of at least one-fourth of the daily average number of visitors. Many lending libraries are overshelved owing to a failure to recognize the possibility of revision of stock and the equally important fact that the best shelving for books is in the homes of the people.

The same rules apply to all the other departments.

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CHAPTER IX
SITES AND PLANS

112. This chapter is of a purely practical character, with illustrations from well-known examples of library plans. Except in the necessary precautionary remarks made already, it has been thought undesirable to dwell upon the elevations of libraries and the relative desirability of façades, although much might be said upon the subject and it is worthy of careful attention. Such a discussion, however, could be useful only if a long series of illustrations were given ranging say from the New York and Pittsburgh public libraries, the National Library of Wales, the Liverpool Public Library and the Mitchell Library at Glasgow, which are large and handsome architectural edifices, to the more modest but satisfactory small buildings such as those at Bromley, Herne Hill and Wallasey. Although a certain common character is to be found in smaller municipal library elevations, and especially in Carnegie libraries, there is no distinctive type of elevation peculiar to libraries which immediately suggests the purpose of the buildings. This is one of the things to be desired in British architecture, as it is fair to expect that such buildings should be both artistic and appropriate, if such results can be reached without the sacrifice of even more important considerations.

113. It is premised that all central libraries require certain departments, including reference and lending libraries, newspaper room, magazine (or periodicals) room, children’s room, lecture room, and administrative departments—librarian’s office, cataloguing room, store rooms, staff rooms, cloak rooms, etc. Too often the provision made for administrative and staff purposes is inadequate, and the library suffers greatly in consequence. Branch libraries do not, as a rule, have reference rooms, although accommodation for a collection of quick-reference books is necessary, and in many branch libraries newspaper and magazine[111] rooms are combined. All the apartments premised above are not present in all buildings. Older libraries have no separate provision for children, and indeed work with children on a large scale is quite a recent development of library activity, but the desirability of such a department is made clear in Division XIII. Lecture rooms are rarer still, because of the peculiar view taken by legal authority that lectures are not within the province of libraries; and in some of the larger cities lecture work is adequately carried out by other institutions. A modern librarian, however, regards a lecture room as a necessary part of his building, and even in the larger cities lectures which are purely library lectures, having a direct bearing upon the use of books, can be given satisfactorily only in direct connexion with the library.

114. Sites.—In choosing sites for public library buildings committees should bear in mind the following principles:—

1. They should be central and easily accessible from all parts of the district, by tramways or other conveyances.

2. They should be as far as possible isolated from all other buildings, particularly shops.

3. Quiet side streets are preferable to noisy main thoroughfares.

4. Level sites are preferable to those on steep gradients.

5. More ground than is required for immediate use should be secured if possible.

A large number of the public libraries of the country are erected upon land which has been presented to the towns, and an endeavour should be made to procure a gift of this kind before a purchase is made. It will make a considerable difference to the size and quality of the building which can be provided if land has to be purchased. Frequently land can be secured upon a long lease at a nominal or peppercorn rent, and when this can be done it is better than borrowing more money than the rate will allow, and thereby crippling the library in its early years. In the tables in Section 31 no direct provision is made for loans for sites, but if it is necessary that money must be borrowed for the purpose, the margin which is mentioned as arising from incidental receipts, will probably meet the annual repayments of a loan spread over fifty years, if the site and its purchase money are not excessive. But in any case, let the advice to committees be reiterated not to borrow money for sites till they[112] have exhausted every hope of inducing some public-spirited citizen or public body to come forward with a gift of land. This is the only way, save in towns with very large incomes, in which the inadequate provisions of the Public Libraries Acts can be in part overcome. At the same time it should be remembered that by these and other Acts of Parliament special power is given to town councils and other public bodies to convey land to library authorities for building purposes.

115. The Architect.—When a suitable site has been secured it is usual to institute a competition for the planning and design of the building. This is not necessarily the best method; indeed, we are of opinion that more satisfactory results are obtained if a reputable architect is engaged without competition other than his previous record establishes for him in comparison with other architects, who will carry out the directions of the committee. The importance of appointing a professional librarian before any serious step is taken or permanent arrangement is made has already been pointed out. No plan should be drawn up or accepted without such skilled guidance as he can give. The mistakes made in the past through neglect of this precaution are a warning to committees never to trust to their own choice and judgment, and not to rely entirely upon an architect, who is often unacquainted with the best arrangements for working a public library, however great his artistic and technical qualifications may be. Assuming that a competent librarian has been appointed, the first thing to do after securing a site is to determine the size and kind of building required, and to make out a rough plan of the interior arrangements and prepare a specification of requirements or instructions to the architect. If a competition is determined upon, a limited one is preferable to any open one, unless there are local or other reasons against such a course. In the case of an open competition, advertisements should be inserted in the local papers, and in The Architect, Builder and Building News, inviting architects to compete, and asking them to apply for the conditions. Premiums should be fixed for the designs placed first, second and third in order of merit by the assessor who judges the plans. These must be regulated by the size and style of the building. £50, £30 and £20 have been offered for buildings costing £4000 and upwards.[113] Premiated designs become the property of the committee. The Royal Institute of British Architects, London, should be asked to nominate an assessor at a fee to be determined, and of course such assessor will not be a competitor. It is usual to merge the premium of the successful architect whose design is carried out into the fee paid him for superintending the work, which amounts to 5 per cent. on the cost of the building, including all extras.

116. Instructions and Plan.—The instructions to the competitors should be accompanied by a plan of the site drawn to quarter- or eighth-inch scale, and showing building line and ancient lights, if any. They should specify the amount and kind of accommodation required on each floor, and state that the cost should not exceed a certain sum exclusive of movable furniture. Permanent fittings should include bookcases, wall and standard; screens, counters, wall slopes for newspapers, barriers, and any other kind of fixture. The conditions as regards premiums, assessing, etc., should be sent with the instructions and site plan. All competitive designs should be drawn to the same scale (one-fourth or one-eighth inch), and should be finished in black without colour or ornament. Perspective drawings, in addition to elevations, may be sent at the discretion of each competitor. Each set of drawings should include a plan of every floor, showing proposed arrangement of bookcases, counters, furniture, etc.; an elevation of every face; and a section through the building both ways. Plenty of time should be allowed for the sending in of designs; three months at least from date of advertisement. Usually the assessor draws up the instructions, and afterwards circulates answers to any questions which may be put by the competitors.

117. Selection of Plan.—The competing drawings should be sent in unmarked in any way, but should be numbered in order of receipt, so that the assessor and committee cannot recognize the author. The competitor’s name and address should be sent separately in a sealed envelope marked on the outside with the same number, and some such words as “architect’s name and address,” to prevent accidental opening. It is the duty of the assessor to advise the committee as to the practicability of every design; to determine if it is in accordance with the instructions;[114] to ascertain if it can be carried out for the amount stated; and to judge which designs are first, second and third in order of merit after fulfilling the conditions of the instructions.

118. The following rules for judging library plans will be found useful; they are based on a wide experience of planning in all its departments, and can be used by architectural assessors and librarians as a guide:—

1. No public room should be made a thoroughfare leading to any other public room.

2. All exits from public rooms should be within view of the staff.

3. Oversight of public rooms should, if possible, be secured without the need for special officers in every room. For this purpose ornamental glazed partitions are preferable to solid walls.

4. No passage for public traffic should be less than 4 feet wide. Where movable chairs are used the passages should be from 6 to 8 feet wide.

5. Cross gangways between table and bookcase-ends should not be less than 3 feet if used as thoroughfares, but may be 2 feet only if simply spaces to enable readers or assistants to pass round.

6. Bookcases should not exceed 7 feet 6 inches in height either in open access or closed libraries, and shelves should be of the uniform length of 3 feet, unless for folio and quarto stock, when 18 inches will be found better. For fiction wall shelves in open access libraries, the depth should not exceed 7 inches.

7. Standard bookcases in open access libraries should be spaced at not less than 6 feet apart when facing each other, and in closed libraries at not less than 3 feet apart.

8. Magazine room readers should be allowed not less than 12 superficial feet each, including table and passage room.

9. Reference library readers should be allowed not less than 18 superficial feet, including table and passage room.

10. Where indicators are used in lending libraries the counter space should provide 5 feet run for every 4000 volumes stored, or 15 inches per 1000 numbers, and at least 10 feet run of clear space for service. The public space in front of any such counter should not be less than 10 feet wide, unless in a very small library, when it may be 6.

11. In open access lending libraries the spaces should not be less than those shown in No. 7 above. As a general rule it will be found easy and fairly accurate to allow 20 square feet to every borrower estimated to be present at one time, and disregard the provision of stock. In this calculation allowance is made for gangways, stock and readers.

12. Allow nine volumes per foot run in lending library shelving, and eight volumes per foot run in reference library shelving. A 7 foot 6 inch bookcase should give an average of eight shelves per tier in a lending library, and about the same in a reference library, if separate provision is made in wall cases for folio and other large books.

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13. Public lobbies and staircases must be arranged according to the rules laid down by any local or general building act or bye-law.

14. Newspaper slopes should allow an average of 4 feet run for every paper. This will provide for spaces between papers.

In some towns the competition designs for library buildings have been placed on exhibition, to enable the public and other interested persons to compare the premiated with the other drawings. This seems an admirable procedure, regarded as a mere matter of policy, but the practical advantage is somewhat doubtful.

119. Library Planning.—In subsequent chapters are set out in detail some of the chief requirements of the different departments of a public library, and here may be noted a few general principles, illustrated with plans. It is impossible to fix any data which will apply to all sizes and shapes of sites, on account of differences introduced by difficulties of lighting, approaches and varying local requirements. The data given above (Section 118) can be applied in most cases, as dimensions of this class seldom vary, but any additional data are certain to be modified by local conditions.

The chief principle to be emphasized is the one already stated, that public libraries should be constructed and stocked with the view to constant revision, and that their size should be limited by the number of live books likely to be wanted at any period. It is difficult to say what the number of actually living books will be at any given period, but judging by the selections which have been made in histories of literature and in such books as Sonnenschein’s Best Books, it may be roughly estimated that there are about 50,000 works of perennial interest which are worth storing in a modern workshop library. Even this number could be reduced by one-half and still be made fairly representative of every literature, period and subject of human interest. In the largest municipal libraries a very considerable proportion of the stock is composed of duplicates of popular books in central and branch libraries, while practically one-half of the stock of such libraries consists of literature which is rarely used. The provision of book-storage should, therefore, be limited in the case of municipal libraries, not so much by the size of building which can be afforded by the income, but by the actual living books which are likely to be required.

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Fig. 9.—Sketch Plan for a Small Town Library (Section 119).

Fig. 9 enlarged

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Fig. 10.—North Islington Library, with Reading Room on Ground Floor (Section 120).

Fig. 10 enlarged

Fig. 11.—North Islington Library, with Lending Department on First Floor (Section 120).

Fig. 11 enlarged

In libraries which start with incomes of £500, provision should not be made for more than 20,000 volumes. In those with commencing incomes of £1000 to £2000 room, for 40,000 volumes will be found ample. From £2000 to £3000, 60,000 volumes; from £3000 to £4000, 100,000 volumes; from £4000 to £5000, 130,000 volumes; from £5000 to £6000, 160,000 volumes, and so on. Bearing these figures in mind, the planning[118] of library buildings becomes greatly simplified. The main points to be aimed at in library planning are good light, convenient access to rooms, a fair amount of oversight, and the arrangement of departments so as to secure quiet in the principal reading rooms. For this last reason the reference library should be put farthest away from both newsroom and lending library, so that the traffic of these departments will not disturb readers. In small libraries it is best and most convenient to keep the[119] whole of the departments on one floor, obtaining light, if necessary, from the roof. The sketch plan, Fig. 9, shows a convenient arrangement for such a library.

Fig. 12.—Lambeth (Herne Hill Branch) Open Access Library with Radiating Stacks in a Square Room (Section 121).

Fig. 12 enlarged

120. The plans which are given in this section illustrate the principal points raised. They will also serve as suggestions to committees, librarians and architects charged with the establishment of new library buildings. Figs. 10 and 11 represent a building designed to be worked on the open access system in each department, and in every respect it is a model of good arrangement and convenience.

Fig. 13.—Montrose Open Access Lending Library (Section 121).

121. The principle of radiation to secure oversight and ease of working is well illustrated in this plan. The next plan (Fig. 12) shows the plan of radiation applied to an open access lending department in a square room, and here it is obvious that considerable loss of space is sustained in the angles. The same objection applies to the arrangement of Figs. 13 and 14. Figs. 10 and 11 show the children’s room and general reading room on the ground floor, and the lending library on the first floor, together with a lecture room. It is argued in favour of this that fewer people go to the lending department than to the reading room, and that the plan is therefore more convenient. In practice[120] it has been found an admirable arrangement. Figs. 15 and 16 show the arrangement of a large library, fully equipped with all departments, and in this the radial arrangement of bookcases in the lending library has not been adopted because of the shape of the room. Another plan on the same principle (Fig. 27) illustrates an open access library without radiating bookcases,[121] and a double entrance and exit counter. An interesting arrangement for a small open access library is afforded by the Fulham North Library, designed by the late Franklin T. Barrett, in which the lending department is shown in a gallery surrounding a reading room on the ground floor (Fig. 17).

Fig. 14.—Bromley (Kent) Open Access Lending Library with Radiating Stacks in a Square Room (Section 121). This Library has now been re-arranged, and the radiating stacks arranged in parallel order.

122. The following plans of closed libraries, worked on various systems, speak for themselves, and show clearly the variety of ways in which this kind of library can be arranged.

Fig. 18 shows a semi-circular counter with the books arranged behind, the borrowers’ space being flanked by a reading room and juvenile room. Figs. 19 and 20 are arranged with long counters providing for indicators for fiction and card changing for non-fiction, with the other departments grouped round.[122] Fig. 21 shows an indicator occupying the sides of a large lobby on the first floor, and Fig. 22 a plan for working a library on the open access system for non-fiction, and the indicator for fiction.

Fig. 15.—Islington Central Library. Ground Floor Plan (Section 121).

Fig. 15 enlarged

Fig. 16 (Section 121).

Fig. 16 enlarged

123. The plan on p. 129 shows a case in which the arrangements are designed as a compromise between whole and partial[123-
124]
open access, the lending department having open access for non-fiction and the closed system for fiction (Fig. 22). It is doubtful if any advantage arises from this compromise, and certainly readers are denied the privilege of referring from class to class, and cut off from the pleasure of seeing the whole of a classified collection of books at one time. The great additional mutual oversight of reader over reader is also lost, and there is always the suspicion attaching to such a compromise that a favoured class has been created.

Fig. 17.—Fulham (North) Library Plan, showing Open Access Lending Library on First Floor and Reading Room, through Well, on Ground Floor (Section 121).

124. Building Specification and Contracts.—The specification for the building on which builders are required to tender will[125] be prepared by the architect, and it is usual in most cases to have the quantities abstracted by a surveyor, so that contractors can all tender for the same thing. The surveyor’s fee, 1 per cent. to 1¹⁄₂ per cent., according to the total amount, is usually included in the specification, as are also allowances for other extras, such as foundation-stones, memorial tablets, and such items as presentation trowels, etc., if a foundation-stone laying is made a public ceremony.

Fig. 18.—St Pancras Central Library (a proposed building), showing Lending Department arranged for Indicator Charging (Section 122).

Fig. 18 enlarged

125. The contract for the building may be publicly advertised in such journals as the Contract Journal, Builder, Building News and the local newspapers, or may be confined to a few selected firms, and the tenders should, when received, be opened at a meeting of the library authority, to which the firms who tender may be invited. When a contract is accepted and signed it should contain a clause specifying that all extras must be sanctioned by the library authority before being put in hand,[126] and must be certified by the architect when completed. It is well to avoid extras by making a careful estimate in advance, but if they are supplied, great precaution must be used to see that they are limited and strictly watched.

Fig. 19.—Glasgow Branch Library, Plan and Elevation (Section 122).

Fig. 19 enlarged

Fig. 20.—Glasgow Branch Library, Plan and Elevation (Section 122).

Fig. 20 enlarged

126. A clerk of works must be appointed to watch over the building operations on behalf of the library authority and the[127-
128]
architect, and it is a wise and most economical policy to pay for a first-rate man. The wages of a competent man, who is usually recommended by the architect, will amount to from about £7 weekly, according to circumstances.

The architect’s fee is 5 per cent. on the total cost of the building, including extras and all furniture or other fittings which he may design.

Fig. 21.—Lending Library on First Floor adjoining Reference Library (Section 122).

127. Opening Ceremony, etc.—There are certain ceremonial matters connected with the laying of foundation-stones, unveiling of memorial stones or brasses and opening ceremonies, which each locality must arrange to suit its own needs. An opening ceremony of a public character is always so useful in making known a library that it ought when possible to be arranged. It need not be a very expensive function, and if an eminent public personage, local or otherwise, can be secured to perform the ceremony, so much the better. It is a doubtful point whether the expense of an opening ceremony can be defrayed from the library rate. In districts where the expenditure is audited by a Government auditor, a moderate sum may be passed, with the caution not to incur such charge again, but it is dangerous to assume that this expenditure will always be[129] allowed. Such expenditure, if incurred, would not of course include any extravagant items such as banquets, receptions, etc., but be confined to printing and other expenses.

Fig. 22.—Lending Library with Open Access for Non-fiction (Section 123).

128. The lighting, heating and ventilation of library buildings are all matters which primarily concern the architect; and they are seldom solved in a completely satisfactory manner. Lighting is the one that most directly interests the librarian, as much of the effectiveness of libraries depends upon it. A valuable discussion upon the question took place in 1911 at joint-meetings of the Illuminating Engineering Society and the Library Association, at which both librarians and lighting engineers expressed their views and experience. The matter is one for expert advice, but librarians should be clear as to the problems to be solved in artificial lighting; these are:

To light reading room tables, so as to avoid glare in the eyes of readers.

To prevent the casting of strong shadows, single or multiple.

To avoid fixing furniture or fittings in permanent positions.

To ensure the illumination of the room generally, as well as the tables.

To light the vertical spaces presented by two cases of books standing face to face, with a narrow gangway between, so that the book-titles on all the shelves can be read easily.

[130]

To ensure good results attention must be directed to general lighting, which should be full in newspaper and similar rooms, but subordinate in reference libraries; and it is recommended that point lighting, with positions fixed and shades chosen to prevent glare, should be used at all reading points and tables; and if possible all lights should be suspended from the ceiling, as to fix them upon furniture involves the anchoring of the furniture to the floors or walls. In general lighting the use of the walls and ceilings as reflectors should be remembered, and the walls should be tinted in such colours as return the maximum reflection. The problem of lighting gangways of books has not been solved satisfactorily, but tube-o’-lights or line-o’-lights fixed on the top cornice of cases have given good results. Lights centred above gangways are the most usual method, but these produce shadows. We can touch upon this subject only briefly, but the gravest thought should be given to it, as systems of lighting which are most effective architecturally are often quite useless for library purposes.

The ventilation of the rooms should be thorough and yet exclude draughts; and on this matter, as upon the kindred matter of heating, we cannot do more here than refer to the recent literature upon those subjects.

129. Bibliography

Adams, H. B. Public Libraries and Popular Education (Home Education Bulletin, No. 31). Albany, University of the State of New York, 1900. (Valuable for the plans and elevations of American library buildings reproduced.)

Adams, M. B. Public Libraries: Their Building and Equipment. L.A.R., vol. vii., pp. 161, 220. (Reprinted from Journal of Royal Institute of British Architects.)

Burgoyne, F. J. Library Construction: Architecture, Fittings, Furniture, 1897. (Library Ser.)

—— Points in Library Planning. Greenwood’s Year Book, 1900, p. 12.

Champneys, A. L. Public Libraries: A Treatise on their Design, Construction, and Fittings, 1907.

Eastman, W. R. Library Buildings and Plans, 1906. N. York State Lib., Bulletin, 107, Lib. School, 22.

Graesel, A. Planning. In his Handbuch der Bibliothekslehre, 1902.

Illuminating Engineering Society and the Library Association. Library Lighting, 1911.

[131]

League of Library Commissions. Small Library Buildings, 1908.

Soule, C. C. How to Plan a Library Building for Library Work, Boston, 1912.

—— Library Rooms and Buildings, 1902. (A.L.A. Tracts, No. 4.)

Utley, H. M. How to Plan a Public Library. L.J., vol. xxiv., Conf. no., p. 21.

For articles, see Cannons, D 1-23, Architecture.

[132]

DIVISION V
FITTINGS AND FURNITURE

CHAPTER X
MISCELLANEOUS FIXTURES AND FITTINGS

130. It is important to note that all fittings which are fixtures, as are most of those about to be described in the following chapter, should be regarded as part of the permanent structure, and not as movable furniture. Such fittings should be included in the loan raised for building, which can be borrowed for thirty years, and not in that raised for furniture, which can only be borrowed for ten years. The additional twenty years for which money can be borrowed for permanent buildings will be found to make a very considerable difference in the annual repayments.

131. Counters and Barriers.—Counters and barriers are required chiefly in lending and reference libraries, or in situations where it is necessary to cut readers off from books or private rooms. No lending library counter which has to carry an indicator should be more than thirty inches high and eighteen inches wide, and for ledger or card charging and open access the dimensions need not be more than thirty-two inches high and two feet wide. Reference library counters for cutting readers off from the books and for service should be thirty-two inches high and two feet wide. All counters should be fitted on the staff side with shelves and cupboards, and on the public side the panelling should be raised at least four inches from the floor to prevent it from being kicked and marked. It is a useful plan to fit up the back of a long counter with shelves, drawers and cupboards alternately, as shown in diagram on the next page (Fig. 23).

This arrangement can be carried out to any extent and in any order, according to space. In lending library counters a[133] slot for money should be made in the top of the counter over one of the small locked drawers. This will form the till for cash receipts from fines, the sale of catalogues, etc.

Fig. 23.—Back of Library Counter (Section 131).

132. Barriers for open access lending and reference libraries are made in various forms. In small open access libraries the barriers need only be large enough to control the entrances and exits of readers.

Fig. 24.—West Islington Library, showing wicket.

[134]

Fig. 25.—North Islington Staff Enclosure, Open Access (Section 133).

133. Lending library barriers for open access are planned in a variety of ways to take charging trays, etc. The following are typical illustrations of barriers or combined counters and screens specially designed for open access libraries. The object of the glazed screen is to protect the staff from draughts and the charging system from being tampered with. The plans and views of open access barriers in Figs. 24-25 show the usual arrangement for ordinary purposes, and an imaginary design for a library doing a very large business requiring three assistants at each side is shown in Fig. 28. By means of this it would be possible for six assistants, three at each side, to discharge and charge books at the rate of 1400 per hour, a speed never required anywhere.

For all practical purposes a barrier with two wickets on the entrance side and one at the exit will serve for the largest single library in existence (Fig. 27). The treadle latches such as are[135] fitted in the open access libraries of Croydon, Clerkenwell, Hornsey, Lambeth, Darwen, Southport, etc., will be found well adapted for the purpose of controlling the wickets of both single and double open access barriers (Fig. 29).

Fig. 26.—Lambeth (Herne Hill) Branch Library Open Access Barrier (Section 133).

The chief objection to wickets hinged at one side is their tendency to slam, no matter what kind of controlling springs or buffers are used. In course of time every form of pneumatic or other spring loses its power, and some effective form of noiseless turnstile or very light barrier on rising butts would perhaps be an improvement. Where lending libraries are isolated, the trouble is not so marked as in cases where they adjoin reading rooms.

134. The plans already printed (Figs. 18-22) explain better than words the form of counters best adapted for lending libraries using the indicator system of issue.

The space for borrowers in front of an indicator ought not to be less than four square feet per person likely to be present at one time, in order to prevent crowding at busy times. Thus a town with 3000 borrowers would have an average daily issue[136] of about 300 volumes, which might mean seventy-five people present at one time, counting companions, and thus 300 square feet of borrowers’ lobby would be necessary as a minimum; or a space 30 by 10 feet. It is not often, however, that one finds lobbies planned on this desirable scale. The height of a counter designed to carry an indicator should not exceed thirty inches, and the top need not be more than eighteen inches wide. The length of the counter will depend entirely upon the kind of indicator used, and whether it is classified or not, or intended for all the stock or only for fiction. The indicators most used all differ in size (see Section 386, etc.), and this factor must be taken into account in designing the counter.

Fig. 27.—Croydon Central Library. Open Access Lending Department, showing Double Wickets (Section 133).

Fig. 27 enlarged

135. Sometimes a simple barrier is required in some kinds of reference libraries to separate bookcases from reading rooms.[137] This may be either fixed or movable, and a good form can be constructed of ornamental ironwork, surmounted by a polished oak or walnut rail, about four to six inches wide, in the style of illustration (Fig. 30).

Fig. 28.—Triple Open-Access Barrier (Section 133).

136. Screens.—In small libraries with a small staff it is often possible to obtain complete oversight of nearly every department by using glazed partitions or screens instead of opaque internal walls. In cases where there is no roof weight to be supported this is a very good arrangement, and is recommended for every building to which it can be applied. When such partitions separate rooms, it is advisable to carry them right up to the ceiling to exclude noise. In other situations, as when dividing a room into two or more sections, the screens need not be more than eight or nine feet high. Clear glass should be used throughout, unless in the upper panels, for the sake of both oversight and light.

Fig. 29.—Treadle Latch for Open Access Wicket (Section 133).

Fig. 30.—Barrier for Dividing Rooms (Section 135).

137. Lifts.—In large libraries with many floors, passenger or other lifts for carrying heavy weights are desirable. In a building with two or more floors, an ordinary lift for transporting parcels of books to the extent of perhaps two hundredweights should be provided in a convenient place, preferably against a wall. Such lifts should have automatic brakes and simple raising and lowering mechanism; but an electric motor will be[138] found less noisy and easier to work than any form of rope lift. In addition, it is often of greater service to have small, quick-running lifts or tubes capable of carrying one to six single books from floor to floor. In cases where lending library books are issued for reading in the reading room, this is a very convenient arrangement, and it also greatly facilitates the work of the staff[139] by enabling messages and small articles to be rapidly transferred from place to place.

138. Speaking Tubes and Telephones.—Speaking tubes connecting every department should be provided in all new buildings, if telephones have not already been fixed. The telephone is much easier applied to an existing building, as there is less cutting about of walls required. But in new buildings speaking tubes can be provided quite easily, and they are simpler to work and less liable to get out of order than telephones. The telephone should be provided for every large public library, which ought to be connected with the municipal offices, the telephone exchange and its own branches. It is often possible for a public library to obtain a sufficient service by having a wire from the town hall switchboard to the library. The annual cost of this is only about one-fourth of the regular exchange service. For a complicated internal service of inter-communications, the telephone is much superior to speaking tubes, as the switchboard system enables the user to communicate with any department without the need of extra tubes.

139. Miscellaneous.—In some libraries accommodation for CYCLES is provided outside the buildings, which is the proper place for such machines, in view of their tendency to do damage when placed against interior walls. In buildings which front busy main streets this kind of accommodation cannot be provided unless there is a courtyard or similar space in front. Some libraries which are infested by DOGS would be all the better of some effective means of keeping such animals outside. No doubt, if their owners were spoken to, they would agree to fasten them to hooks or rails outside the building, if proper means were provided.

140. Turnstiles for counting purposes are fitted up in several libraries, as well as in most museums, art galleries, etc. They should be placed in situations where their noisy clacking will not prove disturbing, if they are used at all.

141. Good English CLOCKS, with conspicuous dials, should be placed in every public room of a library. Where a number are provided, it is better to specify electrically controlled or synchronized clocks, which keep uniform time and are much less troublesome than ordinary self-wound clocks. Libraries[140] should have a supply of small THERMOMETERS distributed and fixed throughout the rooms as a check upon the internal temperature, and it is a useful thing to provide a barometer as well. Bold visible CALENDARS are also desirable in every department.

142. Bibliography

Brown, J. D. Furniture. See his Library Appliances, p. 12.

Burgoyne, F. J. Furniture and Appliances. See his Library Architecture, pp. 73-127.

Carr, H. J. Fixtures, Furniture and Fittings. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-1893, vol. i., p. 733.

Champneys, A. L. Public Libraries, 1907. Batsford.

For articles, see Cannons, E 24-D 47, Library Appliances and Supplies.

[141]

CHAPTER XI
SHELVING AND ACCESSORIES

143. The chief requirements of book-shelving are accessibility and adjustability. All authorities on library architecture are agreed that high shelves are an obstruction to quick service, and a danger to books, by placing them in a vitiated atmosphere with a comparatively high temperature. The old-fashioned wall-cases, twelve or fifteen feet high, which could only be reached by means of long ladders, are no longer recommended or installed, because of the labour they place upon the staff, their danger, and the fact that all the books on the upper shelves are not only inaccessible, but liable to a certain amount of harm. Modern librarians prefer to enlarge their floor area for the purpose of book-storage, and to provide wall and standard bookcases which are within easy reach of the floor, thus placing the entire stock at the command of both staff and readers without the labour or danger of climbing long ladders. It may be said, generally, that high wall-shelves should never be provided, unless with the provision of an iron gallery half-way up, which can be reached by means of stairs.

144. The question of adjustability is just as important as get-at-ability. In every method or appliance which is introduced for library, or, indeed, any other work, the great principle of movability or adjustability should be preferred to fixity. The power of moving or changing without altering the character or shape of anything is of enormous advantage in every operation, and a very good illustration of the application of this power is furnished by the card catalogue, with its infinite capacity for expansion in every direction. Book-shelves should be as mobile as cards in their own way, and should be so adjustable that a new shelf can be introduced or an existing one removed at any point where such a course is possible. The only advantage which fixed wooden shelves possess is that of comparative[142] cheapness, but this is an advantage which, in a short time, is completely swallowed up in the inconveniences which arise through the impossibility of placing books of varying sizes in strict classified order on the shelves. Besides a great sacrifice of vertical space in some places, it will be found in a rapidly growing library that the carefully gauged shelves, at eight, nine, ten, or twelve inches apart, in every tier, cannot be made to contain all the books which ought to go on these shelves in their order. The day comes when the eight-and-a-half or nine-and-a-half inch book arrives which must go on the eight or nine inch shelf, and, because there is no means of making a slight adjustment, such books must either be shelved out of their order, or placed on their fore-edges. If such shelves are arranged throughout a library at a distance of ten inches apart to provide for contingencies, they will take all sizes up to demy 8vo, but at a great sacrifice of space, especially in the fiction shelves, where most of the books average about seven and a half inches. Any attempt at varying the distances between shelves in every tier will lead to confusion in a strictly classified library. On the other hand, liberal spacing will result in the loss of a shelf in every tier, thereby reducing the total storage space by about one-eighth or one-ninth, according to the number of shelves in a tier. The balance of advantage lies, with movable forms of shelving, and it is strongly recommended that no other kind be specified or ordered.

145. The following diagrams give the usual dimensions for ordinary standard and wall bookcases, and may be taken as the unit from which a library stack can be built up according to any plan of arrangement. Fig. 31 represents a double-sized standard iron bookcase, 7 feet 6 inches × 3 feet 2 inches × 15 inches, which can be joined end to end to form cases of any length, or used in halves to form cases against walls.

Exactly the same dimensions can be used with wooden presses fitted with adjustable brackets or catches. In reference libraries the dimensions may be slightly varied, as the average book which must be stored is rather larger than in lending libraries. But the chief provision for folio and large quarto books should be in special cases arranged round the walls, and it is well to have presses intended for music and quartos fitted[143] with uprights about eighteen inches apart, in order to distribute the weight of the books and facilitate their handling.

Fig. 31.—Double Bay Standard Metal Bookcase (Section 145).

146. For standard reference cases the unit of size should be 7 feet 6 inches × 3 feet 2 inches × 18 inches. Special wall-cases should be the same height, but should have an arrangement for[144] large books in the form of a ledged base projecting at least six inches from the front of the upper part of the case, about three feet above the floor (Fig. 32).

147. Adjustable Shelf Fittings.—The old-fashioned varieties of shelf adjustments for wooden bookcases, such as pegs fitting into holes drilled in the uprights, one and a half or two inches apart, wooden or metal ratchets for carrying bars or rods for supporting the shelves, and similar devices, may be dismissed as unsuitable for modern library purposes. The best-known adjustment is that known as Tonks’, from the name of its patentee. It consists of metal strips, with perforations at inch intervals, let into grooves in the uprights, and designed to carry the shelves on four metal studs or catches, which engage in the slots or perforations. This method requires very careful fitting, as the grooves in the woodwork must be deep and smooth enough to admit the catches, and each metal strip must be accurately inserted so that the slots will come level not only with those adjoining, but with those on the opposite upright. The least carelessness in fitting will cause shelves to rock and buckle, because not supported by catches all at one level. The illustration on page 145 (Fig. 33) will show exactly the form of this fitting. It consists of: shelf supported on standard; perforated metal slip and stud; and groove in wooden standard.

FIG. 32.—Wooden Wall Case with Lodged Base (Section 146).

It should be noted that this variety of shelf fitting does not give absolute adjustability, but only a movement of about an inch up or down, as may be required. Smaller adjustments are impossible by this or any other similar system.

148. There are various other methods of fixed shelf adjustments for wooden bookcases, English, American and German, but none of them possess any particular advantage over Tonks’ variety.

[145]

Absolute adjustability in shelf fittings, as applied to wooden cases, has been obtained in the English method, to be seen at various libraries in England. There are also various American systems.

Both of these forms are similar in principle to the absolute adjustments described under Section 149, but the English system was the first to be patented, and therefore ranks as the pioneer of this type of shelf fitting.

Fig. 33.—Wooden Shelf Adjustment (Section 147).

149. Metal Bookcases with Absolute Shelf Adjustments.—The best and most used English variety of metal bookcase with absolute shelf adjustment is that which has been installed in the public libraries of Worcester, Shoreditch, Huddersfield, Lambeth, Perth, the Patent Office Library, London, Islington and elsewhere. It consists, as shown in Figs. 31, 34 and 35, of strong steel uprights, in which are formed continuous grooves, which carry and support shelf brackets designed to grip at any point by automatic means. These brackets will slide up and down the uprights to any point, while a small controlling lever is depressed, but the moment this is released the bracket will become firmly fixed in place, and will remain there till again[146] moved, whatever weight may be placed upon the shelf which it supports. These brackets can be pushed up without touching the controlling lever, and will always grip at the point where they are left. To push them down, the controlling arm must be depressed as already described. The shelves for this type of case may be either metal or wood, but probably good oak shelves will be found as satisfactory as any. Standard cases made in the dimensions given in Section 145 are usually divided down the middle, at the back of each set of shelves, by means of a wire-work grill. This does not obstruct oversight, light or air, yet serves to prevent books on one face of the standard from being accidentally or otherwise transferred to the opposite face. There are points of safety, convenience and adjustability about metal bookcases which make them preferable to all other forms.

Fig. 34.—Details of Lambert’s Adjustable Metal Shelving (Section 149).

Fig. 34 enlarged

150. A special form of this type of metal bookcase has been designed for book-storage in small spaces, and as applied to the India Office Library, London, and Bodleian Library, Oxford, has been found convenient and economical. The same shelf adjustment is used, but the presses instead of resting on the[147] floor are swung from iron girders, so as to slide easily whenever wanted. These presses are swung closely side by side and drawn out, one at a time, as required.

A somewhat similar plan for increasing the storage capacity was introduced into the British Museum many years ago, the chief difference being that the sliding presses go face to face with the existing standards, one here and there, instead of in solid rows as at the India Office.

Fig. 35.—Metal Shelving, Patent Office Library, London (Section 149).

151. It is not proposed to describe every variety of iron or metal bookcase which has been introduced, such as the Library Bureau, Smith, Lawrence, Cotgreave, etc., and it will be sufficient to mention that in Britain, Germany and America there are several interesting forms used.

152. Special Bookcases.—In Section 146 a form of special wall-case is described which is suitable for storing folio and quarto volumes. In very large libraries it may be necessary to provide additional storage space for bound files of newspapers, extra large folios and prints. Files of newspapers can be stored in a special form of double rack, as illustrated in Fig. 36. As[148] small libraries will bind only the files of local papers, the provision by them of shelves for this purpose need not be a very serious matter.

153. Large folio volumes are best kept flat on sliding trays or shelves. When they are kept upright they are very apt to suffer through the heavy leaves sagging and dragging at the binding. Valuable folios should always be kept in flat positions. A suitable method of storage is to provide a large double-sided case, with a sloping top, which can be used for consulting the books. The shelves should be arranged to slide out and in on runners, and each shelf may have a brass handle on its fore-edge to enable it to be easily pulled out. The dimensions of such a case will depend upon the number of folios to be stored and their size, but the following illustration (Fig. 37) will be found suitable for all ordinary purposes.

Fig. 36.—Rack for Bound Newspapers (Section 152).

This case will store about 150 to 200 folio volumes, according to their thickness, which is ample space for all ordinary municipal public libraries. The shelves of this case should be covered on their upper surfaces with leather or thick cloth. A similar style of rack can be used for storing large collections of prints, the only difference being that the prints would be kept in special boxes as described in Section 307, which would take the place of volumes.

154. In calculating the number of volumes which can be shelved in a given space, the following general rules will be found fairly accurate:—

Nine lending library books will occupy one foot run of space.

Eight reference library books will occupy one foot run of space.

[149]

Allowance must be made, in calculating from plans, for the space occupied by uprights, etc., and care must be taken to reckon dwarf bookcases only according to their capacity. If nine inches are allowed as the average height of books, which will give eight shelves to a tier seven feet six inches high, excluding cornices, plinth or thickness of shelves, then a single-sided case of the dimensions shown in Section 146 will store 216 volumes in a lending library and about 192 in a reference library. A double-sided case will hold 432 and 384 volumes respectively.

Fig. 37.—Section and Elevation of Case for Large Folio Books (Section 153).

155. Racks for Filing.—Wooden racks or iron-pipe racks may be used for a variety of purposes, such as storing unbound newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets, and all kinds of loose papers or bundles. Such racks are best made in a light, open form, so as to reduce the collection of dust to a minimum, while admitting air and light freely.

156. Galleries.—Galleries of iron are sometimes added to reference libraries and in other departments to provide a means of reaching high wall-shelves, and also to give additional accommodation for storage. They are a feature of the large stack rooms of American libraries, wherein the books are all massed together, gallery above gallery and tier above tier. Unless there is some very strong reason, architectural or otherwise, galleries should be avoided in every public library where rapid service[150] of readers is necessary. Save for storing little-used stock, galleries are not recommended in any situation, unless the pressure for book space is very great. When galleries must be provided, care should be taken to provide adequate approaches. If a straight staircase is out of the question, a circular iron one should be provided, wide enough to enable an assistant to go up or down comfortably with an armful of books. In some libraries the circular iron staircases are more like exaggerated corkscrews than proper means of getting up and down from a gallery or floor. It is much better to have stairways in a single flight, which will allow of two persons passing each other, and for this purpose they ought to be at least three feet wide.

In libraries with bookcases of the uniform height of seven feet six inches, long ladders will be unnecessary, but in cases where they must be used, step ladders are preferable to rung ones. A light form of step ladder which is used in many public libraries and shops is illustrated (Fig. 38). For all practical purposes this ladder will be found ample.

Fig. 38.—Lattice-work Steps
(Section 156).

Fig. 39.—Short Steps for Low Shelves
(Section 156).

Short steps for enabling the upper shelves of seven foot six inch cases to be scanned easily are made in various forms, some[151] being folding and others fixed. The variety as illustrated (Fig. 39) will be found useful.

Fig. 40.—Continuous Wooden Step and Handles, Hornsey Central Library (Section 157).

157. In some open access libraries it has been found advisable, in cases where the top shelves are out of reach, to provide a continuous fixed step of wood or iron at the base of each bookcase, to enable readers to reach the upper shelves without using movable steps of the sort figured above. A strong, wide iron rail projecting about four inches or six inches from the case, about nine inches or twelve inches above the ground, has been found useful, especially when associated with a handle fastened to the upright at a convenient height above. The illustration[152] (Fig. 40) will give an idea of such a continuous step and handle applied in wood.

Fig. 41.—Spring Step for Bookcases (Section 158).

158. Detached steps secured to the uprights of bookcases, combined with handles, are very often used for staff purposes in place of the ordinary movable wooden steps or ladders. There is one form with an automatic adjustment which enables the step to spring up flat against the upright out of the way when not wanted as figured in illustration (Fig. 41). It is not necessary[153] to fit this into the uprights, and to cut away the woodwork in order to let it into its place. There is still another variety, used at Hull, Kilmarnock, etc., which is always in position for use, but which also possesses an automatic adjustment enabling it to be brushed aside harmlessly by anyone passing, and to return to its “ready” position at once. This form can be attached to any ordinary wooden upright by means of screws, without cutting away or fitting. The handle supplied with this has a superior shape and grip (Fig. 42).

Fig. 42.—Swinging Step and Improved Handle (Section 158).

[154]

CHAPTER XII
FURNITURE

159. The effect of shabby fittings and furniture on the minds of visitors is not such as will tend to the promotion of discipline, nor will it instil respect for the library into the minds of ratepayers and readers. A fine building, appropriately fitted up, will not only impress the average visitor, but it will cause the citizens to take pride in the library as a civic institution. A fine building shabbily fitted up inside will probably have quite a different effect. While a strong distinction is to be drawn between luxury and propriety in such matters, a much better purpose will be served by procuring good and substantial fittings and furniture than by wasting on extravagant exteriors most of the money available for building.

Fig. 43.—Two-sided Desk Topped Table (Section 160).

160. Reading Tables.—For general reading rooms the tables should not be too long, nor, if readers are to sit on both sides, too narrow. A table to accommodate, say, eight persons, four[155] on each side, should be 8 feet long × 3 feet wide × 32 inches high. The rails of reading-room tables should not be made so deep as to interfere with the comfort of persons using them, and cross rails connecting the table legs near the floor level should never be used, as these only serve as foot-rests. A certain number of tables should be made with desk or sloping tops, as shown in illustration (Fig. 43). Oak, walnut or other hard woods should be used for library furniture. Pitch pine is not recommended, as it invariably splits as the resin dries out.

Fig. 44.—British Museum Reading Table with Desk and Rack (Section 161).

Fig. 45.—Reference Room Table (Section 161).

161. In reference libraries, especially in those designed for students with open access to the shelves, quite a liberal space should be allowed. It has not hitherto been the practice, save in large libraries like the British Museum, to give reference[156] readers as much table room as is desirable, nor to give students the amount of isolation which they require. The general policy has been to seat readers at long tables and separate them from their opposite neighbours by means of a screen, as is done at the British Museum, and in libraries like the Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. This method, which is depicted in Fig. 44, gives a certain amount of seclusion, but it does not provide a sufficiency of room for books and materials. Then, of course, no municipal library can hope to compete with the British Museum in the provision of expensive furniture. To ensure that each student reader will obtain a liberal share of room, combined with comfort and isolation, a system of separate tables in the form illustrated (Fig. 45) is strongly recommended, or some way which will secure the same accommodation. The[157] plan of making the table the unit of space instead of the readers will automatically solve the problem of how much room to give each reader.

Fig. 46.—Periodical Rack on Elevated Platform (Section 162).

The table illustrated (Fig. 45) gives the following accommodation:—

Six square feet of free table-top with a sunk ink-well.

A back board six inches or nine inches high to prevent overlooking by neighbours, and provide space for ruler and pen racks, shelves, clips, etc.

A sloping writing desk can be added if required.

Shelves under the table for holding extra books, materials or an overcoat.

[158]

An extension slide to pull out and form a book-rest or supplementary table for papers.

In addition, if space permits, an umbrella holder can be fitted to the left-hand support of the table, so that each reader will be isolated and self-contained.

162. Periodicals, Tables and Racks.—The question of the methods of displaying periodicals and magazines is discussed in Chapter XXXI., and it is not necessary to consider the matter of policy here. Various kinds of tables have been designed for displaying magazines in covers in a fixed place, and for simply enabling them to be easily read in the ordinary way. Where periodicals are kept in racks, tables in the forms described in Section 160 will be found sufficient. In cases where the tables have to perform the combined function of racks and tables, other arrangements are necessary. There are many forms of rack-table, but only three need be described. The first, which is used in several large libraries, provides a large elevated rack above the table-top, on which the periodicals are placed, so as to free as much as possible of the table surface for readers. This is illustrated (Fig. 46).

Fig. 47.—Periodical Rack on Table Top (Section 163).

[159]

In this form of table-rack the periodicals are not fastened to their places, and, owing to the varied sizes of the periodicals in an elevated position, they give a somewhat untidy appearance to a room.

163. A less conspicuous form, and one equally effective, dispenses with the elevated platform, and the rack simply rests upon the table-top as illustrated (Fig. 47). If necessary, the periodicals can be fastened to the rack by means of cords or chains encased in rubber or leathern thongs, and the contents of each table can be displayed upon an adjustable titles list in the form described in Section 474, fastened to the ends of the rack.

Fig. 48.—Reading Table with Partition for Titles (Section 164).

164. A remarkably effective form of periodical table, which has a separate place and title for each, is shown in Fig. 48.

This makes effective division between readers seated on opposite sides of the table, and tends to prevent conversation and the interchange of periodicals. The periodicals can be[160] fixed by means of chains or cords if thought necessary. At Wolverhampton, Islington, Hammersmith, Croydon and other places this plan of “tethering” magazines is adopted.

165. Periodical racks are made in a large variety of forms, and the following illustrations are typical of most of the devices used (Figs. 49 and 50). Another kind often seen is the “Cotgreave.”

Fig. 49.—Periodical Rack with Magazines Resting on Narrow Shelf (Section 162).

A smaller rack for railway time-tables is illustrated on p. 162 (Fig. 51).

166. Reading Easels.—In connexion with these special tables, book-stands or easels for keeping a number of books open at once will be found useful. It often happens that a student desires to compare his authorities, and an easy means of keeping several books open at a given place is necessary. The book easels shown below are the best form yet devised. Fig. 52, which is made[161] entirely of metal, has the advantage of leaving the table surface practically free and unobstructed, while the automatic means provided for keeping books open at any place, irrespective of the number of leaves, is of great utility.

Fig. 50.—Rack for Odd or Occasional Periodicals, Finsbury Public Library (Section 165).

Fig. 53, constructed of wood, is also a light useful article, but as it rests the book close to the table surface more obstruction is caused, while the leaf-holders are not automatically adjusting.

There are various other forms of wooden reading easels, but they are light articles designed to fold up, and will not carry large reference books with any great degree of security.

167. Chairs.—There is such an immense variety of library[162] chairs that the chief difficulty becomes that of selection. A strong chair with a saddle seat fixed to a special rail instead of direct to the legs is best, and in all ordinary situations arm-chairs are preferable, as they give an automatic spacing of elbow-room which renders calculation unnecessary. It is wise, however, to avoid a very wide arm-chair, and to use small chairs only if space is limited to two feet per reader.

Fig. 51.—Railway Time-table Rack (Section 165).

Fig. 52.—Metal Reading Easel (Section 166).

Fig. 53.—Wooden Reading Easel (Section 166).

168. Where the space between tables is very restricted the chairs should be fastened to the floor, so that there can be no blocking of gangways. One plan is that adopted at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, North Library, Fulham, and elsewhere, of having revolving arm-chairs mounted on pedestals secured to the floor. These have the one great disadvantage of being non-adjustable. Readers cannot pull them a little forward or push them back, and thus such fixed chairs have the defect of all fixed things—they cannot be moved to suit varying conditions. Another form for a crowded situation is a small strong chair of good design anchored to the floor by means of a stout cord[163] (Fig. 54). Each chair has a stout staple screwed under the seat in the centre, and a similar staple is screwed into the floor at a suitable distance from the table front, and corresponding in situation with the staple in the chair seat when placed in position. Lengths of stout window cord are then cut and provided with[164] swivel hooks at either end, which are fastened to the staples on the floor and on the seat, allowing a sufficient length of cord to admit of a fair amount of play and movement when anchored. On granolithic or other cement or concrete floors, fixed chairs cannot be used readily.

This kind of anchorage allows of a chair being moved backwards, forwards or sideways, and readers can get to and from their seats without trouble. Arm-chairs are not recommended for this style of fastening.

All kinds of chairs should be shod with rubber or leather pads to deaden the noise of movement on the floor. There are several varieties of such pads to be obtained from furnishing firms.

Fig. 54.—Chair with Anchorage Attachment (Section 168).

169. Hat rails of metal or wood are sometimes provided under all chairs—a very necessary provision in wet weather. The Continental system of uncovering the head when entering public buildings is not yet very common in the United Kingdom, but readers should certainly be encouraged to do so by having the means of bestowing their headgear placed easily at hand. General hat, coat and umbrella stands or racks are not popular in public libraries, and need not, as a rule, be provided. But some kind of hat and umbrella holders should certainly be provided in connexion with the chairs. A very good combination arm-chair is shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 55). This provides hat and umbrella accommodation, and may also have attached to the left, or both arms, a folding wire-work drop holder, in which to place completed papers, light books or other articles not wanted to litter the table-top (Fig. 56). Of course, such chairs with these additional accessories could only be used in situations where there was plenty of room. In many cases umbrella rails are attached to every table, and this is usually the best plan.

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170. Every library should buy more chairs than are required. This will enable the chairs to be removed for cleaning purposes in batches of a dozen or more, their places being taken by the spare ones. This will prevent the seating accommodation from being reduced during any cleaning operations.

171. Desks.—For staff purposes ordinary school desks will be found ample. These are provided with side flaps and a locking compartment. A Canadian form with shelves and a lock-up desk flap, with pigeon holes, suitable for going against a wall, is a useful type of desk for assistants doing a special class of work, as the desk flap can be locked back out of the way, and so protect the papers or work.

Fig. 55.—Chair with Hat Rail and
Umbrella Holder (Section 169).

Fig. 56.—Chair with Folding Tray or
Shelf (Section 169).

172. For large libraries, where an elevated superintendent’s desk is necessary, the combined desk and drawer cabinet used in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, has many advantages.

173. Lecture Room.—Furniture and fittings for children’s departments and lecture rooms require special consideration. The former are dealt with in Division XIII. In the lecture room the principal fittings are the platform and the fittings connected with the use of the lantern. Platforms should be wide, and should[166] be as long as it is possible to make them having regard to economy of space in the room. A height of three feet is suitable, and the structure should be solid, so that it may not echo or squeak beneath the tread, and a covering of some sound-deadening material—thick cork-lino or cocoanut-matting—is desirable. A counter or fixed table running along the front has been found useful, and to this water, gas, and similar fittings may be connected for use in science lectures; but this counter is not usually required, and it may obstruct the screen and will certainly prevent the use of the platform for dramatic and similar representations for which a clear stage is necessary. Green baize hangings as a background and front curtains of this material are very effective for several purposes. The platform should so be placed that it can be reached by the lecturers without the necessity of passing through the audience.

For lantern screen there is nothing better than a smooth wall finished off in flat white, but where this is impossible a rigid is preferable to a rolling screen as giving a surface free from folds and kinks. Screens should be kept perfectly clean, as dirt injures the effect of slides incalculably. The lantern itself should be of the electric arc variety, as being easy to manage and always ready with little delay, especially where the “direct” electric current is available. It is best installed in a room outside, or a gallery closed in from, the lecture room, the projection being made through an opening. An electric signal which provides at the platform a push for the use of the lecturer, and sounds a “buzzer” or flashes a small lamp in the operator’s apartment, is probably the best form of lantern signal.

The chairs in lecture rooms should be as comfortable as means will allow, and should be fitted with rubber tips to ensure quiet. Quiet floor coverings should be used in the room, and, indeed, all fittings and furniture should produce that ease of body which will allow the mind to occupy itself exclusively with what is going on upon the platform.

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DIVISION VI
BOOK SELECTION AND ACCESSION

CHAPTER XIII
BOOK SELECTION

174. General Principles.—Although a great number of articles and papers have been written upon the subject of book selection, there still seems room for some remarks upon the general question from a standpoint somewhat different from the ordinary. Most of the articles which have come under notice deal with the mere routine of book selection—how to systematize the ordering of books; the work connected with preparing them for public use; the bibliographical side; the question of duplicating popular books; and other more or less mechanical aspects of the matter. The philosophy of book selection and questions connected with the policy of building up libraries have rarely been considered.

175. The first point which occurs is the connexion between a library’s income and its book-purchasing power. As, by law established, most British library incomes are strictly limited, it follows that a similar limitation must govern the supply of books, and that only a selection of new books can be procured, old and out-of-print books taking their chance. The very largest rate-supported libraries are bound by this limitation to buy only a selection from the immense mass of books annually published, and, even if such purchases amount to several thousands of volumes, they represent only a selection. The smaller libraries must of necessity make a selection within a selection, and it follows that, in all cases of libraries supported by small incomes or burdened by heavy charges for the repayment of loans or other purposes, the selection must be carefully made if it is to be representative of all that is best in ancient and modern literature. Another factor which enters into the matter need[168] only be mentioned in order to be dismissed: that is the obvious unsuitability of a very large proportion of the books annually published because of their form (pamphlets and tracts), subject-matter (school-books, bibles, etc.), or special nature (local lists, reissues, directories, etc.).

176. The fund available in most public libraries for the purchase of books can be made the basis for a rough calculation showing at what rate libraries of different sizes should grow. By reference to the tables in Section 31 it will be found that the sum which can be annually expended on books is limited in libraries of all sizes, and that the annual additions must of necessity follow the same limitation.

177. The annual production of new publications in the United Kingdom may be taken at about 10,620 volumes, including everything, and the number of new books in this total may be averaged at about 8300 volumes. It will thus be seen that the British municipal libraries must be selectors rather than collectors of books, because the income of no one of them is equal to buying more than a proportion of the 8300 new books published annually in Britain alone. Some English public libraries, because of their accumulations of old, useless and effete books, resemble gardens choked with weeds; and their efficiency is clogged by the necessity for storing and caring for books which are of no value or interest. The presence of such books in a modern library hinders effective use and administration, because they occupy space urgently wanted for more useful modern books; they add enormously to the cost of cataloguing and charging; and in other ways they use up the resources of the library without adding to its public utility.

178. It may be taken as a somewhat strong statement, that there are not more than 50,000 books, excluding duplicates of popular works and those in more than one volume, worthy of preservation in any public municipal library. The truth is that, of real, living works of literary and human interest, there are perhaps not more than 20,000 in the English language, but the larger figure is preferred in order to cover the world’s literary output fully. Let anyone who doubts this try to compile a list of even 5000 books of permanent literary or other interest, in order to find what a difficult task it is. No doubt the difficulty[169] of selection is the main reason why some public libraries grow up in a haphazard way, because it is a work which demands not only persevering industry, but an encyclopædic knowledge of literature and the contents of books. Nevertheless, this difficulty of selection, and the limitation of the field of selection, are powerful reasons why municipal libraries should abandon the museum or storage ideal, and go boldly for making the workshop or practical utility ideal the one most worthy of realization. In Chapter VIII. it has already been pointed out to what extent British libraries have fostered indiscriminate collecting, often at the expense of efficiency, while the workshop plan of library has been comparatively neglected. Even if municipal libraries had unlimited resources, the wisdom of indiscriminate collecting would be doubtful; especially as many special libraries are doing the work. Specialization should be the watchword of the future, owing to the enormous literary activity of recent times, and the branch of specialization which public libraries should adopt is careful selection of books and equally careful rejection of all which have outlived their day and purpose, or become “dull, stale and unprofitable.” Public library buildings should be erected, not on the principle of storing as many books as can possibly be collected in fifty years’ time, but of restricting the book accommodation to the reasonable limits which careful selection and cautious discarding will fix, and increasing the space available for readers, and giving them only the very best literature, imaginative or instructive, that the world has to offer.

179. It is a hazardous undertaking to lay down any particular rules for the formation of a British municipal library, and especially to state what proportions each class of literature should assume. Equally futile is it to take any figure as the average price which each volume in a library should cost. Although 4s. 5d. has been adopted as an average price, this must only be regarded as a mere basis for a calculation which simply aims at being a suggestion. Practically every public library differs in its needs according to its income and the special industries and character of the people in the town where it is situated.

180. Attempts have been made at various times by different authorities to lay down the proportions of every class of literature which should be represented in public libraries. The[170] following figures are given for what they are worth, and not by any means as a hard and fast guide to be followed:—

Percentages of Classes of Literature
represented in Public Libraries, etc.

Class	000	General Works	3
	100	Philosophy	4
	200	Religion	5
	300	Sociology	7
	400	Philology	4
	500	Science	9
	600	Useful Arts	9
	700	Fine and Recreative Arts	7
	800	Literature	28
	900	History	8
		Biography	8
		Travel	8
			100

There are one or two changes which modern practice will make probable in these percentages, such as increases in the percentages of classes 5-7 and a decrease in class 8. The attention now bestowed upon technical education and the universal provision of music texts will almost inevitably increase these classes at the expense of some other classes.

181. Imaginative literature rightly takes first place in the representation of classes, and when made up of Prose Fiction, Poetry, Music and Painting, accounts for about 33 per cent. of the whole. Although Bacon in his classification of human knowledge places Imagination as represented by Poetry at the end of his scheme, thereby, perhaps, indicating his opinion of its comparative importance, there can be no doubt that as regards popularity, importance and longevity it easily maintains first place in the minds and hearts of a majority of the human race. Whose are the great names in literature? The philosophers, or historians, or scientists? None of these. The story-teller, the song-writer, the singer and the artist completely overshadow all other kinds of literary and scientific genius, and monopolize[171] a foremost position of honour among mankind, because, after all, they are the greatest teachers as well as the most capable entertainers. Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Cervantes, Molière, Balzac, Hugo, Scott, Dickens, Fielding, Thackeray, Burns, Byron, Milton, Beethoven, Handel, Wagner, Titian, Raphael, Turner, Rembrandt, and so on in endless variety, are infinitely greater and more treasured names to thousands of human beings than any of the exponents of more formal and exact knowledge. The story-teller and the singer will be remembered long after philosophies, and systems of history and science are as mouldering and forgotten as the ruins of ancient Babylon. The great majority of the people of all nations will much rather sing with the singers than chop logic with the philosophers, and this is at once a reason and justification for imaginative literature occupying the leading place in all public libraries. It has become the fashion for a certain section of librarians, a few public men and a considerable number of newspapers, to lament in doleful accents the popularity and preponderance of fiction reading in all kinds of lending libraries. But surely Fiction, as the most hardy and flourishing form of literary endeavour, which has been built up by the contributions of some of the greatest minds of all nations, cannot be denied its rightful place because certain narrow-minded persons think it fashionable to denounce the whole policy of public libraries? Whether they choose to do so or not matters very little, since it is quite evident that imaginative literature is going to survive, whatever happens, as it has done with extraordinary strength and vitality, through ages of change and destruction; while philosophical, political and social systems have appeared and disappeared in endless procession. This is a reason why imaginative literature should occupy a foremost place in public libraries, and the theory of the survival of the fittest is amply proved by the vitality of prose fiction, poetry and music, which entitles them to receive the attention due to their importance in the regard of mankind.

182. Best Books.—A live library, in addition to the literary classics in all departments, should only select the best and most popular books. The question of selecting only the very best, or only what is in great demand, should be compromised by always getting the best, with a selection of the most popular,[172] subject to the understanding that the latter are to be discarded when their day is past. Every movement which stirs the public mind and imagination produces a great crop of books, but only a very small proportion of these survive or are worthy of preservation. No one can argue against a moderate supply of such works at the time when public interest is aroused, but objection may be raised to the more ephemeral books of this kind being preserved long after all interest in their subjects has waned. If a municipal library founded in 1750, and steadily collecting for 156 years, could be found, its contents would be composed of enormous quantities of dead and forgotten theology, history, biography, science, fiction and every other class, which would not excite the slightest interest in the minds of five persons in a thousand. The skimmings of such a library would no doubt be valuable, and a fair proportion of it of interest and use to present-day readers, but the bulk of it would be of no practical service to anyone.

183. The general public is comparatively indifferent to bibliographical rarities, and books which are merely curious or scarce should not be bought from the present restricted funds of British municipal libraries. There is a certain advantage in making a small special collection, on the museum plan, to trace and illustrate the evolution and history of printing and book production from the original manuscript forms, but the general connection of incunabula and rare specimens of typography by modern municipal libraries is neither possible nor desirable. There is infinitely more wisdom in spending £50 in a selection of modern works on technical subjects, which would be of immense service to living persons, than in spending the same amount in the purchase of a single rare Bible which will only appeal to a few students of typography. Books must not be regarded as an investment on which a profit can be made by a sale at some future date, because books of bibliographical rarity and much monetary value bought from public funds must remain public property, inalienable for all time. The books bought for a public library should rather be regarded as machinery or plant, to be renewed when necessary and kept thoroughly abreast of the times.

184. Returning to the question of buying and preserving[173] books of temporary interest. There are hundreds of subjects which in their day have excited great public interest, and in connexion with which an enormous literature exists, but which have faded into comparative insignificance with the lapse of time. Take subjects like the Jacobite Rebellions, French Revolution, American Civil War, the Slavery controversy, Crimean War or Disruption of the Church of Scotland. Every one of these subjects was represented in its day by cart-loads of books and pamphlets, but the whole of these have been sifted and epitomized by later historians in works of permanent value, and municipal libraries can simply buy these, and leave the preservation of the contemporary literature, which ranks as original authorities, to the care of the special libraries which exist for the purpose. The literature of the Boer War is a case in point, as also is much of the literature of the Great European War of 1914-1919 already. It is necessary for public libraries, while public interest is keen, to select the best, or what may seem best, from the mass of material pouring from the press, but presently all this will be condensed into a few classics, giving in a comprehensive and sufficient manner every fact of the slightest interest to posterity, and then all the ephemeral works can be discarded in their favour. What remains of any particular interest to students, or even ordinary readers, from the huge literature which arose from the Crimean War? Only Kinglake and perhaps two popular illustrated books. The same holds good with all subjects which have created immense contemporary literatures, and there need not be the slightest compunction about discarding any book when its usefulness is past unless it takes rank as a valuable original authority. At a later stage some suggestions on book discarding or library weeding are given, which may prove helpful.

185. Book selection should be conducted upon the sound principle of buying only the best representative works on all subjects, whatever may be their cost or place of origin. A more haphazard and ineffectual method of building up a public library than buying cheap series and libraries of reprints can hardly be imagined. It is almost equivalent to advising a committee to buy cheap books by the yard in order to fill the shelves, and let the proper representation of great subjects depend on chance.[174] Books published in “series” or “libraries” are too often mere commercial ventures of small literary or other value; and in the case of editions of standard authors, such uniform series are often the worst form in which a poet or novelist can be presented to a reader. They are full of errors and omissions, and whether the series is devoted to art, science, literature or history, it may be taken for granted that they are simply temporary text-books which possess the doubtful advantage of being bound uniformly, and the undoubted disadvantage of being often uniformly erroneous and misleading. Of course this statement does not apply all round, because there are several well-known series of works of quite exceptional value. Connected with this a word may be permitted on the nationality of text-books. Patriotism in literature and library management may be a fine thing, but it must occasionally lead to sorry results in a public library. The best and most recent scientific works, whether on biology, geology or any other subject, should be bought without regard to the nationality of the authors.

186. Popular Books.—The duplication of popular or temporarily popular books is a policy to be adopted with the greatest of care. In some libraries the plan of multiplying copies of every book which becomes fashionable is carried to such an extreme that some injury must be done to the general work of the library by unduly fostering one class of literature at the expense of all the other classes. The practice of adding six or more copies of a new novel has the effect of decreasing the funds available for the purpose of buying other works, and it certainly gives rise to misleading conceptions of the stock of books possessed by the libraries. A reported stock of 5000 novels may easily mean an actual stock of only 3000 different works in libraries which buy three, six or twelve copies of a single popular work. This makes a vast difference in the field of choice offered to borrowers, because, after all, popular novels of the ordinary much-advertised class soon have their little day, and the duplicates become dead stock. For this reason caution should be exercised in the supply of extra copies of temporarily popular books, and a good plan is to provide a special stock or accessions book in which they can be registered and, when necessary, written off without complicating the other records of the library.[175] These remarks apply almost exclusively to the duplication of novels and magazines. There is less need to trouble about other classes.

187. Replacements and Out-of-print Books.—Replacement of worn-out books is a recurrent, necessary and serious expense in most libraries, and one which gravely reduces possible expenditure upon new books. Before replacing an old, dirty or defective book it should be carefully considered if it is worth retaining in the library. Closely connected with the question of replacements is the matter of out-of-print books.

Most librarians in libraries of several years’ standing have been confronted with the difficulty of obtaining copies of certain books which have been allowed to go out of print by their publishers. The number of such books is rapidly increasing, and among them are works which have taken a recognized place in English literature, as well as many others which have obtained a certain value by being enshrined in the catalogues of hundreds of public and other libraries. In course of time many of these books are worn out, and it becomes necessary to replace them with new copies. It is then the discovery is made that fresh copies cannot be obtained, and the librarian receives a long list of books from his bookseller marked with the ominous sign “O/P.” A temporary relief is sometimes obtained by advertising for second-hand copies. Even these are becoming more difficult to procure, and in the case of novelists like G. P. R. James, James Grant and Harrison Ainsworth, sometimes only three-volume editions are reported.

It is not suggested that all out-of-print books should be reprinted, nor do we suggest that the fact that a book has appeared in many library catalogues is conclusive evidence of its permanence; but there are certainly numbers of books which are frequently mentioned in other books, or in the newspapers, which have been allowed to run out of print; and the combined efforts of librarians might induce publishers to republish these. Usually speaking, however, the fact that a book has remained out of print for more than a year or two is evidence of the absence of public demand for it, and seeing that novel-writing is probably at a higher general level now than at any earlier period (in spite of the lack of individual Fieldings or Jane Austens), we are of[176] opinion that such out-of-print books may be withdrawn from the library records, and the gaps left made good by more modern works of equal merit and greater popularity. After all, and especially so far as imaginative literature is concerned—and these remarks apply almost exclusively to that—it is no part of the work of the library to revive what public opinion, the soundest ultimate guide, has permitted to perish; more especially as booksellers charge exaggerated prices for out-of-print novels, whatever their merit may be. In the case of some of the older books which form landmarks in literary history, it is absolutely necessary to have well-edited modern reprints for the benefit of the students who are being formed in every school in the kingdom.

Books which are purchased to replace worn-out copies need not receive new numbers, but may be given the numbers of the books which they replace.

188. Doubtful Books.—Censorship on books admitted into public libraries has been exercised much more frequently and rigorously in the United States than in the United Kingdom. Instances are common in both countries of books being excluded for sectarian or political reasons by Public Library Committees. Any action of this kind on the part of a Public Library Committee should be confined to protecting junior readers from coming into contact with demoralizing literature, and preventing the library from becoming a dumping-ground for feeble and trashy books of all kinds. No one can object to a committee electing to sit in judgment on any book which may be thought to endanger public decency, or inculcate ideas of morality counter to those generally adopted, but such explorations in search of the improper should not be confined to fiction. The question of buying certain free classics, such as Rabelais and Boccaccio, is quite another matter. All libraries ought to possess them, provided reasonable means are taken to keep them out of the hands of the immature reader. As regards what constitutes maturity, every library authority will doubtless frame its own rules.

189. Reference and Lending Books.—A difficulty is sometimes experienced in deciding for which department books of a certain class are most suitable. About such quick-reference works as[177] encyclopædias, dictionaries, annuals, directories, atlases, large art works, etc., there can be very little doubt, but expensive scientific books, large works of travel, theological and historical works of a certain kind offer a problem much more complicated. As reference libraries are at present constituted and used in many English towns, the plan of putting all expensive books of whatever nature in the reference department simply means that they are seldom used, and might as well not have been bought. In properly conducted open access reference libraries, which are liberally and intelligently conducted, a good deal may be said in favour of placing such books there. They will at least be freely accessible without the formality of readers having to make written application, while the advantage of a reference book being always on the premises is not to be overlooked. No harm can result from placing all kinds of expensive text-books in the lending department, and if they are not on loan they are always available for the use of any reference reader who wants them. The advantage to a student of being able to take a recondite and expensive text-book home with him for comparison with, and as an aid to, his own books is undeniable, and it is the fact that, by co-operation, the citizens of a town can thus procure otherwise unattainable books, which makes the Public Libraries Acts so valuable, and adds force to the plea for placing expensive works within easy reach of the majority of readers. Local circumstances will in most cases modify the conditions under which reference and lending libraries are built up and differentiated. In some places there is no separation, save in the catalogue, between the reference and lending libraries, and in others both departments are not only kept apart, but subdivided into open, special and store collections. All this is very much a matter of administration to be settled by each responsible officer in accordance with his or her knowledge of the particular local conditions. We deal with this question more in detail in the chapters on the Reference Library (Division XII.).

190. Special Collections.—The most necessary work of the library, after it has formed its general collection, is to collect local literature; this we deal with in a separate chapter (XXVIII.). Most public libraries possess some kind of special collection in[178] addition to the purely local collection. Examples of these may be specified in the Shakespeare and Cervantes collections at Birmingham; the Burns and Scottish poetry collections at Glasgow; music, shorthand, Chinese books, etc., at Manchester; fishes at Cheltenham; Welsh literature at Cardiff, etc. The literature of special local industries should always be collected. Representative works in foreign languages, particularly French, German and Italian, should also be collected, in addition to the Greek and Latin classics; and the large and more cosmopolitan cities may endeavour to represent every foreign literary output so far as their circumstances warrant and their finances permit them to do so.

191. Sets of Periodicals.—Some discrimination must be made in regard to the collecting of periodicals. Larger libraries settle the question by securing and preserving sets of all magazines of value which they can accommodate; but obviously the expense of the practice, the ephemeral character of much of this type of literature, and the large amount of shelf space it requires, makes that practice impossible for any but the largest libraries. Ephemeral, but otherwise wholesome, magazines may be used unbound for issue in lending libraries to good purpose; or may be bound and so used—but not replaced when they are worn out. Only periodicals which have a reference value should be retained in sets, and then only where the geographical situation of the library warrants that course. A smaller town near a great town library may reasonably refer its readers to that library for sets of expensive periodicals. We are led to this view by the facilities now at the disposal of librarians through the Library Association. That body now publishes the Subject Index to Periodicals, hitherto called The Athenæum Subject Index—an invaluable and indeed indispensable tool for all librarians—and by an arrangement with the Central Lending Library for Students, Tavistock Square, London, W.C., any article recorded in the Subject Index may be borrowed for a payment of about fourpence. The Index, moreover, gives a list of the principal periodicals, and is a rough guide to assessing their permanent worth as well as an admirable key to their contents.

192. Music.—Nearly every public library of any importance[179] has now established a music collection, and the general experience is that it is one of the most popular and appreciated sections in the library. The provision should not at first extend to more than collections of pianoforte, violin, organ and vocal music in the form of bound volumes; operas, oratorios, cantatas and other vocal scores; the scores of orchestral and chamber compositions; and text-books on theory, history and various instruments. Single compositions in sheet form should be very sparingly introduced, if at all, unless collections of the songs of some of the best modern composers are formed and bound up into volumes. A large stock of compositions in single sheets, however bound or secured, would prove a great trouble in a public library. The compositions of local composers should be collected, however, and bound in volumes. In providing shelving for music, it is well to have special cases with uprights only eighteen inches apart, as it is very difficult to consult long rows of thin quarto books, when on shelves three feet long, owing to the weight of the books. This applies to quarto and folio books generally.

193. Engravings.—Save in book form, very few public libraries have done much in the way of collecting engravings, prints and etchings, unless they have been of local interest. Considerations of expense would deter most British public libraries from attempting this kind of collection, and it is rather a pity, because many prints and engravings which illustrate historical events have immense practical value. Portraits, too, are extremely valuable and useful, but as means are at present provided, the whole matter is one of pure speculation and sentiment. But perhaps the day will come when public libraries may be able to collect specimens of the etched work of great artists; engravings after the greatest masters; engravings and prints depicting leading events in the national history; and pictures illustrating costume, ceremonials, manners and customs, disappearing buildings, great engineering works, topographical changes, etc. The value of these graphic aids to the furtherance of knowledge is enormous, and it is a pity some systematic effort cannot be made to record, preserve and index them more generally and effectively than has been done in depositories like the British Museum.

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194. Photographs.[3]—Collections of photographs which deal with local matters should be made by every public library (see Chapter XXVIII.). Certain American libraries also collect photographs of great pictures and those which represent various natural forms. Studies for the use of artists are also collected, mounted on cards, and made accessible, and some of these attempts to popularize art should be made in British libraries. Photographs are comparatively cheap, and almost every kind of picture and study can be obtained in this medium. What is particularly required is some kind of practical list or guide, drawn up by an expert, from which libraries could make their selections. A systematic list covering the various arts of design, historical painting, sculpture, architecture, etc., would be of great service. Photographs of great public events, ceremonials, buildings, etc., and of eminent personages, would have to be purchased according to means, and, as every one knows, this might be made an endless matter. There is no reason, however, why public libraries should not preserve good photographs of the most eminent authors, artists, musicians, scientists, military commanders, royal personages, etc. Portraits of such persons are not always easy to find in books, when required, especially as the A. L. A. Portrait-Index is limited in scope; therefore a separate collection of portraits in alphabetical order would be a valuable addition to a public library. In this connexion it is useful to remove portraits of celebrities, views, etc., from worn-out books and magazines, and preserve them along with all other appropriate matter.

[3] The matters thus marked are dealt with more fully under the Division on Reference Work, but are included here for the sake of giving a complete conspectus of the material involved in selection.—Ed.

195. Lantern Slides.[4]—In libraries which possess lecture-rooms or other suitable accommodation, it is often desirable to collect lantern slides on such subjects as local topography and history, or on topics which illustrate bibliographical and kindred subjects. These will be found very useful, and as the collection increases, sets can be lent out to societies or individuals who require them for lectures. The cost of storing and cataloguing the slides is not great, and they are undoubtedly a valuable addition to the pictorial side of literature.

[4] The matters thus marked are dealt with more fully under the Division on Reference Work, but are included here for the sake of giving a complete conspectus of the material involved in selection.—Ed.

196. Trade and other Catalogues.[5]—A most useful department,[181] though somewhat difficult to maintain, is a collection of the best and most representative catalogues and price lists of all kinds of commodities. Several points crop up in connection with the work of forming such collections, and the question of policy is here perhaps the most important. Many firms will not give their price lists; and it may be considered invidious to select firms, thereby suggesting favouritism and unfair advertising. In some industries prices, ideas and designs are regarded as trade secrets, and doubtless jealousies might be stirred up in some quarters. But the fact remains that illustrated catalogues of books, furniture, ironmongery, machinery, pottery, art publications, scientific apparatus, etc., are often more generally useful than text-books or special trade and professional journals. Even pattern books of wall-papers, bookbinders’ cloths, leather-work, typefounding and so forth are of immense service to special students, and an effort should be made to strengthen the literary side of suitable subjects by a judicious selection of the best illustrated trade catalogues.

[5] The matters thus marked are dealt with more fully under the Division on Reference Work, but are included here for the sake of giving a complete conspectus of the material involved in selection.—Ed.

197. Books for the Blind.—Many libraries now store and circulate books for the blind in the Braille and Moon types, and in this work some of them have been aided by the expert advice and actual donations of special societies interested in the well-being of the blind. There is quite an extensive and rapidly growing literature for the blind in the special raised type required for finger-reading, and a library of a few hundreds of volumes makes quite an imposing show. The question of space will arise in many places, because books for the blind are, as a rule, only embossed on one side of each page, and, owing to this embossing and the size of the type, some books make several thick quarto volumes. No space could, however, be devoted to a more humane or valuable purpose than the storage of books for the blind, and every encouragement and support should be given to the movement; though it would undoubtedly be the most effective method of ministering to the needs of the locality to subscribe for a constantly changing supply of books to one of the institutions for the blind which make a speciality of this kind of work.

198. Maps.[6]—In addition to all local maps and plans, old and new, sets of the Ordnance and Geological Survey maps on the[182] one-inch scale should be added. Atlases will exist in the reference library as a matter of course, but maps of the United Kingdom suitable for tourists, cyclists, anglers, climbers, etc., should be added as freely as possible.

[6] The matters thus marked are dealt with more fully under the Division on Reference Work, but are included here for the sake of giving a complete conspectus of the material involved in selection.—Ed.

199. Discarding Effete Books.—The question of periodically weeding out a public library, with the object of keeping it always up to date and also making room for fresh additional stock, has already been partly discussed in Sections 107, etc., and 174, etc., and it is a most important part of modern public library policy. The periodical reprinting of class lists affords a valuable opportunity for considering the claims of certain kinds of books to remain idle on the shelves, where they not only fill the space which should be available for more live works, but they obstruct the general work of the library. Every public library receives at one time or another books which must for reasons of policy be catalogued. Such books, for example, as are donated, are expected to be placed in the library and duly catalogued. There are generally hundreds of such books in every large library which have no permanent value; and these, and also the mistaken selections of committees and librarians, should be discarded as soon as possible. There are also, of course, the books which go out of use automatically, such as those noted in the subjoined Rules, and those others which manage to slip into libraries when the custodian is dreaming of higher things, or is misled by the erroneous titles adopted by authors. The weeding-out process should be continuous, and when catalogues are being reprinted, the books are being rearranged, or any kind of fresh movement is being made, a specially favourable opportunity is afforded to prune the growth of weeds which will somehow manage to infest the best-regulated libraries in spite of every care. The sentimental museum idea is, of course, responsible for much of the tendency to collect and preserve everything, on the Byronic theory, no doubt, that

A book’s a book, although there’s nothing in’t,

and, as a library is a repository for books, then all books should be collected and preserved at any hazard or sacrifice, be they good or bad.

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200. Rules for Discarding Useless Books:

Science.—All general works which are not epoch-making, but merely recapitulations of ascertained facts, should be discarded when twenty years old. Care should be taken not to discard any book, however old, which has not been efficiently superseded. All ordinary text-books of every science, save mathematics and occult science, may be discarded when twenty years old. Nicely illustrated textbooks, especially of zoology and botany, should be discarded with much caution.

Useful Arts.—The same rule applies to this class as to Science, save that patents, specifications, recipes, books on household arts, and all finely illustrated books should be retained.

Fine Arts.—Books must be discarded very sparingly in this section. Collections of engravings, finely illustrated books, and collected music, not at all.

Theology and Philosophy.—Philosophical works, particularly systems of philosophy, should never be discarded. Historical and explanatory text-books may be discarded as they become superseded by later works. Old theology, commentaries on the Bible, sectarian literature and sermons should be discarded very freely. Theological controversies should never be collected by general municipal libraries unless of local interest.

Social Science.—This class requires frequent revision, especially in the sections devoted to political economy, government, law and other topics. Books on questions of momentary interest can be replaced by historical résumés. Constantly changing subjects like law, government and political economy should be kept up to date as much as possible, and the historical record kept by means of recent histories. Questions like parliamentary reform, slavery and chartism are illustrations of once burning topics which may just as well be represented by a few modern histories as by actual collections of the very voluminous literature attached to each subject.

Language and Literature.—Old grammars may be discarded without risk, and also ordinary school dictionaries. Books[184] on literary history, bibliography and librarianship are tools, and should never be discarded.

Prose Fiction.—Novelists mentioned in literary histories should never be discarded. Minor novelists of all lands, who are not mentioned in literary histories, whose works have remained unissued for a year or two, should be promptly discarded. So, also, should merely topical novels of no permanent interest, which libraries are often forced to buy under pressure. Continuous popularity is a good reason for retaining any novel, provided it is not immoral.

Poetry and Drama.—Collective works should never be discarded unless efficiently superseded. But poets and dramatists of a day who are no longer read may be safely discarded, but no one who is named in histories of literature.

History and Geography.—Historical works which are mere résumés, and not themselves original authorities, may be discarded with comparative safety; but the matter of illustrations again applies here with considerable force. Works of travel of the ordinary globe-trotting description may be discarded when ten years old, along with all kinds of guidebooks, save those which are local. But here, again, beware of discarding illustrated books. Pioneer works of exploration should be retained. Old gazetteers are, as a rule, lumber, but some of the illustrated ones, like Lewis’ for Britain, may be retained for their armorial illustrations. Histories which are literary classics, like Hume, Robertson, Clarendon, should be kept, even if superseded by more accurate modern works.

Biography.—Collected biography should never be discarded. The biographies of nonentities in the individual biography class may, however, be weeded pretty freely and frequently after they are from forty to fifty years old.

Miscellaneous.—Discard old encyclopædias with care; newspapers or directories freely. Retain all local matter of this kind however. Be extremely chary about storing inferior magazines of the miscellany order. A long set of an old magazine of this kind is a positive incubus, and most modern magazines of the snippet order are not worth house-room. Wear them out in the reading rooms by all means, but do not preserve them.

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General.—All works that are defective or dirty should be discarded, or at any rate withdrawn from general circulation. A book defective in a plate or a section or two can sometimes be completed by an application to the publisher for the missing part, which is usually forthcoming at small cost. Dirty books are the bane of municipal lending libraries, and a ruthless policy in regard to them is a public economy. Especially does this remark apply to classic fiction: clean, or fresh, copies should always be available, even if at the cost of obtaining fewer works of inferior fiction. Many of the criticisms levelled at libraries have been due to neglect of this matter; sometimes due, we are sorry to say, to want of money to buy the necessary replacements.

201. None of the foregoing recommendations for discarding, except the last, applies to bibliographical rarities or curiosities; to works of recognized literary merit which are mentioned in histories of literature; to books which are of local interest; or to special collections. They apply simply and solely to the rank and file of literature, the 50 per cent. of the fruits of the press which become stale through effluxion of time. The question of how to dispose of discarded books can generally be decided by some local circumstance. Discarded text-books of science are generally of little value to anyone, and need not be preserved at all. But faded works of travel, history and biography may find interested readers in workhouses, hospitals and prisons. To these, or similar institutions, the discarded books of a public library could be transferred. It is hardly necessary to point out that books which are not good enough or fresh enough for a central library, are not good enough for a branch library. Books proposed to be withdrawn permanently should be submitted to the library committee, and lists of the discarded books may be printed in the bulletin, if there is one, or, failing that, in a separate form. It is useful that readers likely to be interested should be afforded an opportunity of judging the proposals and action of the library committee in its work of weeding out the library. Any serious objection to a book being removed should be considered, and nothing should be done without the[186] utmost deliberation, because, as yet, we have not achieved a public library index expurgatorius of books not worth preserving. When this comes, the task will be immensely lightened. Books which are discarded should not be permitted to leave the library unless stamped, to indicate that they are rejected. A stamp with a movable dating centre should be used, with the words,

“Public Library, Discarded,”

in a circle.

202. Practical Methods of Selection.—The number of books which have been published to aid in book selection is somewhat large, but few of them, save, perhaps, Sonnenschein’s publications and Nelson’s Standard Books, make any attempt to indicate the best editions of particular authors. It may be assumed that every entry in these lists of best books represents a work which is recommended on account of its merit, literary or otherwise. But something more than this is required by the librarian who is faced with the task of building up a great modern library, and is limited in his selection to books of the most enduring merit, and those which most completely and accurately record the state of the science or subject to which they are devoted. It is a very easy matter to simply order books, like the millionaire who fitted up his library by the superficial yard, thereby tempting a bookseller, entrusted with a large order for books of a uniform size in fine bindings, to bind up some hundreds of copies of a cheap “remainder,” in different covers, but with varying titles, in order to provide in dummy form the necessary mileage of books required. Public library formation can hardly be undertaken in this happy-go-lucky manner.

203. The principal aids to the selection of new books are The Library Association List of Best Books, which is an annotated, classified and evaluated list published weekly in The Athenæum, and The A. L. A. Book-List, which serves similarly for American books, and the journals of various kinds, which review and advertise books as published. Comparatively few of the literary journals review books in a manner helpful to the would-be book-buyer, because they do not describe the contents of them so much as criticize their literary style, production, printers’ errors, etc. Generally speaking, a modern book review is what it was in the old days of the Edinburgh and Quarterly, simply a peg on which to hang the reviewer’s opinions on the subject[187] of the book, and on which to display his knowledge and critical insight. Moreover, it must be remembered that publishers advertise their wares in literary journals, and that fact may, in some cases, not be without influence upon the views of the critics. The subject of the book, its style of treatment, scope, and details of its contents are left to be divined by the reader. Some of the modern publishers’ monthly catalogues are much more helpful than any journal or review, because they add brief descriptive notes to each entry of a new book. A plain, practical note outlining the principal contents and intention of a book is worth pages of critical remarks to the librarian book-buyer. The following is a list of the journals most used by librarians in selecting new books:

General:
	Athenæum (Annotated)	-	Weekly and monthly, most of them giving a summary list of new books, reviews, and advertisements.
	Literary World
	Publishers’ Circular
	Saturday Review
	Nation (London)
	Spectator
	Times Literary Supplement (Annotated)
	Bookman.
	Bookseller.
	Book Monthly.
	A.L.A. Book List. (Annotated.)
	Nation (New York).
	Publishers’ Weekly (New York).
Special:
	Nature (scientific books generally).
	English Mechanic (technical books)
	Engineer (technical books).
	Current Foreign books can readily be found in the lists issued by Brockhaus, Hachette, Williams & Norgate, Dulau, etc.

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In addition to the very uncertain and unsatisfactory method of thus choosing new books by their titles, because it amounts to very little else, some arrangement is required whereby libraries can obtain non-fictional books on view, so that they can be properly examined before being ordered. Publishers are generally willing to submit new publications to librarians through their booksellers, and visits to large book stores should be made frequently. A good plan is for a public library to maintain one or two subscriptions with a large commercial circulating library, through which new books may be read or examined.

204. The best guides to the titles of old books, which, of course, include modern books other than recent publications, will be found in Appendix II., p. 507. Here again, no doubt owing to the largeness of the field, notes in aid of choice are badly wanted. Nelson’s and Sonnenschein’s books are the best in this respect, if the special annotated lists in the latter are excepted.

Bibliography

205. General:

Bascom, E. L. Book Selection. In A.L., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of chapter xvi., 1915.

Bisseker, H. (Ed.). Students’ Library, 1911. Kelly.

Brown, J. D. The Small Library, 1907. Routledge.

Cutter, W. P. Report of the A.L.A. Committee on Book-buying. A.L.A. Bulletin, vol. iv., p. 506. 1910.

Dana, J. C. Book Selection. In his Library Primer, 1910, p. 43.

Fletcher, W. T. Selection and Purchase of Books. In his Public Libraries in America, p. 68.

Spofford, A. R. Book for all Readers, 1909. Putnam.

Wheatley, H. B. How to Form a Library, 1902. Stock.

206. Special:

Kroeger, A. B. Guide to the Study of Reference Books.

Coe, E. M. Fiction [With list of articles]. U.S. Education Rept., 1892-93, vol. i., p. 933.

Great Fiction Question. Greenwood’s Year-Book, 1897, p. 107.

Library Association. Public Libraries and the Distribution of Embossed Books to Local Blind Readers, 1913.

Richardson, E. C. Reference Books. U.S. Education Dept., 1892-93, vol. i., p. 976.

For articles, see Cannons, G. 1-24, Book Selection.

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CHAPTER XIV
ACCESSION METHODS

207. Donations.—The first British Public Library Act did not make any provision for funds with which to buy books: it trusted entirely, with the innocence of extreme youth, to the benevolence of donors. As these somewhat rare persons did not respond in an encouraging manner, the Acts were forthwith amended, and communities given power to purchase books from such limited funds as were left after loans, the librarian’s salary and the lighting bill had been settled. Although every library benefits now and then from the generosity of donors of books and money, donations cannot be regarded as a reliable source of a constant and liberal supply of good and suitable books. Indeed, it may be asserted that more printed rubbish is bestowed annually on public libraries than anything of a useful or valuable sort. Touting for gifts is to be avoided. It is not only undignified, but often results in failure and a certain loss of status to the library which employs a general begging policy.

State papers and public documents are carefully preserved in many libraries in the United Kingdom. Many of the best parliamentary papers and reports can be obtained free on application to H.M. Stationery Office in London, but other valuable public documents, such as some of the Record Office publications, the Ordnance Survey, etc., must be purchased. The parliamentary papers were not given free to public libraries till after years of agitation dating from the time of Edwards in 1850. A selection of these papers will be found sufficient for most libraries, and this can be made from the lists published by H.M. Stationery Office.

208. All donations, good, bad or indifferent, should be duly recorded in a special DONATION REGISTER, and the donors should be thanked in the usual manner, either by means of a special circular or post-card. For the majority of donations a printed[190] post-card of acknowledgment is commonly used, and specially valuable gifts are acknowledged by special resolutions conveyed in a handsome form. It would seem better, however, if a letter-form of acknowledgment were generally used. Gratitude, even for small gifts, costs little, and its expression frequently leads to more valuable gifts. The usual wording for acknowledgments runs thus:

	LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your gift named below, and to convey to you the most cordial thanks of the Library Committee.
	Yours faithfully,
		Chief Librarian.

Fig. 57.—Donation Acknowledgment (Section 208).

209. The ruling of a donation book (Fig. 58) will be found to answer all ordinary purposes.

The donation number is a progressive number which should be given to all gifts, particularly books, because, when pencilled on volumes which are duplicates or not stocked for any reason, it is easy to ascertain their history by turning up the number in the donation book. Most of the other headings explain themselves. When books are added to the library as donations it is well to carry into this record the accession numbers given to them in the columns provided. In the “Remarks” column can be entered any information as to the disposal of the gifts. In some libraries a book is used which resembles a receipt book in having a counterfoil and a tear-off sheet forming a thanks circular or acknowledgment form. This style of book is less satisfactory than the form of record given above.

9″					9″

Dona- tion No.	Date of Re- ceipt.	Date of Acknowl- edgment.	Descrip- tion of Donation.	No. of Vols.	Name and Address of Donor.	Accession Number.		Remarks.	13″
Dona- tion No.	Date of Re- ceipt.	Date of Acknowl- edgment.	Descrip- tion of Donation.	No. of Vols.	Name and Address of Donor.	Lend.	Ref.	Remarks.

Fig. 58.—Donation Book Ruling (Section 209).

210. Readers’ Suggestions.—There are comparatively few suggestions of new books made by readers in public libraries, most of the recommendations coming from the librarian and the committee. It is customary to provide a book in which members[191] of the public can enter their suggestions, or slips as described in Section 48. Slips are perhaps preferable to books, as they are more likely to be used by the public and are handier to arrange. Failing them, an ordinary foolscap folio book can be provided, ruled with columns across two pages showing:

Date of Sugges- tion.	Author.	Title.	Date of Publ.	Vols.	Price.	Publisher.	Name and Address of Proposer.	Decision of Commit- tee.

Fig. 59.—Proposition Book Ruling (Section 210).

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211. From the suggestions of the public and the committee and his own study of reviews, catalogues, journals, etc., the librarian prepares a list of book suggestions for the use of the committee, or special books sub-committee, as the case may be. This list may either be entered and kept in the suggestions book, or written out on separate slips (5 inches × 3 inches), which can be afterwards used as a catalogue for staff use. The latter plan is preferable as being more economical and convenient, especially when worked in conjunction with suggestion slips, of the same size, instead of a proposition book. Some committees require a duplicated list of the suggestions to be prepared and circulated before they meet in order that every member may have the opportunity of examining it beforehand. In a few cases the librarian also (or as an alternative) obtains all the books on approval from the bookseller, and the committee chooses from direct examination of the books themselves. This method involves extra labour, especially in large libraries, but is very successful and well worth the trouble. When the list has passed the committee, with whatever modifications they may have imposed, the books can be ordered as described below in Section 213. These suggestions are the main source from which the library is built up, and ought to be prepared and examined with great care. Arising out of this part of the subject is the question of buying books at sales. This is often done through a bookseller or other agent, who receives a marked copy of the catalogue, with the prices to be offered written against each entry, and for his services in attending and bidding 5 to 10 per cent. is generally allowed. Of course, at any book-sale in the same town as the library, the librarian may attend, but an experienced agent is more likely to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately few public libraries can afford to compete with booksellers and private collectors in the saleroom, and practically this source of accessions is not of much use to the majority of British public libraries.

212. Subscription Books.—Sources of book supply in many libraries are the works coming regularly as annuals, or from societies to whose publications the library subscribes. Patents’ specifications, parliamentary reports and other periodical publications also furnish a constant, if somewhat irregular, stream of additions. There should be some simple means of checking[193] these annual and irregular publications, and a series of cards, somewhat similar to those suggested for magazines in Section 475, will be found very convenient. It is hardly necessary to add that these check-cards should be examined regularly for overdues and omissions. Societies which issue only occasional monographs are the most difficult to trace and check. With annual publications of a definite kind, such as Whitaker’s Almanack, there is no trouble whatever.

213. Ordering.—The routine of book ordering should be reduced to the simplest possible system. There are plenty of elaborate methods designed to find out and penalize defaulting assistants, booksellers, etc., but they are not recommended. The very simplest plan is to place the proposition slips, when dealt with by the committee, in a special tray, or, better, drawer of a card cabinet, in a compartment marked “Books passed by committee,” and then to enter them in an ordinary order-sheet, of which a carbon copy should be taken, or which may be copied later. These order sheets (8 inches × 10 inches) may be ruled thus:

Liberton Public Library
19
M will oblige by supplying the following books according to the terms of contract, as soon as possible, accompanied by an invoice setting out the price of every single book, and the discount. Unless otherwise specified, the latest edition of each book is required.
Author.	Title.	Date.	Publisher.	Price.	Remarks.

Fig. 60.—Book-order Sheet (Section 213).

In the “Remarks” column of the duplicate copy can be entered the date of receipt when a parcel of books is being marked off.

Libraries which use vertical and similar filing systems preserve[194] carbon copies of order lists and file them under appropriate headings, and dispense with the ruled order sheet given above, merely accompanying the lists with a general official order. Where a duplicated (cyclostyled, mimeographed, etc.) list of suggestions is used for the committee, a copy of this, with the committee’s adjustments, can be used as an order list. The bookseller’s invoice and the books are checked by the suggestion slips, and discrepancies of price or books not supplied are revealed immediately. The use of books for entering lists, or for other library record purposes, is gradually giving way to the more mobile and economical systems to be obtained by the use of expansible files and card indexes.

Fig. 61.—Book-order Tray (Sections 213, 214).[7]

[7] This illustration is retained because it illustrates a satisfactory method of guiding; but this type of tray is inferior to a special drawer in an “administrative” card cabinet. In such a cabinet drawers would be assigned to (1) “Suggestions,” which would include the slips for all books noted by the librarian for consideration; suggestions by experts; by staff; incomplete works, etc.; (2) “Committee Drawer,” containing books “Submitted to the Committee,” and “Passed,” and “Rejected” (with reasons), or “Postponed for further inquiries, etc.”; (3) “Order Drawer,” with guides showing “Ordered,” “Overdue,” “Not Supplied” (when O.P., Binding, Reprinting, etc., the reasons should be stated and dated); and (4) “Additions,” containing the slips of books added during the year, after the slips have been used in the cataloguing processes. After a year the slips are worked into the Staff Catalogue.

214. When the order has been placed with the bookseller, the slips aforesaid should be transferred to a compartment marked “Books on order,” and as the books are supplied they can be withdrawn and placed in a compartment marked “Books for catalogue.” This will leave a residue of overdue books, which can be overhauled at intervals, and, when the books have been written for, transferred to a compartment marked “Books overdue.” A simple form of tray is one divided by means of projecting guides to indicate the contents of each compartment (Fig. 61).

This plan of keeping check of books on order, at every stage, will be found much simpler, and more accurate and convenient than any system of book-keeping.

[195]

215. Accession Work.—When a parcel of new books arrives from the bookseller, or a monthly lot of donations is passed, it is wise to enter each lot in a special book called the routine book, which will determine the order of numbering, and give rough figures of cost and number of additions to all departments. This book is ruled as shown in Fig. 62A, and explains itself.

Each new book should be carefully examined for imperfections, etc., before being numbered. The books should next be arranged in order of invoice or donation book, with the lending, reference, branch and children’s books in separate lots.

216. The ACCESSION NUMBERS must next be applied, and it should be made a rule in every library, whatever method of classification is adopted, to give the books a progressive accession number irrespective of a class number. A special book for recording these numbers can be obtained, one each for the lending and reference libraries, ruled as follows:

Progressive No.	Class Letter.	Author and Title.	Class or Shelf No.
1	A	Balfour.Manual of Botany.	200
2
3
4
5
and on to 50 per page

Fig. 62.—Accessions Number Book (Section 216).

This will show at a glance the next vacant number to be used, and also, roughly, the total number of books in the library at any given moment, when the withdrawals are counted off. The accession numbers should be written on the back of the title-page of each book, and should also be written against the entry on the invoice, and also, if a donation, in the appropriate column of the donation book. In cases where the stock book is also the order book, the accessions number book can be dispensed with, and the accessions routine book used alone.

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Date.		Source: Donor or Vendor.	First Word of Invoice.	Accession Number.		Number of Vols.		Cost.						Replacements.				Remarks.
Date.		Source: Donor or Vendor.	First Word of Invoice.	Lend.	Ref.	Lend.	Ref.	Lend.			Ref.			Vols.	Cost.			Remarks.
1901
June	6	Tompkins	Balfour	1-50	1-25	50	25	7	10	0	6	5	0	6	0	19	0
„	12	Donations	See Book	51-56	..	6	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Fig. 62A.—Accessions Routine Book (Section 215).

[197]

217. According to the system of charging used, each book should be dealt with further, as regards appropriating its equivalent card, indicator book, or ledger page, as may be needful. Assuming that card charging is the adopted plan, a specially made manila book-card must be prepared, having the accession and class number and letter, and its author and title written on its front surface, as below:

E 100·3.

Balfour.

Manual of Botany.

Fig. 63.—Manila Book-card.

This form of book-card may be ruled to take the borrowers’ numbers and dates of issues, and is one of the main accessories of the card system described in Sections 380, 381.

218. With indicators it is necessary to write the accession numbers on to the indicator books or tabs according to the style of indicator used. In forms such as the Elliot, the number is already fixed on the indicator frame and requires no additional book tab or block. Other processes connected with book numbering for shelving purposes are considered in Chapter XXV.

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219. The next process is the LABELLING of the books. Reference library books are usually labelled on the inside of their front boards with the library book-plate, which may be an artistic device, or a simple label bearing the town’s arms and a few of the chief rules of the department (Fig. 64). Some libraries add a label ruled in columns to show dates of issue, but this does not seem particularly useful. Lending library books are labelled with a label pasted down on the inside front board bearing the chief rules for borrowers, and with a date label secured to the front fly-leaf by means of a narrow line of paste on the inner edge.

Metropolitan Borough of Islington.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

———

NORTH BRANCH.

Manor Gardens, Holloway Road, N.

——————

Hours. Lending Library OPEN from 10 a.m. till 9 p.m. on week-days. Closed on Sundays and public holidays.
Renewals. The issue of a book may be renewed for a further period of 15 days on notice being given either personally or in writing. See Rule 19.
Reserved Books. Any book may be reserved on payment of one penny to cover expenses. See Rule 20.

Fig. 64.—Book Label with Abstract of Rules (Section 219).

This enables the label to be removed easily when stamped all over with dates of issue. An ordinary form of date label is ruled in columns to take the dates as shown in Fig. 65.

220. It is a very important matter, affecting not only libraries, but general readers of all kinds, that books should be issued by their publishers in a condition of readiness for immediate use. The absurd and most inconvenient practice of publishing novels, reference books, and indeed any kind of work, with uncut leaves, is one which causes more waste of time and irritation than almost anything else in connexion with books. A publisher may be justified in sending out special books in limited editions with uncut edges and leaves unopened, but every other kind of book should have its edges neatly and smoothly trimmed and its leaves[199] cut in readiness for the reader. It is cleaner and more convenient, because nothing holds dust like the rough top and fore-edges of books cut with a paper-knife, and for this reason alone it should be made a penal offence to issue books with unopened leaves.

TIME ALLOWED FOR READING.
——————
This book is issued for 15 days and must be returned on or before the date last stamped below. If kept beyond that date, a fine of one penny per week or part of a week will be incurred.

No person shall take out of any library any book for use in any house in which there is a person suffering from infectious disease, and no person shall return to any such library any book which has been exposed to infection from any infectious disease, but shall at once give notice to the Medical Officer of Health that it has been exposed to infection and leave the book at the office of the Medical Officer of Health or hand it over to any Sanitary Inspector acting on his behalf, who shall cause the same to be disinfected and then returned to the Library, or destroyed.

Fig. 65.—Book Label for Dates (Section 219).

221. The STAMPING and CUTTING of the leaves of new books is the next step in the preparation of books for public use, and as regards the latter it is necessary to insist that the leaves should be cut close into the backs of the books, and not left uncut to within half or quarter an inch of the back, so that an ugly tear is made whenever the book is fully opened. A half-cut book is an abomination not to be endured.

Various kinds of stamps are used, ink, embossing and perforating. The ink ones, usually applied with rubber dies, are not altogether satisfactory when used with ordinary aniline endorsing inks, as they can be erased. Printers’ ink is more satisfactory, but it takes some time to dry, and requires metal[200] stamps to make it work easily. The ink used by the Post Office when applied with a metal stamp has been found effective. But for their expense embossing stamps are most satisfactory, and of the various kinds of these the perforating stamp formed like a pair of nippers is the easiest to apply. Whatever kind of stamp is used, it should be made in a circular shape, as in whatever position it is applied it never appears to be upside down or uneven, as other shapes too frequently do.

Every library should select certain fixed pages on which the stamps are to be placed, and every title-page, first and last pages of text, and all plates should be stamped. As a rule too much time is wasted in stamping library books, and it will be found quite enough to stamp the places indicated, and use a blind embossing stamp for the boards.

222. In certain books it is desirable to insert special labels for the instruction of the staff and as a gentle warning to readers; for example:

Notice to Staff.—This book is to be examined on its return to the library.

Fig. 66.—Warning Label.

This is especially useful in the case of books containing plates of art subjects which are liable to theft or disfigurement. In reference books with large folding maps or plates, the following label, which is attached to each map or plate, has proved to be serviceable:

CROYDON PUBLIC LIBRARIES

FOLDING MAP OR PLATE.

Please unfold carefully to avoid tearing. In re-folding, be sure you return to original folds. If a reference book, ask the assistant to do it for you, rather than re-fold wrongly.

Fig. 67.—Map or Plate Label.

[201]

223. Process Checking.—Many libraries keep a complete check of the processes through which a book passes from its receipt from the bookseller to its issue to the public, in the form of a rubber stamp which is impressed upon the back of the title-page, or at some other convenient place in the book:

Numbered	Cut	Stamped
Process Lab.	Cut	Stamped
Book-plated	Catalogued: Slip:	Checked
Book-plated	Annotation:	Checked
Accessioned	Book-carded	Finally Checked and Issued

Fig. 68.—Process Stamp (or Label).

The assistant carrying out the process initials the appropriate blank on the impression, and this protects the good assistant from blame for the faults of the occasional careless one. What is more important, they show anyone coming newly to a batch of books the stage that has been reached in their preparation. Such stamps are readily applied and have justified their use.

224. Stock Book.—This is the chief inventory or record of the books contained in the library in every department, and should be ruled to show the history of each book from its accession till its final withdrawal. The intermediate renewals of worn-out copies need not be shown in this book, as they complicate the record immensely, and there seems no strong reason for doing more than noting the total number of renewals in the Routine book, as already shown in Section 215. There are many forms of stock books, but for ordinary British municipal libraries the variety shown in the ruling on page 202 will be found, with its accessories, sufficient for every purpose.

There does not seem to be any obvious advantage in the American plan of printing the accession numbers progressively down each page, as this renders it impossible to re-enter a new book which has been given a withdrawn number, and there is a[202] decided waste in using up from two to a hundred lines for a single work.

225. The stock book now recommended can be adapted to any system of classification, and when used in conjunction with the annual abstract sheets, ruled as shown on page 203, the exact position of the stock can be easily and correctly ascertained.

Accession No.	Author.	Brief Title.	Place of Publication.	Date of Publication.	No. of Vols.

Fig. 69.—Stock Book.—Left-hand Folio (Section 224).

Class No.	Binding.	Donor or Vendor.	Date of Receipt.	Price.			Special Collection.	With- drawal Book.	Remarks.

Fig. 70.—Stock Book.—Right-hand Folio (Section 224).

226. Every book received into the library must be entered in the stock book, and a separate book should be kept for the reference and lending departments and for every branch. Provision is made in the ruling for any needful cross-reference to[203] the withdrawals book, and a column is used for any remarks required to elucidate further the history of each book. When a book is discarded it is entered in the withdrawals book, and the page of this register is carried into the appropriate column in the stock book against the original entry. The stock is balanced annually by the withdrawals of the year being deducted from the total stock as ascertained at the end of the previous year, plus all the new additions. Withdrawn numbers should be applied to new books so as to prevent blanks in the sequence, and such books must be entered in the stock book in its chronological order, and cross-references made between the new and original entries.

Page.	Classification.											Total Vols.	Bought.	Pre- sented.	Special Collections.
Page.												Total Vols.	Bought.	Pre- sented.

Fig. 71.—Abstract Sheet for Stock and Withdrawals Book (Section 225).

This will cause occasional irregularities in the progression of numbers of the “Accession Number” column, but it is of much greater importance not to allow extensive blanks to occur in this series of numbers, as it will play havoc with the charging system later on. This method of re-entering cannot be done with stock books having the accession numbers ready printed, and librarians who use this form must make up their minds to run a very irregular series of numbers.

The whole process can be simplified by the use of a loose-leaf accession book, such as the “Kalamazoo” ledgers. As entries become congested by the substitution of other books for those originally stocked, the congested pages can be re-written as a whole. A register of discarded books or withdrawals can be kept[204] in a separate book—the superseded loose leaves can be filed for the purpose—if it is thought desirable to retain a record of books which have been and are no longer in the library; but experience has not shown such a record to have any precise or practical value.

As in many other branches of library work, the tendency in accession work is to elaborate every process instead of simplifying it. The simplest form of stock book is that in which a specially ruled counterfoil is attached to the order forms and which only provides columns for accession and class numbers, author, title and number of volumes, publisher and price. After all a stock book need only be a kind of record of origin, and not necessarily an epitome, of the catalogue and classification. What a stock book is wanted for is to answer the questions: When did a given book come; where did it come from; what did it cost; how many books does the library possess; what are they about? There are so many records which give other particulars, that it seems a great waste of time to repeat a large number of the particulars given in some stock books.

227. The withdrawals book is the necessary complement of the stock book, and in it is entered every book permanently withdrawn from the library for any reason. The ruling given below will show better than description its scope and style:

Date of Withdrawal.	Accession No.	Author.	Brief Title.	No. of Vols.	Class No.	Remarks.

Fig. 72.—Withdrawals Book (Section 227).

228. Opinion is divided upon the point, but usually in the enumeration of the stock of a library no distinction is made between a book and a pamphlet; every number represents a[205] complete item, and the number of pages or subject-matter does not enter into the question; and for accession purposes a pamphlet is a book or work, whether it extends to a hundred pages or consists of but four. The Library Association, however, recommends that in presenting public statistics of stocks, as in annual reports, there should be differentiation, and gives the following definitions:—

“Volumes mean books as they stand on the shelves. Pieces mean separate works or parts (each usually having a separate title-page to itself, as with pamphlets, parts of periodicals, and the like); Papers mean lesser items, usually with less than five pages, as broadsides, cards, flysheets and prints; Items mean volumes, pieces, papers, lantern-slides, and generally all material constituting the library stock, and issued to readers; Works mean whole literary productions, whether in several volumes or only one piece. Thus—ten pamphlets bound together, with five broadsides at end, are one volume, ten works or pieces, fifteen items. A dictionary in twenty volumes would count as twenty volumes, pieces, and items, but one work, and in a sense one book. Having regard to these definitions, care should be taken in recording the number of volumes in a library, to reckon ten pamphlets or parts as the equivalent of a single volume.”

Thus, if these definitions are used, it becomes necessary to indicate in the stock book the nature of the work; and to differentiate, one or two symbols, such as p.=pamphlet, and pr.=paper, may be used; but if “p.” is written in the “No. of vols.” column to distinguish a pamphlet, that will meet all usual statistical purposes.

229. Bibliography

Dana, J. C. Accessioning Books. In his Library Primer, 1910, p. 81.

Dewey, Melvil (Ed.). Library School Rules, 1892.

Hitchler, Theresa. Accession Record, etc. In her Cataloguing for Small Libraries, 1915. A.L.A.

Hopper, F. F. Order and Accession Department. In A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of chapter xvii., 1911.

Jast, L. S. Accessions: The Checking of the Processes, 1909.

Roebuck and Thorne. Primer of Library Practice, 1914, chapters ii.-iii.

Sayers and Stewart. Book Selection and Ordering; Stock Register. In their The Card Catalogue, p. 66.

For articles, see Cannons, G 25-38, Preparation of Books for the Public, etc.

[206]

DIVISION VII
CLASSIFICATION AND SHELF ARRANGEMENT

CHAPTER XV
GENERAL PRINCIPLES

230. There is no more important factor in the success or failure of a library than the classification of the books and other material which form its stock. Some of its uses are obvious to all readers; it brings the material on any subject together on the shelves and in the catalogues, and thus enables both librarian and reader to find books readily. It has perhaps more important uses, because it enables the librarian, and, in open access libraries, the public, to see the strength and weakness of the collection in various subjects; it, therefore, is the only safe and certain means by which a collection may be built up systematically, and may be increased. Moreover, it reveals the obsolete books merely by bringing them into juxtaposition with books which have superseded them. An imperfectly classified, or unclassified, library resembles chaos as nearly as anything can do, and want of classification renders the finest collection of books useless except to those who already know all there is to be known of any subject in which they may be interested, and who can therefore find the books by other means. In short, classification is the primary key to the assembling, finding, selecting and rejecting of books.

231. It does even more than this. A perfectly or logically constructed classification shows not only all the books on a specific subject; it also shows the books which are collateral, or which lead up to and away from the books on the specific subject. It will readily be seen, therefore, that the art of classification is one that must be understood thoroughly by the successful librarian. Several text-books have been written on the[207] subject, and many articles have appeared advocating and criticizing various systems. We can give here only a few leading principles, and afterwards discuss the four or five schemes which have received most general recognition from librarians.

232. A classification system is a schedule or chart of knowledge arranged in some logical order according to a definite and invariable principle. It may arrange knowledge by the historical, evolutionary or some other and arbitrary principle, the choice of which is governed by the rule that the order must be that which is likely to be most serviceable to the users of the system. Special classifications, such as would be necessary for arranging a collection devoted to anthropology, or botany, or archæology, naturally arrange books by the principle that will most clearly reveal their place in the progress of the subject required; and such classifications are merely mentioned in passing. General classifications, which are the business of the average librarian, usually proceed in the historical or evolutionary order we have mentioned. Their schedules consist of a number of general headings, called main classes, which are divided by gradual steps in accordance with the principle employed until specific headings are reached. Each of the headings must be exclusive of subjects not falling into it. In order to make this schedule of subjects practicable as a method of book arrangement, it must be equipped with special “form” classes which accommodate general works, or works of so composite a character that they do not fall into any of the subject-classes; and which also accommodate such aggregates of literature as poetry, drama, essays, fiction, etc., which are arranged by the form in which the matter in them is presented, and not by the matter itself. Further, it must be equipped with a notation, or a shorthand sign for each of the subjects in the schedule, which may be written on the backs of books and in catalogues instead of the names of the subjects. And, finally, it must have an index which forms a ready key to the tables of the schedule, and is a convenient means of checking the placings of books.

233. The theory of classification is a subject for special study, and there are rules of order, division, nomenclature, notation and indexing which it is useful for a library student to master. As the ground has been covered adequately by the text-books[208] which are listed at the end of this, we shall do better to refer the reader to these rather than to enlarge this manual by attempting to traverse it.

234. Bibliography

Brown, J. D. Library Classification and Cataloguing. 1912. Grafton.

Dana, J. C. Classification. In his Library Primer, p. 84.

Edwards, Edward. Memoirs of Libraries, 1859, vol. ii., p. 761.

Graesel, A. Classification. In his Bibliothekslehre. 1902.

Jast, L. S. Library Classification. In Greenwood’s Year Book, 1900. p. 21.

Richardson, E. C. Classification: Theoretical and Practical. 1901. Ed. 2, 1912. Scribner’s.

(Contains the best bibliography.)

Sayers, W. C. Berwick. Introduction to Library Classification. 1918. Grafton.

—— Canons of Classification. 1915. Grafton.

—— Short Course in Bibliographical Classification with reference to the Decimal and Subject Systems. 1913. Library Association.

For articles, see Cannons, H 1-108, Classification.

[209]

CHAPTER XVI
SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES

235. General.—Quite a large number of classification schemes have been devised by Continental, American and British librarians, in which books are systematically arranged according to related topics, and marked with a notation which enables any book or subject to be distinguished by its number, for purposes of shelving, charging and cataloguing. All the best known of such schemes are described in Brown’s Library Classification and Cataloguing, London, 1912, and Richardson’s Classification, 1912. It will be sufficient to name the methods of Harris, Perkins and Smith, of America; Edwards and Sonnenschein, of England; Bonazzi, of Italy; and Hartwig, of Germany, which, with the well-known French scheme of Brunet, make up a very interesting collection of international contributions to the classification of books. None of these schemes has been adopted in more than one or two libraries, so that their influence is not sufficiently widespread to make any further description of their details necessary. It will be much more helpful to librarians if the chief systems of classification are mentioned which fulfil every requirement as regards notation and general adaptability to library work, and have been put to the practical test of application in a number of libraries. The systems in question are the Decimal, Expansive, Library of Congress, and Subject, the last being English and the three others American. They have all been extensively adopted, and each exists as a separate printed work, with an index; a vital part of any method of classification. Unprinted schemes, or those of merely theoretical interest, have little practical value, and though every librarian has his own ideas of classification, and generally manages to graft them on to the scheme of some other person, and even to nibble away at his original, it is the best and wisest course to adopt a complete, printed and accessible scheme with as little modification as possible.

[210]

236. Decimal Classification.—This, the most popular and widely applied of all library schemes, was invented by Melvil Dewey in 1873-76, and has been under revision constantly since, and is to-day in general a very extensive and detailed scheme. As indicated by its name, the system is divided into groups of ten, and from this results an admirable notation of unlimited expansibility.

Its chief divisions are as follows:

000 General Works.
010	Bibliography.
020	Library Economy.
030	General Cyclopædias.
040	General Collections.
050	General Periodicals.
060	General Societies.
070	Newspapers.
080	Special Libraries.
090	Book Rarities.
100 Philosophy.
110	Metaphysics
120	Metaphysics: Special Topics.
130	Mind and Body.
140	Philosophical Systems.
150	Mental Faculties, Psychology.
160	Logic.
170	Ethics.
180	Ancient Philosophers.
190	Modern Philosophers.
200 Religion.
210	Natural Theology.
220	Bible.
230	Doctrinal Theology.
240	Devotional and Practical.
350	Homiletic, Pastoral, etc.
260	Church Institutions.
270	Religious History.
280	Christian Churches and Sects.
290	Non-Christian Religions.
300 Sociology.
310	Statistics.
320	Political Science.
330	Political Economy.
340	Law.
350	Administration.
360	Associations.
370	Education.
380	Commerce, etc.
390	Customs, Costumes, Folklore.
400 Philology.
410	Comparative.
420	English.
430	German.
440	French.
450	Italian.
460	Spanish.
470	Latin.
480	Greek.
490	Minor Languages.
500 Natural Science.
510	Mathematics.
520	Astronomy.
530	Physics.
540	Chemistry
550	Geology.
560	Palæontology.
570	Biology.
580	Botany.
590	Zoology.
600 Useful Arts.[211]
610	Medicine.
620	Engineering.
630	Agriculture.
640	Domestic Economy.
650	Communications.
660	Chemical Technology.
670	Manufactures.
680	Mechanic Trades.
690	Building.
700 Fine Arts.
710	Landscape Gardening.
720	Architecture.
730	Sculpture.
740	Drawing, Decoration.
750	Painting.
760	Engraving.
770	Photography.
780	Music.
790	Amusements.
800 Literature.
810	American.
820	English.
830	German.
840	French.
850	Italian.
860	Spanish.
870	Latin.
880	Greek.
890	Minor Languages.
900 History.
910	Geography and Description.
920	Biography.
930	Ancient History.
940	Europe.	-	Modern.
950	Asia.
960	Africa.
970	N. America.
980	S. America.
990	Oceanica and Polar Regions.

This scheme is published separately as Tables and Index of the Decimal Classification and relative Index for arranging and cataloguing Libraries, Clippings, Notes, etc., by Melvil Dewey, Boston, and has been largely expanded, with an elaborate additional apparatus of form and relation marks, by the Institut International de Bibliographie, Brussels.

237. Expansive Classification.—This system was devised by Charles Amni Cutter, a well-known American librarian, and author of the code of Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue, which has been a text-book for many years. The Expansive Classification has not been adopted to any extent in Britain, but is printed in a series of seven classifications of progressive fullness, and completely indexed, and so becomes one of the methods to be studied.

An outline of the scheme follows:

A	Generalia
A	General works
Ae	General encyclopædias
Ap	General periodicals
Ar	Reference works
As	General societies
B-D	Spiritual sciences
B	Philosophy
Ba-Bf	National philosophies and Systems of philosophy
Bg	Metaphysics
Bh	Logic
Bi	Psychology
Bm	Moral philosophy
Br	Religion, Natural theology[212]
Bt	Religions
Bu	Folk-lore
Ca	Judaism
Cb	Bible
Cc	Christianity
Cce	Patristics
Ce	Apologetics, Evidences
Cf	Doctrinal theology
Ck	Ethical theology
Cp	Ritual theology and Church polity
Cx	Pastoral theology
Cz	Sermons
D	Ecclesiastical history
Dk	Particular churches and sects
E-G	Historical sciences
E	Biography and Portraits
F-Fz	History
F	Universal history
F02	Ancient history
F03	Modern history
F04	Mediæval history
F11-F99	History of single countries (using local list)
Fa-Fw	Allied studies, as Chronology, Philosophy of history, History of civilization, Antiquities, Numismatics, Chivalry, Heraldry
G	Geography, Travels
G11-G99	Single countries (using local list)
Ga	Ancient geography
Gf	Surveying and Map-making
Gz	Maps
H-K	Social sciences
Hb	Statistics
Hc	Economics
He	Production
Hf	Labour
Hi	Slavery
Hj	Transportation
Hk	Distribution, Commerce
Hm	Money
Hn	Banking
Hr	Private finance
Ht	Taxation and Public finance
Hu	Tariff
Hw	Property, Capital
Hz	Consumption
I	Demotics, Sociology
Ic	Crime
Ig	Charity
Ih	Providence
Ik	Education
J	Civics, Government, Political science
Ju	Constitutions and Politics
K	Legislation and Law
Kd	Public Documents
L-Q	Natural sciences
L	General works, Metrics
Lb-Lg	Number and space
Lb	Mathematics
Lh-Lr	Matter and force
Lh	Physics
Lo	Chemistry
Lr	Astronomy
M-Q	Matter and life
M	Natural history
Mg	Geology, incl. Mineralogy, Crystallography, Physical geography, Meteorology, Palæontology
My	Biology
N	Botany
	Cryptogams
	Phanerogams
O	Zoology
	Invertebrates
P	Vertebrates
Pg	Mammals
Pw	Anthropology, Ethnology, Ethnography
Q	Medicine
R-Z	Arts
R	General works, Exhibitions, Patents
Rd-Rg	Extractive arts
Rd	Mining
Re	Metallurgy
Rf	Agriculture
Rh	Horticulture
Ri	Silviculture
Rj	Animaliculture
Rq	Chemic arts
Rt	Electric arts
Ry	Domestic arts[213]
Rz	Food and Cookery
S	Constructive arts, Engineering
Sg	Building
Sj	Sanitary engineering
Sl	Hydraulic engineering
St	Transportation and Communication
T	Fabricative arts, Machinery, Manufacturing and Handicrafts
U	Protective arts, i.e. Military and Naval Arts, Life-preserving, Fire-fighting
V	Athletic and Recreative arts, Sports and Games
Vs	Gymnastics
Vt	Theatre
Vv	Music
W	Fine arts, plastic and graphic
We	Landscape gardening
Wf	Architecture
Wk	Casting, Baking, Firing
Wm	Drawing
Wp	Painting
Wq	Engraving
Wr	Photography
Ws	Decorative arts, including Costume
X-Yf	Communicative arts (by language)
X	Philology
X	Inscriptions
X	Language
Y	Literature
Yf	English Fiction
Z	Book arts (making and use of books)
Za-Zk	Production
Za	Authorship
Zb	Rhetoric
Zd	Writing
Zh	Printing
Zk	Binding
Zl	Distribution (Publishing and Bookselling)
Zp	Storage and Use (Libraries)
Zu	Description (Zu Bibliography; Zx Selection of reading; Zy Literary history; Zz National bibliography)

This scheme is published separately as Expansive Classification: the first six Expansions, by C. A. Cutter, Boston, 1891, etc., and a seventh expansion of the work is being issued under the supervision of W. P. Cutter, nephew of the author, but no parts have been published for several years.

238. Library of Congress.—This is the elaborate and detailed scheme applied to the great Library of Congress, and is the work of its classification department. Its outline (1909) is based upon that of the Expansive scheme of Cutter which is shown above, but is varied to meet what are thought to be the special needs of the American national library. Each of the classes has been published separately in convenient form with an index.

The main classes and divisions of the Library of Congress Classification are as follows:

A	General Works. Polygraphy
AC	Collections. Series. Collected Works
AE	Encyclopædias
AG	General reference works (other than encyclopædias)
AI	Indexes
AM	Museums[214]
AN	Newspapers
AP	Periodicals
AS	Societies. Academies
AY	Year-books. Almanacs
AZ	General history of knowledge and learning
B	Philosophy. Religion
B-J	Philosophy
B	Collections. History. Systems
BC	Logic
BD	Metaphysics
	Introductions to Philosophy. Treatises
	Epistemology. Theory of knowledge
	Onotology
	Cosmology.
	Teleology
	Philosophy of religion
BF	Psychology
BH	Esthetics
BJ	Ethics
BL-BV	Religion. Theology
BL	Religions. Mythology. Cults
BM	Theology. Generalities
BN	Historical (Church history)
BQ	Exegetical (Bible, etc.)
BS	Systematic (Dogmatics. Apologetics)
BV	Practical (Pastoral. Homiletics. Liturgies)
C	History—Auxiliary sciences
CA	Philosophy of history
CB	History of civilization (general and general special only)
CC	Antiquities. General
CD	Archives. Diplomatics
CE	Chronology
CJ	Numismatics
CN	Epigraphy. Inscriptions
CE	Heraldry
CS	Genealogy
CT	Biography
D	History and Topography (except America)
D	General history
DA	British history
	20-690 England
	700-749 Wales
	750-890 Scotland
	900-995 Ireland
DB	Austria-Hungary
DC	France
DD	Germany
DE	Classical antiquity
DF	Greece
DG	Italy
DH-DJ	Netherlands
	1-399 Belgium and Holland
	901-921 Belgium
	901-916 Luxemburg. Holland
DK	Russia
	100-400 Russia. General.
	401-438 Poland
	451-470 Finland
	751-999 Russia in Asia
DL	Scandinavia
	1-81 Scandinavia. General
	101-296 Denmark
	301-398 Iceland
	401-595 Norway
	601-996 Sweden
DP	Spain and Portugal
	1-462 Spain
	500-902 Portugal
DQ	Switzerland
DR	Turkey and the Balkan States
DS	Asia
DT	Africa
DU	Australia and Oceania
E-F	America
E	America (general) and United States (general)
F	United States (local) and America outside of U.S.
G	Geography. Anthropology[215]
G	Geography. Voyages. Travel (general)
GA	Mathematical and astronomical geography
GB	Physical geography
GC	Oceanology and oceanography
GD	Biography
GF	Anthropogeography
GN	Anthropology. Somatology. Ethnology. Ethnography, (general). Prehistoric archæology
GR	Folk-lore
GT	Culture and civilization. Manners and customs
GV	Sports and amusements. Games
H	Social Sciences. General
HA	Statistics
HB	Economics, Theory
	Economic history.
	National production, economic situation (by countries)
HD	Economic history. Organization and situation of agriculture and industries
	Land. Agriculture
	Corporations
	Labour
	Industries
HE	Transportation and communication
HF	Commerce, including tariff
HG	Finance
	Money
	Banking
	Insurance
HJ	Public finance
HM	Sociology. General and theoretical
HN	Social history. Social reform
	Social groups
	Family, marriage, women
	Associations, secret societies, clubs, etc.
	Communities: Urban, Rural
	Classes. Aristocracy, third estate, bourgeoisie, peasantry, labouring classes, proletariate, serfs
	Nations. Races
HV	Social pathology. Philanthropy. Charities and corrections
HX	Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
J	Political science. Documents
	1-9 Official gazettes
	10-99 United States
	100-999 Other countries.
JA	General works
JC	Theory of state
JF	Constitutional history and administration. General
JK	United States
JL	Other American States
JN	Europe
JQ	Asia, Africa, Australia, and Pacific Islands
JS	Local Government
JV	Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration
JX	International law
K	Law
L	Education. General works
LA	History of education
LB	Theory and practice. Educational psychology. Teaching
LC	Special forms, relations, and applications
LD	Universities and colleges
LE	Other American
LF	Europe
LG	Asia, Africa, Oceania
LH	University, college, and school magazines, etc.
LJ	College fraternities and their publications
LT	Text-books (general only; special text-books go with their subjects, B-Z)
M	Music[216]
ML	Musical literature
MT	Theory
N	Fine Arts. General
NA	Architecture
NB	Sculpture and related arts
NC	Graphic arts in general. Drawing and design
ND	Painting
NE	Engraving
NF	Photography (in art). See TR
NK	Art applied to industry. Decoration and ornament
P	Language and Literature
	Philology and Linguistics
PA	Classical philology
	1-199 General
	201-891 Greek languages
	1001-1151 Mediæval and modern
	2001-2899 Latin language
PB	Modern European languages. General works
	Celtic language
	Romance languages
	Teutonic languages
	General
	Gothic
	Scandinavian
PE	English
PF	Frisian
	Dutch
	German
PG	Slavic languages
	Lithuanian
	Lettish
PH	Finnish
	Hungarian
	Albanian
	Basque
PJ	Oriental languages. General works
	Hamitic
	Semitic
PK	Indo-Iranian
	Armenian
	Caucasian
PL	Languages of Eastern Asia, Oceania, Africa
PM	Hyperborean languages
	American languages
PN-PV	Literary History. Literature
PZ	Fiction
Q	Science. General
QA	Mathematics
	801-999 Analytic mechanics
QB	Astronomy
	281-349 Geodesy
QC	Physics
	81-119 Weights and measures
	801-999 Terrestrial magnetism and meteorology
QD	Chemistry
	901-999 Crystallography
QE	Geology
	cf. BG, GC
	351-499 Mineralogy and petrology
	701-999 Palæontology
QH	Natural history
	201-299 Microscopy
	301-999 General biology
QK	Botany
QL	Zoology
	801-999 General anatomy and embryology
QM	Human anatomy
QP	Physiology
QR	Bacteriology
R	Medicine. General
RA	State medicine. Documents Public health
	Medical climatology. Hospitals
	Jurisprudence
RB	Pathology
RC	Practice of medicine
RD	Surgery[217]
RE	Ophthalmology
RF	Otology. Phrenology. Laryngology
RG	Gynecology and obstetrics
RJ	Pediatrics
RK	Dentistry
RL	Dermatology
RM	Therapeutics
RS	Pharmacy and materia medica
RT	Nursing
RV	Botanic, Thomsonian and Eclectic medicine
RZ	Miscellaneous schools and arts
S	Agriculture. Plant and Animal Industry
	General agriculture, soils, fertilizers, farm implements, etc.
SB	General plant culture, including field crops. Horticulture. Landscape gardening and parks. Pests and diseases
SD	Forestry
SF	Animal husbandry. Veterinary medicine
	Fish culture and fisheries. Angling
SK	Hunting. Game protection
T	Technology. General
TA-TH	Building and Engineering Group
TA	Engineering. General. Civil engineering
TC	Hydraulic engineering (harbours, rivers, canals)
TD	Sanitary and municipal engineering
TE	Roads and pavements
TF	Railroads
TG	Bridges and roofs
TH	Building construction
	9111-9600 Fire prevention, fire extinction
TJ-TL	Mechanical Group
TJ	Mechanical engineering
TK	Electric engineering and industries
TL	Motor vehicles. Cycles. Aeronautics
TN-TR	Chemical Group
TN	Mineral industries
TP	Chemical technology
TR	Photography
TS-TX	Composite Group
TS	Manufactures
TT	Trades
TX	Domestic science
U	Military Science. General
UA	Armies. Organization and distribution
UB	Administration
UC	Maintenance and transportation
UD	Infantry
UE	Cavalry
UF	Artillery
UG	Military engineering
UH	Minor services
V	Naval Science. General
VA	Navies. Organization and distribution
VB	Administration
VC	Maintenance
VD	Seamen
VE	Marines
VF	Ordnance
VG	Minor services
VK	Navigation
VM	Shipbuilding and marine engineering
Z	Bibliography and Library Science

[218]

239. Subject Classification.—This, the most recent British scheme, is the work of the author of this manual, James Duff Brown; is a complete, homogeneous, detailed and well-indexed scheme, and is selected for notice as being generally applicable to British libraries of all kinds, although it is not likely to oust the Decimal scheme from its priority of place. It is based on the principle of placing all topics in a logical sequence; of keeping applications of theory as close as possible to the foundation theory; and of providing one place only for each important topic. The complications and intersections of human knowledge prevent anything more than an approximation to this ideal, but it has been found in actual practice to be a classification scheme which works easily and harmoniously.

The following extracts from its valuable introduction will give the best view of the principles on which the system is based:

“The Order of the Main Classes.—The reasons which determined the adoption of a certain sequence of classes in this system may be briefly set forth here, instead of any argument or attempt to justify the order. The battle which has raged, and is still raging, among scientists, as to the best and most desirable order in which to arrange the great branches of human knowledge in order to produce a ‘hierarchy,’ must deter a non-scientific classifier from arguing on such a complicated and difficult topic. It will, therefore, suffice if I briefly describe the main classes in their order and give reasons why they were assigned to the places they occupy.

“A Generalia.—The divisions of this main class comprise most of the rules, methods and factors which are of general application, and which qualify or pervade every branch of science, industry or human study. They are universal and pervasive, and cannot be logically assigned to any other single main class as peculiar or germane to it.

“B, C, D Physical Sciences.—Matter, force, motion and their applications are assumed to precede life and mind, and for that reason the material side of science, with its applications, has been selected as a foundation main class on which to construct the system.

“E, F Biological Science.—Life and its forms, arising out of matter, occupy the second place among the main classes, and[219] here are put general biological theories and facts, followed by plant and animal life, each in an ascending order from low to high forms of organization.

“G, H Ethnological and Medical Science.—Human life, its varieties, physical history, disorders and recreations, follows naturally as a higher development of plant and animal life, and completes the biological chain.

“I Economic Biology and Domestic Arts.—The applications of plant and animal life to human needs, placed midway between the physical and mental attributes of man as indicating the primitive exercise of mind, and to assemble in one sequence the chief biological subjects. As a matter of practical convenience, rather than logical necessity, it was thought better to keep composite subjects like Agriculture, Clothing, Foods, etc.—involving questions of origin, use and manufacture—all in one place, close to the main classes from which they are derived, rather than to distribute them more closely at Botany or Zoology.

“J, K Philosophy and Religion.—Mental attributes, order and beliefs of human life, following naturally from its physical basis, and primitive manifestation in the instinct of procuring food and clothing.

“L Social and Political Science.—Social order and laws of human life. Placed here because, although society or family and other tribal organizations may have preceded religion, mind as embodied in philosophy must have preceded both.

“M Language and Literature.—Communication and recording in human life. The spoken, written and printed word, which grew as a necessity out of the primitive operations of mind.

“N Literary Forms.—The products of communication and recording in human life in their more imaginative forms; placed here on the ground that fable probably preceded more formal history.

“O-X History, Geography, Biography.—The actions, records and descriptions of human life and its dwelling-place. Arranged in this order and at this place because of their intimate connexion. Geography, although logically related to Physiography and Biography to Ethnology, are, nevertheless, as a matter of practical utility, and because of the literature actually existing, more naturally grouped here than separated.

[220]

“The order of the classes may, therefore, be briefly described as expressing:

1. Matter.
2. Life.
3. Mind.
4. Record.”[8]

[8] From Subject Classification, by James Duff Brown, 1906, pp. 11-13; second edition, 1914.

The only serious objection which has been urged against this scheme is the inclusion of Education, Logic, Mathematics, and the Graphic and Plastic Arts in Generalia. This course is, however, fully justified by the somewhat amusing circumstance, that the critics are unable to agree among themselves as to the exact logical place of any of the series. While one insists that Logic should be placed in Philosophy, he is bound to admit that it ought not to be separated from Mathematics, while on the other hand he cannot allow arithmetic, book-keeping and geometry to invade the sacred temple of the philosophers. Education is even a greater stumbling-block. It is variously assigned to Psychology, Sociology, Philology and Ethnology by different critics, and Fine Arts is equally perplexing. In actual practice in a library, there is really no inconvenience felt in connexion with the distribution of any of these classes, and as they do not originate naturally from any of the other main divisions, but qualify and pervade the whole of them like an encyclopædia, or other general work, it will be found best to retain them where they are. The other important features of this system are described below.

The Categorical Tables form an important feature, whereby a separate series of forms, phases and other qualifying factors are provided, which can be applied to every subject, and so relieve the main tables from congestion. They are applicable to the very largest libraries, and give ample means of subdividing any topic, however large it may be. They can also be used with other systems of classification, as they are independent of the main tables and form a series of parallel numbers by which the classification numbers can be themselves classified. For example, a library may have 1000 books on a subject like Architecture in general, to all of which the simple[221] number B300 would be applied. By adding the qualifying numbers from the Categorical Tables, which appear after a point, and are invariably the same when applied to any subject, the following sub-classification would result, which has the effect of assembling all related forms of books together:

B300	Architecture,	General
B300·1	—	Bibliography
B300·2	—	Dictionaries
B300·3	—	Text-books,	Systematic
B300·4	—	—	Popular
B300·6	—	Societies
B300·7	—	Periodicals
B300·10	—	History

and so on.

If, in addition to those general works, the library possessed several hundreds of books on Building Construction, B305, these would be subdivided in exactly the same manner, as would also any subdivision of the same topic, such as Foundations, Walls, Roofs, etc.:

B305·1	Building	Construction,	Bibliography
B305·3	—	—	Text-books, Systematic
B305·10	—	—	History
B329·1	Roofs, Bibliography

These categorical tables are therefore of universal application, and as they contain nearly one thousand qualifying forms, phases, etc., it will be seen that their use will greatly simplify the practical work of classification.

As will be seen by the above examples, the symbols of the Notation are perfectly simple combinations of letters and numbers. By treating the numbers decimally, it is possible to intercalate as many new ones as desired between any of the existing numbers, thus providing an infinity of places.

The Index is very extensive in the number of subject-words it contains, and comprises practically every topic likely to be encountered in ordinary practice. The Classification Tables themselves provide places somewhere for every remote subject, and the Introduction describes how such out-of-the-way matters are to be treated.

It is impossible to set forth all the features of this system of[222] classification—its elaborate series of biographical numbers for arranging Fiction, Poetry and other alphabetical classes; its new system of short date-marks; its rules for the arrangement of special subjects, authors, etc.; and its notes on the simplification of the whole subject of book classification. Reference can only be made to the Summary Table of Main Classes for an idea of the size and style of the book.

Summary Table of Main Classes, with Abridged Notation

Main Classes
A—Generalia
B-D—Physical Science
E-F—Biological Science
G-H—Ethnology, Medicine
I—Economic Biology, Domestic Arts
J-K—Philosophy and Religion
L—Social and Political Science
M—Language and Literature
N—Literary Forms, Fiction, Poetry
O-W—History and Geography
X—Biography
A	Generalia
A0	Generalia
A1	Education
A3	Logic
A4	Mathematics
A5	Geometry
A6	Graphic and Plastic Arts
A9	General Science
B, C, D	Physical Science
B0	Physics, Dynamics
B1	Mechanical engineering
B2	Civil engineering
B3	Architecture
B5	Railways, Vehicles
B6	Transport, Shipbuilding
B8	Naval and Military science
C0	Electricity
C1	Optics
C2	Heat
C3	Acoustics
C4	Music
C8	Astronomy
D0	Physiography
D1	Hydrography, Hydrostatics
D2	Meteorology, Pneumatics
D3	Geology, Petrology
D4	Crystallography, Mineralogy
D6	Metallurgy, Mining, Metal trades
D7	Chemistry
D9	Chemical technology
E, F	Biological Science
E0	Biology
E1	Botany
E2	Cryptogams
E3	Phanerogams
F0	Zoology
F1	Metazoa
F2	Mollusca
F3	Insecta
F4	Pisces (Fishes)
F5	Reptilia
F6	Aves (Birds)[223]
F7	Mammalia
G, H	Ethnology and Medicine
G0	Ethnology
G2	Human Anatomy and Physiology
G3	Pathology
G4	Materia medica
G5	Therapeutics
G6	Functions, Organs, Osteology
G7	Nervous system
G8	Sensory system
G9	Respiratory system
H0	Blood and Circulation
H1	Digestive system
H2	Urinary system
H3	Reproductive system
H4	Skin and Hair
H5	Parasitical and Infectious diseases
H6	Ambulance, Hospitals, Hygiene
H7	Physical Training and Exercises
H8	Field sports
H9	Recreative arts
I	Economic Biology, Domestic Arts
I0	Agriculture, Dairy farming
I1	Veterinary medicine
I2	Milling, Gardening, Forestry
I3	Wood-working
I4	Textile manufactures
I5	Clothing trades
I6	Costume. Jewellery
I7	Vegetable and Animal products
I8	Foods and Beverages
I9	Gastronomy. Domestic economy
J, K	Philosophy and Religion
J0	Metaphysics
J1	Æsthetics, Psychology
J2	Ethics
J3	Philosophy
J4	Theology, Religion, general
J5	Mythology, Folk-lore
J6	Church doctrines
J7	Fasts and Festivals
J8	Church Government
K0	Non-Christian churches
K1	Bible
K3	Christology
K4	Early and Eastern Christian churches
K5	Monachism
K6	Roman Catholicism
K7	Protestantism. Episcopacy
K8	Nonconformist churches
K9	Presbyterian and other churches
L	Social and Political Science
L0	Social science
L1	Political economy
L2	Government
L3	Central and Local administration
L4	Law
L5	Trials. Actions
L6	Criminology. Penology
L7	Contracts. Property
L8	Commerce and Trade
L9	Finance
M	Language and Literature
M0	Language, general
M1	Literature, general
M2	African Languages and Literature
M2-3	Asiatic Languages and Literature
M3	Malayan-Polynesian Literature
M4	European (Latin, etc.) Literature
M5	European (Teutonic)
M6	American
M7	Palæography. Bibliography
M8	Printing, Bookbinding
M9	Library economy
N	Literary Forms
N0	Fiction
N1	Poetry
N2	Drama[224]
N3	Essays and Miscellanea
O-W	History and Geography
O0	Universal history
O1	Archæology
O2	Universal geography
O3	Africa, North
O4	Egypt
O5	East Africa
O6	Central Africa
O7	South Africa
O8	West Africa
O9	African Islands
P	Oceania and Asia
P0	Australia
P1	Polynesia, Micronesia, etc.
P2	Malaysia
P29	Asia
P3	Japan
P4	China
P5	Farther India. Malay States
P6	India
P88	Afghanistan
P9	Persia
Q, R	Europe (South, Latin, etc.)
Q0	Europe, general
Q1	Turkey in Europe
Q12	Turkey in Asia
Q2	Palestine, Arabia
Q3	Greece
Q4	Balkan States
Q5	Italy
R0	France
R6	Spain
R8	Portugal
S, T	Europe (North, Teutonic, Slavonic)
S0	Russia in Europe
S15	Poland
S2	Finland
S25	Russia in Asia
S3	Austria
S34	Bohemia
S4	Hungary
S5	Switzerland
S6	Germany
T0	Netherlands
T1	Holland
T2	Belgium
T5	Denmark
T6	Norway
T8	Sweden
U, V	British Islands
U0	Ireland
U2	Wales
U3	England
V0	Scotland
V5	United Kingdom
V6	British Empire
W	America
W0	America, general
W02	Canada
W1	United States
W5	Mexico
W6	Central America
W63	West Indies
W7	South America
W72	Brazil
W76	Peru
W78	Paraguay
W8	Argentina
W83	Chili
W9	Polar Regions
X	Biography
X0	Collective and Class
X08	Heraldry
X2	Portraits
X3	Individual Biography

240. Adjustable Classification.—The Subject Classification is the second scheme invented by Brown which has achieved success. The earlier scheme was the Adjustable Classification for Libraries, with Index, London, 1898, and is interesting as the forerunner of the much larger subject scheme. Only the main classes are given here:

[225]

A Science
B Useful Arts
C Fine and Recreative Arts
D Social Science
E Philosophy and Religion
F History and Geography
G Biography
H Language and Literature
J Poetry and Drama
K Prose Fiction
L Miscellaneous

This initial alphabetic notation is divided by a progressive numerical notation, of which the following is a sample:

D	Social Science
2-8	General
10-92	Manners, Customs, etc.
94-150	Political Economy
152-272	Government and Politics
274-354	Law
356-358	Commerce, Finance
400-424	Communications
426-484	Education

[226]

CHAPTER XVII
PRACTICAL APPLICATION

241. Numbers.—The class letters and numbers of all books should be written in the inside, preferably on the back or front of the title-page, and should also be carried on to the labels, book-cards and all other records. On the outside the class letters and numbers may be lettered in gilt or written on a suitable tag, which must be firmly pasted on the back. The usual position for the tag is at about 1¹⁄₂ inches from the foot of the back, as this gives regular and uniform marking, which looks neat. Some librarians prefer a place at the top of the back, as the arranging number thus becomes more prominent, and the tag at the foot is more subject to handling. The diagram shows the two methods.

Fig. 73.—Lettering of Class Numbers (Section 241).

242. In classification systems in which the class numbers are used for charging and all other purposes it is necessary to provide a series of elaborate auxiliary marks to distinguish book from book in the same subdivision. Thus, in the Decimal scheme,[227] 621·18 is the number for books on boilers. If there are six books on this topic, some distinction must be used in charging to enable the librarian to know which book has been issued. Mr Cutter has devised a table for this purpose, which is known as the “Cutter Author Marks,” by which surnames are arranged according to their initials and qualified by a number thus:

Abbott	=	Ab2.
Acland	=	Ac6.
Cook	=	C77.
Cousin	=	C83.
Crabb	=	C84.
Gardiner	=	G16.
Gerry	=	G36.
Gilman	=	G42.
Shock	=	Sh8.

The six books on boilers would accordingly be distinguished by receiving these author marks, and the numbers might become:

621·18 Ab2	Abbott	on Boilers.
621·18 C83	Cousin	„
621·18 G16	Gardiner	„
621·18 Sh8	Shock	„

In the Subject Classification these books when given the number for boilers, C210, could be further distinguished by the numbers of the biographical tables, thus:

C210	Abbott	on Boilers.
3011
C210	Cousin	„
3669
C210	Gardiner	„
4565
C210	Shock	„
7863

243. Book and Shelf Marking.—It is better to have the class numbers stamped on the back of the book at once than to rely on tags or labels, which have a tendency to peel off. In some open access libraries using ordinary gilt lettering, a subsidiary marking has been adopted to prevent misplacement and to aid replacement.

Colours.
	Tier 1.	Tier 2.	Tier 3.
	Blue	Yellow	Grey
	Red	Mauve	Buff
	Green	White	Blue
	Yellow	Grey	Red
	Mauve	Buff	Green
	White	Blue	Yellow
	Grey	Red	Mauve
	Buff	Green	White

Fig. 74.—Colour Marking of Books.

These marks are simple round spots of coloured enamel painted[228] on the backs of books, and they effectually prevent shelf being mixed with shelf and tier with tier. There are eight shelves in a tier, and eight distinctive colours are used, so that no colour is repeated in the same tier, and they are varied in every succeeding tier, so that adjoining shelves will not correspond in the colour of their marking. As a further precaution, the class marks are placed at different heights on the backs of the books in each tier, so that, even if a red-marked book from Tier 1 were placed among the red-marked books on Tier 3, there would still be a distinction. Of course the same level is maintained for each tier, by means of gauges, and the progression of colours is observed. When a book moves forward to another shelf, the mark is painted over with the new colour, and when the book is moved to another tier, the mark is carefully scraped out and altered to suit the new location. As movement is not extensive in ordinary libraries, this alteration is only an occasional duty. The class numbers maintain the topic order on the shelves, and so the most common method of open access shelf marking is complete. It has been argued that the class letters and numbers are all-sufficient to maintain order in a library which allows readers to go to the shelves, but on this point experience varies. [229] At any rate, there is no harm in taking simple precautions of this kind, which certainly possess the great advantage that if a book is misplaced it can be noticed instantly and rectified. Uniform form marks require closer scrutiny, the use of colours demands but a casual glance. In closely classified libraries where there is no public access to the shelves, simple class numbers ought to be sufficient for staff purposes. The only additional point is that, perhaps, the accession numbers should also figure on the[230] backs of the books, especially if an indicator is used for charging in the lending department.

Fig. 75.—Tier Marking of Books (Section 243).

Fig. 76.—Shelf Front with Class Divisions and Number (Section 244).

Fig. 77.—Tier Guide showing Construction (Section 244).

244. It is desirable that the arrangement of the shelves should be made as clear as possible to the staff and to readers by means of various guides, and these are particularly necessary in open access libraries. The best general guide is a plan of the department showing the disposition of the books in the cases, and indicating the sequence of the classification by means of arrows. The plan of the Croydon Central Lending Library may serve as an example. If the classes are indicated chromatically: for example, 000 red, 100 blue, 200 yellow, 300 green, etc., the plan will be more easily followed. Such a plan, drawn to a[231] large scale, framed, and hung in a conspicuous position, will give readers a valuable conspectus of the department.

CHART OF SUBJECTS IN THIS TIER
PHYSICS
535	LIGHT
PHYSICS
536	HEAT
PHYSICS
537	ELECTRICITY
FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SEE 621·3
PHYSICS
537	ELECTRICITY
538	MAGNETISM
PHYSICS
539	MOLECULAR PHYSICS
540	CHEMISTRY
541	THEORETICAL
CHEMISTRY
542	PRACTICAL EX- PERIMENTAL

Fig. 78.—Tier Guide showing Lettering of Front
(Section 244).

In addition, a series of bold class labels at the top of each class, and plenty of topic labels on the shelves, together with the progressive class numbers boldly printed, and fixed to the end of each shelf, will be found a great help to understanding the classification and finding the books. Shelf topic and number labels can be printed by the staff with an ordinary rubber-printing or sign-writing apparatus, and they can be fixed to the shelves by means of the label-holders mentioned in Section 249. For class numbers on the shelf-ends xylonite label-holders will be found economical and convenient, as they can be cut into inch widths. The above figure (Fig. 76) of a shelf-front with[232] labels will give some idea of the application of these marks. The class number of the first or last topic only need be given. A method of guiding by tiers instead of by shelves is described in The Library World (Nov. 1904) and is one of many experiments which have been made with shelf guiding. The illustrations (Figs. 77, 78) will show much better than words the appearance and possibilities of this system. Another form is illustrated below (Fig. 79) and shows a class label for indicating the chief contents of a main class. The illustration of an open access lending library given opposite (Fig. 80) shows the system of press guides used at the North Islington Library, which in practice has been found very effective.

A
GENERALIA.
000	GENERAL	500	GEOMETRY
100	EDUCATION	600	GRAPHIC AND PLASTIC ARTS
300	LOGIC	900	GENERAL SCIENCE
400	MATHEMATICS
For Special Subjects see Index to Subject Classification.

Fig. 79.—Class Guide (Section 244).

245. Shelf Register.—The shelf register is a record of the books as they stand on the shelves, and is the main guide used in stock-taking and otherwise checking the books. Cards are sometimes used for this purpose, each work being entered on a separate card, the whole being arranged in trays in the order of the classification.

Fig. 80.—Bookcase with Classification Guides and Shelf Labels (Section 244).

Another method is to use shelf-register sheets, which occupy very little space, a single sheet being used for each class division or subdivision. The sheet is headed, as shown in the subjoined ruling, with the class letter and number, and the books in the section are entered in author-alphabetical order to begin with, afterwards just as books are added (Fig. 81). The narrow columns are reserved for checking the shelves. The date of check is written at the top, and the presence of the book indicated by a tick. In some open access libraries stock is taken of[233] the shelves twice a year by means of these sheets. Missing books are not ticked, but noted in order that further search may be made in the charging system and other records. When they turn up they are ticked off. The sheets are collated periodically, and any books which continue to be unaccounted for are noted[234] and entered in a special book ruled to show author and title, date missing, and having a column for the record of any subsequent facts, such as its finding, replacement, or other means of recovery.

7″

Ac- ces- sion No.	Author	Title.	Vols.	Mar. 6, 1900.		E 100·3	9¹⁄₂″
					Dates of Check.

5,216	Balfour	Manual of Botany	1	✓
15,621	Henfrey	„ „	1	✓
5,111	Lindley	Elements of Botany	1	✓

Fig. 81.—Shelf-check Register (Section 245).

246. Dummies and Overflow Stock.—Sometimes the library becomes congested at certain places owing to limited space and rapid growth, and if discarding is not resorted to some of the less popular, or old, books must be removed to a supplementary store. There is scarcely a library which does not possess a second classification stored apart, where such crowded-out books are kept. On the shelf-register these books can either be indicated by some such means as a red-ink cross, or they can be removed from the original and entered on supplementary sheets. Dummies, such as those described in Section 247, can also be used to show books located elsewhere, especially in open access libraries, or lists can be mounted on cards and kept beside each tier. The question of surplus stock is one which ought to be[235] dealt with on the broad lines of the discarding policy discussed in Section 199, but, of course, an actual division of stock caused by overcrowding must be treated as recommended above.

Large and odd-sized books should be shelved in special presses, and their place in the classification can be indicated by means of dummies, as described below.

Fig. 82.—Shelf Dummy for Book Shelved
out of Order (Section 247).

I229

Milner, Henry E

Art and practice of landscape gardening 1880.

This book is too large for the ordinary shelves, and will be found in its order on the special shelves for QUARTOS AND FOLIOS.

247. Shelf Accessories.—For the purpose of maintaining order on the shelves and marking particular divisions or classes, various devices have from time to time been introduced.

Dummies are used to indicate the temporary absence of books, or to show that particular works, because of their large size, are located on some other shelf. The simplest form of shelf dummy for classification purposes is a block of wood about 7 inches × 5 inches × ⁵⁄₈ inch, painted white, or covered with white paper on the edge, and lettered with the title of the book which it[236] represents. The title may be written on each of the seven-inch faces, in case the block gets reversed, and should also bear a plain direction to the location of the book it represents (Fig. 82). [A similar dummy, bearing the classification number and the name of the division, serves as a good guide to the classification. The block is inserted at the beginning of each new classification sequence; and both in this case, as in that of the dummy that represents books, the dummy is too unlike a book to be taken for anything other than a guide.]

248. For books temporarily withdrawn a piece of millboard covered white on one side may be used in the form shown below (Fig. 83). This should have the author, number and title of the missing book written on the white side. One board of this sort can be used over and over again for different books, by simply adding the new title and obliterating the old one. This board can also be used instead of the block above illustrated (Fig. 82) if space is a matter of moment.

Fig. 83.—Millboard Dummy for Withdrawn Book (Section 248).

The object of the tail in this form of board is to prevent the board from disappearing behind or getting lost among the other books. When placed between two books, with the projection overhanging the front of the shelf, it will always stick out so as to be seen readily, while it cannot very readily be pushed deep into the shelf because of the projection.

Fig. 84.—Xylonite Label-holder (Section 249).

Fig. 85.—Tongued Metal Book-rest
(Section 250).

Fig. 86.—Flanged Metal Book-rest
(Section 250).

249. Label-Holders for keeping all kinds of classification or[237] other labels in place upon the fore-edges of shelves, close to the books which they indicate, are made in various forms. An old form was made out of tin or thin japanned iron, with a pair of flanges on the upper and lower edges to take a card-label. This was screwed or tacked on to the edge of the shelf and shifted when necessary. Another form of this holder is made precisely the same as regards the turned-over flanges to form grooves, but without the screw-holes, and has in addition a long projection to slide under the books on the shelf so as to keep in place. This can be moved easily, but it is very apt to be pulled out when books are removed. A simple, effective shelf label-holder is made from strips of transparent xylonite bent in a rectangular form, and pinned or screwed to the under-side of the shelf as illustrated (Fig. 84). This can be made to fit into shelves with either square or rounded edges, and keeps the labels clean, as it covers them over. The advantage of this form of label-holder is that it can be cut with a pair of scissors or a knife to any size[238] if wanted only for simple shelf or class numbers. It is also easily adjusted or changed.

Fig. 87.—Combined Book-rest and Shelf Guide
(Section 250).

Fig. 88.—Yale Book-rest
(Section 250).

250. Book-Rests and Shelf Guides.—Practically every librarian born before 1880 has invented a book-rest at some period of his career, and there is consequently the less need for describing more than one or two typical devices. The best-known form is the ordinary rectangular metal rest, which is made in several styles in japanned iron. Fig. 85 is the commonest form, though it is objectionable, because books are apt to be impaled upon the sharp edge and damaged, and occasionally the rest itself is lost. A better, though slightly more expensive, form is Fig. 86. By reason of the flanged side there is no danger of books being damaged, and this side can also be used as a classification guide if wanted to indicate where one class begins and another ends. A variation of the dummy mentioned in Section 247 (Fig. 82) is a plain wooden block mounted on metal angle pieces which can be made to act as a useful label-holder in classified libraries. The illustration (Fig. 87) will show the form of this device.

Another form of book-rest or support is sufficiently described by the illustration (Fig. 88).

251. Book-Stands and Carriers.—For desk and table use there are two very convenient and adjustable book-stands, which will be found useful in public as well as private libraries. One is the American stand with adjustable wire compartments, which is useful for keeping books handy for desk use or for sorting out cards, etc.

[239]

Fig. 89.—Book-carrier hung on front of Bookcase (Section 252).

Fig. 90.—Book-truck (Section 253).

252. The other is the English adjustable book-stand which is largely used for displaying and carrying about a few books for committee or consultation purposes. As a table book-holder, this is probably the best and strongest form ever invented. As shown in the illustration (Fig. 89), the uprights slide and firmly grip a large or small number of books, according to the capacity of the holder. This contrivance has been adapted as a library book-carrier, by having strong hooks attached, which fit into staples affixed to the fronts or ends of bookcases. They are very useful for classifying and arranging books awaiting replacement or shelving.

[240]

There are other forms of book-holders and carriers with fixed upright ends, but they are not so satisfactory as the adjustable forms described.

253. In large libraries a book-truck will be found a useful appliance for moving quantities of books about, either for purposes of service or location or cataloguing. The design in Fig. 90 will explain this device sufficiently.

Bibliography

254. Author Marks:

Brown, J. D. Author Marks and Symbols. In his Subject Classification, 1906, p. 26.

Cutter, C. A. Author Marks. In his Expansive Classification, 1891-93, p. 139.

—— Three-Figure Alfabetic-order Table. Library Bureau.

Dewey, Melvil. Decimal Classification (last ed.), Intro. and Appendix. Institut International de Bibliographie. Classification Décimale, fascicule i.

Sayers, W. C. Berwick. Notation. In his Introduction to Library Classification, 1918, p. 68.

255. Classification and Shelf Guides:

Coutts, H. T. Classification and Shelf Guides. In Stewart, J. D., and others, Open Access Libraries, 1915.

Sayers. Introduction, chapter xii. (vide supra).

Dewey, Melvil. Shelf List. In his Library School Rules, 1892.

For Articles, see Cannons, H 96-108, Shelf Arrangement, etc.

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DIVISION VIII
CATALOGUING, FILING, INDEXING

CHAPTER XVIII
CATALOGUING METHOD

256. General.—Of the interior administrative work of the municipal, or even more of the university or institutional library, that which occupies most time and thought is cataloguing. A catalogue is properly defined as an explanatory, logically-arranged inventory and key to the books and their contents, and differs from a bibliography in being confined to the books in a given library. For its production wide knowledge both of cataloguing rules and of general subjects is required, and experience in ordinary reference work is essential. The staff, therefore, to whom the cataloguing is entrusted should be highly trained and well educated; that is to say, that part of the staff which deals with the final processes in cataloguing—the choice of headings, treatment of titles, annotation, selection of added entries, and the filing of the finished material. In large libraries cataloguing staffs are chosen with care, and cataloguing rooms are arranged for the work with a careful regard to the value of natural lighting, of furniture so arranged that the cataloguer has not to rise from his desk every time he wishes to make a reference, and, indeed, with the object of producing the best results at a minimum expenditure of energy. Even in the smallest library, where the librarian does the cataloguing, a preliminary attention to such matters as the construction of the cataloguing table and its accessibility to the inevitable cataloguer’s reference books, will save much labour hereafter. It may not be superfluous to add that as cataloguing is exacting work, it is fatiguing work, and no assistant should be kept at it without variation for a longer time than he can remain mentally alert[242] and fresh. Eye-strain and fatigue mean inaccuracy, and at the best inefficient work, and seven hours is a maximum that should not be exceeded.

257. Kinds of Catalogue.—There is no more important decision that a librarian has to make than that of the form which the catalogue is to take. A wrong choice here will produce months of labour to make good the error. The choice will no doubt be influenced by the kind of public for which the catalogue is required. The public may be general in character, and within that somewhat vague definition may be artisan, or commercial, or what not; or it may be special—with a large number of students. The public a municipal library has to serve usually combines all these elements; and in choosing the form of catalogue, a librarian may be guided by the desire to serve them all, but to emphasize the educational side of his work. The questions which a catalogue or catalogues may be expected to answer are: what books has the library (a) by a given author, (b) on a given subject, (c) having a given title. Most catalogues may, by the addition of indexes, be made to yield this information with varying degrees of efficiency. The various forms, and examples of them, should be considered carefully before the choice is made. Those most recognized are the Author catalogue, the Dictionary catalogue, the Classified catalogue, and the Alphabetical-Classed catalogue.

The author catalogue is most valuable in the hands of literary men and of experts, but is of very limited use to the reader whose knowledge of authors is small. It is simply an alphabetical arrangement of author entries of books, without any reference in that arrangement to their subjects. The best examples of this form of cataloguing are the British Museum Catalogue of the Printed Books and the Author Catalogue of the London Library.

The dictionary catalogue is the form most popular here and in America, and, unfortunately, is usually the most defective. As its name implies, it resembles the ordinary alphabetical arrangement of the dictionary, and embraces in one alphabet entries of authors, subjects, titles, and series. The principle of subject entry is that books are entered under the specific subject, and not usually under broad headings; thus books on[243] Trees are entered under that word, and not, as in a classified catalogue, under their historical, or logical, place in Botany. The dictionary form is that most attractive to the general reader, and in its ideal form is a remarkably effective instrument; that is to say, when it analyses the subjects in books, and links all specific and general headings by cross-references. The best examples are the Brooklyn Library Catalogue and the Index Catalogue of the U.S. Surgeon-General’s Library; and good English examples, which will repay study, are the catalogues of Bishopsgate Institute, London, and of Hampstead Public Libraries which seems to be modelled on the Bishopsgate catalogue. Objections to the dictionary catalogue are that it gives no connected view of any subject and of its collateral subjects, that it is rarely cross-referenced adequately, that headings are chosen haphazard, and, what is its chief objection, if it is printed it is out-of-date the day after publication—an objection which does not apply so much to the printed classified catalogue, as that lends itself to publication, and to revision, a class at a time. Librarians using this form should base their subject entries upon the A. L. A. List of Subject Headings (second edition, 1912) or the Library of Congress List (in progress, issued in parts by the Library), as these will secure a choice of recognized headings and save much labour in deciding between alternative headings. The application of the Library of Congress list may be studied in The Library Association Index to Periodicals (1915-16), which is, in the main, arranged upon it.

The classified catalogue—the best accessible example of which is the catalogue of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (1895-1902, supplements, 1902-06 and 1907-11), while good English examples are issued by The Patent Office, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Islington (selected catalogue), Bolton and Walthamstow—is gradually ousting the dictionary catalogue from the favour of librarians. In this form books are arranged in the order of the classification, in the perfect form in the strict order of it, and under each specific heading the books can be arranged alphabetically or (preferably) in chronological or inverse-chronological order, or in the order which places the best book first. Such a catalogue shows the whole “family” literature of every subject in a logical progression, and is therefore much more valuable to the[244] student than other forms. It must, however, be equipped with author and subject indexes to make it usable by ordinary readers who have not grasped the scheme of classification; such indexes are usually placed at the end of the catalogue, or class if the catalogue is issued in class lists, and the catalogue is prefaced with an outline of the scheme.

The alphabetical-classed catalogue is one in which the books are arranged under specific subjects and the subject headings are arranged in alphabetical order. Excellent examples of the method are the Library Association Index to Periodicals and (with briefer entries) the London Library Subject Index, and the British Museum Subject Index. As the last two examples show, this form is usually provided as an index to be used in conjunction with a separate author catalogue, but complete, individual catalogues have been produced in this form. Its advantages are those accruing to the alphabet, rapid reference and easy recognition; its disadvantages are the inevitable separations of allied topics.

258. Annotation, etc.—In all forms of catalogue the difficulties which have to be obviated are the lack of clearness of meaning in titles and of information as to the qualifications of authors, the scope, size, format, date and other features of books. These particulars can, and should, be given as a rule under the principal entry of each book as part of the main entry; but to amplify such information, notes—technically called annotations—are now frequently provided. An admirable conspectus of the art of annotation is available in E. A. Savage’s Manual of Annotation in Library Catalogues, and the student is referred to that work. Here it will be sufficient to say that catalogue entries should be as full in bibliographical particulars as the means of the library will allow, and that notes, which must be as brief as possible, should elucidate obscure titles, show the qualifications of the author, his method, elementary or otherwise, the preliminary knowledge required for the reading of the book, its place in the literature of the subject, and the presence of bibliographies, glossaries, etc.; and should give, in the case of reprints, the date of first publication, and in that of revised editions, the nature of the revision or editorial additions.

259. Form of Catalogue.—Having chosen the manner in which[245] his catalogue is to be compiled, or, to adapt a term from classification, its inner form, the librarian has an almost equally important decision to make as to the manner of its outer form, or the way in which it may be made accessible to his public. At one time every librarian aimed to produce a printed catalogue as a matter of course and necessity, partly because MS. forms were imperfect, and partly because the universal prevalence of the barrier system made a key of which every reader could have a copy an integral part of the charging. This view does not prevail to anything like the former extent, and the complete printed catalogue in book form is becoming less and less general. In some ways this is unfortunate, because the printed catalogue has the indisputable value of book-form, homogeneity, and convenience both for consultation and for carrying about; besides, it is a valuable bibliographical tool for use in all other libraries. At the same time, the great cost of the printed catalogue, especially when issued complete in any of the alphabetical forms, and the irritating fact that in a growing library it is incomplete the day after it is published, have made it almost impossible for public librarians to publish in this form. Complete printed class-lists are a more satisfactory form, because each class can be published separately and at such intervals as will distribute the cost over several years; and revisions can be made in similar serial manner, so that classes such as the Useful Arts, in which books most rapidly run out of date or are superseded, can be more frequently revised than others. Most classified catalogues are issued in this manner. But, in spite of the admitted advantages of the complete printed catalogue in book-form, the tendency is to depend upon complete manuscript catalogues at the library, and to advise readers of additions by means of a periodical library bulletin, by duplicated lists, by lists published in the local newspapers, etc. The open access system has destroyed the most immediate necessity for the printed catalogue—the choosing of books from a stock which readers were unable to examine—and few libraries which publish such a catalogue can hope to recoup even a substantial part of the cost from sales. One or two libraries have a selected printed catalogue, which contains the 10,000-20,000 invariable books in the library—the classics in all branches of literature[246] which readers have a right to expect to find on the shelves—and depend upon MS. catalogues for the stock as a whole.

260. Card Distribution, etc.—In using the term “manuscript catalogue” we speak somewhat loosely, in that the term usually covers any catalogue not in printed book form; hence it covers slip, card, sheaf, placard and various other forms in which individual entries may indeed be printed. The most used of these is the card catalogue, in which each entry of books is made on a separate card, and the cards are arranged on their fore-edges in drawers or trays (but drawers preferably) in the order that would be used in a book-catalogue. The merit of this system is its infinite flexibility; for, as every book has its separate card, cards for additions can be inserted without dislocating the order, and the catalogue can be kept up-to-date always. Several of the great bibliographical and cataloguing institutions have adopted this form, the most important being the Library of Congress at Washington. This admirable library not only prints its own cards, but offers copies for sale to other libraries at a low cost. In 1914 these cards were available for 650,000 titles, and to these additions of from 50,000 to 55,000 are made annually. As the cards are of standard size (5 inches × 3 inches = 12·5 × 7·5 cm.) they can be used in any properly constructed catalogue. Naturally there is an emphasis on American books, but thousands of the cards apply to English books as well. Thus, for an expenditure of about two cents per card, any library may have the cards for its catalogues, and this is at a far smaller cost in labour and money than any individual printed entry can be obtained by any library. The backbone of the system is the “unit” card; that is to say, one card is printed for a book and on it are indicated all cross-references, etc., and extra copies of the card can, if it is thought necessary, be purchased and placed under the headings indicated. The Library of Congress issues advance proof sheets at a charge of $30 a year, which may be cut up and mounted on cards as a staff catalogue, or as suggestion slips, and from these may be learned the serial numbers by which cards may be ordered. In the United States several of the great city libraries act as depots for storing whole sets of the cards, which librarians of other libraries may consult instead of proof sheets. This card[247] distribution method has thus been dwelt upon as it has as yet no analogue in the United Kingdom, and it is to be hoped that some judiciously chosen great British libraries may act as depots for Library of Congress and other cards. Their use would save thousands of pounds to British libraries, as well as set free for other library purposes the hundreds of cataloguers in hundreds of different libraries who are all engaged in the wasteful task of cataloguing the very same books. Other libraries which issue printed cards are the Institute International de Bibliographie at Brussels, the Concilium Bibliographicum, Zurich, the John Crerar Library, Chicago, and Pittsburgh Library. About ninety per cent. of the municipal library books in the United States are covered by the Library of Congress cards; therefore a certain number of cards have still to be made by the individual libraries; and in English libraries practically all the card catalogues are so made. In some cases the cards are made by mounting entries from the periodical list of additions or bulletin, but usually the cards are written, hand-printed or typed. It is obvious that some system of card distribution from an authoritative centre is badly needed in the United Kingdom as a measure of mere economy.

261. Sheaf Catalogue.—The second form of manuscript catalogue is the sheaf, which may be described as a book-application of the principle of the card catalogue. It consists of a sheaf or holder in the shape of a book-cover which is fitted with locking rods designed to hold some 600 or 800 leaves. The leaves are separate individual pieces of paper cut to a standard size and punched with slots and holes to accommodate the locking rods of the sheaf. The sheaf is arranged on much the same plan as the card catalogue, except that several books are entered on each page as a rule, and when any page becomes congested it is re-written as a whole. It will be seen that this is the loose-leaf principle, which has largely become so prominent in business methodology; and, indeed, the sheaf-catalogue was undoubtedly the forerunner of the loose-leaf ledger. It has most of the advantages of the card catalogue, occupies less space, and has the undeniable advantage of book form; but whereas in the card catalogue there is little or no re-writing of entries, in the sheaf catalogue this must be undertaken at intervals. Of course[248] if one page were devoted to each entry, as one card is so devoted in the card catalogue, the merits of the systems would seem to be equal, except perhaps that the card is of a more durable material than the paper used in the sheaf. But either card or sheaf is infinitely superior to any other form of MS. catalogue.

A reference only is necessary to other forms of MS. which have been proposed from time to time, as none of them has been adopted by any number of libraries. The very old libraries occasionally use a slip catalogue; the Bodleian and British Museum, for example, paste slips into volumes or guard books resembling large scrap-books in approximate alphabetical order, and other libraries use similar methods. The system is a good one in many respects; the public understands and likes it; but the catalogue runs to so many large volumes that its accommodation would be a serious matter for the ordinary library; and the congestion of entries, with loss of all but approximate alphabetical order at most letters of the alphabet, will be obvious. Adjustments will be explained in the next chapter.

It is not the intention here to recommend any special method or form of cataloguing; individual library systems have individual needs; and no librarian should make so important a decision as to the character of his catalogue without an examination of such catalogues as have been named and described. Our next chapter will illustrate the physical forms of catalogue sufficiently, we think, for most practical purposes.

262. Codes and Rules [9].—Whatever + form of catalogue is chosen, the main entry is practically the same for them all; that is, the author entry; and a whole literature of cataloguing rules and[249] codes now exists which must receive careful attention. The principal of them are as follows:

Bodleian Library. Rules for the Author Catalogues of Printed Books and Printed Music. See Supplement to the Staff-Kalendar, 1911, etc.

British Museum. Rules for Compiling Catalogues in the Department of Printed Books, 1906.

Cutter, C. A. Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue. 4th ed., Washington, D.C., 1904.

(The most complete and detailed work on the subject.)

Quinn, J. H. Library Cataloguing, 1913. Truslove & Hanson.

(The best English text-book for beginners, but limited mainly to the dictionary form, which the author prefers.)

Brown, J. D. Library Classification and Cataloguing, 1912. Grafton.

(More advanced and comprehensive than Quinn, and is illustrated freely.)

Dewey, Melvil. Library School Rules: 1, Card Catalog Rules; 2, Accession Book Rules; 3, Shelf List Rules. 5th ed. Boston: Libr. Bureau, 1905.

(With 52 facsimiles of sample cards.)

Jast, L. S. Classified and Annotated Cataloguing: Suggestions and Rules. See Library World, vi. 3, 1898-1900. Abridged in Library World, v. 7, 1906.

Linderfelt, K. A. Eclectic Card Catalog Rules: Authors and Titles. Based on Dziatzko’s Instruction, compared with the Rules of the British Museum, Cutter, Dewey, Perkins and other authorities. Boston: C. A. Cutter, 1890.

(An invaluable reference book.)

New South Wales. Sydney Public Library. Guide to the System of Cataloguing the Reference Library: with rules for cataloguing. By H. C. L. Anderson. 4th ed. 1902. Sydney: Gullick.

Perkins, F. B. San Francisco Cataloguing for Public Libraries: A Manual based on the System in use in the San Francisco Free Public Library. S. Francisco: C. A. Murdock, 1884.

Hitchler, Theresa. Cataloguing for Small Libraries. Ed. 2, 1915. Chicago: A.L.A.

[9] Foreign codes which deserve mention are:

Italian: Fumagalli, Giuseppe. Cataloghi di Biblioteche, e Indice Bibliographia: Memoria. Firenze: G. C. Sansoni, 1887.

German: Instructionen für die Alphabetischen Kataloge der Preuszischen Bibliotheken. Zweite Ausg., 1908. Berlin: Behrend, 1909.

Austrian: K. K. Hofbibliothek. Vorschrift für die Verfassung des Alphabetischen Nominal-Zettelkatalogs der Druckwerke. Hrsg. von der Direction. Mit zwei Beilagen, einem Sachregister und 500 Beispielen. Wien: Selbstverlag der K. K. Hofbibliothek, 1901.

Spanish: Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. Instrucciones para la redacción de los catálogos en las bibliotecas publicas del estado. Madrid: Tip. de la Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, 1902.

263. Anglo-American Code.—While the study of the above codes and elucidations is a necessary preliminary to the best cataloguing work, they all lead up in general to the Anglo-American cataloguing code, which made its first appearance in 1908,[10] and at the time of writing (May 1919) is again under revision. It is a useful and happy example of co-operation between the two principal library societies of the world, and[250] may be said to have laid the foundations of all future cataloguing method. It consists of definitions; 174 substantive rules, with variations where the two countries could not agree, and where some recognized authority such as the Library of Congress differed from the rule recommended; and appendices on abbreviations, transliteration, and sample catalogue cards illustrating the rules. A digest and criticism of these rules, which are too many to be copied here, will be found in Brown’s Library Classification and Cataloguing, and will serve to show the skeleton of the entries they provide, and will be serviceable to the student who reads it in connexion with the Code itself. The main feature of the Code is fulness of entry, involving various repetitions in places; for example, the author’s name, which is used as the heading, is also repeated in the title.

Lecky, William Edward Hartpole. The American Revolution, 1763-83; being the chapters and passages relating to America from the author’s History of England in the Eighteenth Century, by William Edward Hartpole Lecky. . . . Arranged and edited, with historical and bibliographical notes, by James Albert Woodburn. . . .
Added entry: Woodburn, James Albert.

The example will give an idea of the general treatment of a book and of the use of punctuation. The three dots have a “separating” purpose merely. Rules that differ from some in fairly general use are: 23, which prescribes that authors shall be entered in full and in their vernacular form with certain exceptions; 25, which enters compound names under the first part of the name and refers from the other part,—thus: Burne-Jones, Sir Edward, not Jones, Sir Edward Burne-; and in particular 33, which enters a nobleman under his family name and refers from his titles,—thus: Thomson, William, 1st baron Kelvin; Lubbock, John, 1st Lord Avebury. Authors who have changed their names are entered under the earliest form, but the later name is added to the entry,—thus: Smith, Hannah, afterwards Hesba Stretton; and married women are treated similarly. Pseudonymous authors are entered under their real names when they are known, with references from the assumed names.

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It will be clear that, in view of the impossibility of printing the Anglo-American Code in this chapter, it will be futile to give an alternative Code in a manual which deals with the general activities of the profession. A brief Code did appear in the last edition, which was practical and simple, and reference may be made to that, but it is strongly to be suggested that all future catalogues should be accommodated to the A.-A. Code in order that uniform methods of entry may be perfected, catalogues may become more generally understandable, and a formidable obstacle to co-operative cataloguing be removed.

[10] Cataloguing Rules: Author and Title Entries. Compiled by Committees of the American Library Association and the Library Association. English edition, 1908. (Out of print, 1919.)

264. Bulletins.—Since about 1894 a number of libraries have issued periodical magazines, or bulletins, in which are printed lists of new books, reading lists on special subjects, notes on the work of the libraries, and other matter likely to be of use and interest to library readers. The first use of such a magazine is to supply readers with a regular supplementary catalogue of all book additions; a second purpose is to publish notifications of new rules or alterations in the working of the library; and a third may be to issue information about the work accomplished by the library. The greatest amount of space, therefore, should be allotted to the description of new books, and annotations should be supplied liberally to the entries which require them. The magazine has the advantage over ordinary supplementary catalogues in that it is issued regularly and frequently; and it has a valuable purpose in supplying printed entries by means of which the card or sheaf catalogue can be kept up-to-date effectively. Copies of the magazine can be printed on thin paper (preferably bank paper) on one side only, and the entries can be cut out and mounted on cards or slips and inserted in the standard catalogue of the library, whatever form it may take. Emphasis may be laid upon the special catalogues or reading lists which can conveniently be published by this means. A special catalogue is usually a classified list of entries on the subject chosen in ordinary catalogue form, of which several good examples appear in the Norwich Readers’ Guide. A reading list has a directive purpose; it is in a much freer form as a rule, selects the best books on the subject, and indicates the order in which they may be read most profitably, with qualitative and elucidatory notes. Examples of such lists appear in several American[252] library bulletins, and examples readily accessible are those in the Croydon Reader’s Index, a sample from one of which is subjoined:

DARWIN AND THE EVOLUTION THEORY

PART 1. INTRODUCTORY COURSE.

For those who are unable to read very widely in the theory the following are suggested, in the order given, as sufficient for giving an accurate and fairly complete view of the question.
Saleeby’s “Organic Evolution,” a simple but interesting intro. to the subject	C [11] 575
Romanes’s “Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution” is also a brief statement of the primary factors of the theory	CST 575
Clodd’s “Story of Creation” is a popular but more extensive study of the whole question of evolution	CST 575
Wallace’s “Darwinism” should be read as a direct intro. to Darwin’s own works. Embraces researches made between 1872 and 1889, and answers objections; it is popular in method	CST 575
Darwin’s “Origin of Species” is the epoch-making work in which, in 1859, he first fully expounded his theory of the mutability of species	CST 575
His “Descent of Man,” 1871, is an account of further experiments, and more careful in style	CT 575
Huxley’s “Man’s Place in Nature” may be read as a suppl. to Darwin, as the work of a brilliant independent critic	CST 573
Romanes’s “Darwin and after Darwin” carries on the theory to 1890. 3 v.	C 575
Haeckel’s “Evolution of Man” contains the view of the theory of the first of German biologists. Principally a study of embryology. 2 v.	C 575
Weissmann’s “The Evolution Theory” is the latest re-statement of the whole subject (1904). Is popular, and contains a study of the author’s germ theory. 2 v.	C 572
If the reader is unable to spare time for reading all the above, Romanes’s “Scientific Evidences” and Wallace’s “Darwinism” are perhaps the most useful to the beginner.

PART 2. A MORE COMPLETE COURSE.

BIOGRAPHY.

See Francis Darwin’s “Life and Letters of Charles Darwin.” 3 v., 1887	CS B
The official life, by his son; it contains an autobiographical c., and is “at once a biography, an autobiography, and the history of a great idea.”
And its complement, Darwin’s “More Letters.” 2 v.	CST 575
A record of his work, in hitherto unpublished letters. V. 1 deals almost entirely with evolution.
See also the popular biographies:
Bettany’s “Life of Charles Darwin” in the “Great Writers” ser.	C B
And Grant Allen’s “Charles Darwin” in the “English Worthies” ser.	CST B
Also “Memorial Notices: Reprinted from ‘Nature,’” 1882	CSTR B
Appreciations and criticisms of his work in geology, botany, zoology, psychology, and other branches of thought, by Huxley, Romanes, Geikie, and Dyer.

[253]

WORKS.

1839 Darwin’s “Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle’ [1832-36],” 1889

CSTR 508.3

This v. and the two succeeding ones were the outcome of a government scientific expedition round the world during which D. was naturalist. The results of the voyage were considered “the most important of recent years,” and “it is impossible to overrate the influence of the voyage on D.’s career. He left England untried, he returned a practised and brilliant geologist. And above all he came back full of the thoughts of evolution.”

The general appearance of the additions catalogue as it appears in these bulletins may be gathered from the two following examples:

Philology.

Wright, Joseph. Primer of the Gothic Language: containing the Gospel of St Mark, selections from the other Gospels, and the Second Epistle to Timothy: with grammar, notes, and glossary. 1899. (Clarendon Pr.)	R 439
Author was deputy prof. of comparative philology, Oxford Univ., and ed. of “The English Dialect Dict.” (Rq 427). Bibliog. of works on Gothic, 2 pp.
225 bb	6060

Natural Science.

Ellis, David. Medicinal Herbs and Poisonous Plants. Illus. 1918. (Blackie)	CST 581.6
Author is D.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.S.E. Elementary botanical descriptions of British plants, including herbs imported or collected for the herbalist. Notes concerning cultivation, source of supply, present and former price, and other commercial details, are given of the more important British drug plants.
615	2349
Gerhardi, C. H. W. Electricity Meters: their construction and management: a practical manual for central station engineers, distribution engineers, and students. Illus. 1917. (Benn)	CR 621.3
Author is chief of testing dept., Metropolitan Electric Supply Co., London. Alphabetically arranged descriptions, under classified heads, of the principal meters in use to-day. Latter portion of v. is devoted to testing arrangements and apparatus, meter testing, fixing, reading, cleaning and repairing, and book-keeping.
	19843
Mackenzie, Col. J. S. F. Wild Flowers, and How to Name Them at a Glance without Botany. Illus. (Holden)	CST 580
Deals with some 300 of the larger and more common wild flowers, without technical terms, and uses identification methods described as similar to those employed by the police in identifying people.
	33549
Stanley, W. F. Notes on the Nebular Theory in Relation to Stellar, Solar, Planetary, Cometary, and Geological Phenomena. 15 + 259 pp. 31 Illus. 8¹⁄₄ ins. × 5¹⁄₂ ins. 1895. (Paul, Trench, Trübner).	CSTR S70(016)
Author (1829-1900), (F.R.A.S., F.G.S., etc.), scientific instrument maker and educationalist, was a South Norwood resident, a local J.P., and founder of the Stanley Technical Trade Schools, South Norwood.
523.1 Gift from Mrs Cushing	19840

[254]

Useful Arts.

Jennings, A. S. Painting by immersion and by compressed air. 1915. Ill. [698]	22216
A detailed technical treatise on the methods and appliances for “spraying” paint, lacquer, enamel, varnish, etc., and painting by immersion. By the process of “flowing on” it is stated that a complete coat of enamel can be given to the body of a four-seated touring car in two minutes.
Jex-Blake, A. J. Tuberculosis: a general account of the disease, its forms, treatment, and prevention. 1915. [616.995]	22158
Kean, F. J. Petrol engine. 1915. Diagrams. [621.434]	22217
Each part of the engine is dealt with in a separate chapter. The two-stroke engine receives a chapter to itself. Liquid fuels are very briefly covered in four pages. The appendix deals with engine troubles, their causes and cure.
Kingsbury, J. E. Telephone and telephone exchanges: their invention and development. 1915. Ill. [621.385]	22207
An attempt has been made in this work so to relate the inventions and developments in the telephone field that the record may constitute in effect a short history of the telephone industry and an expression of its main principles.
Lange, K. R. By-products of coal-gas manufacture; trans. from the German. 1915. Ill. [665.7]	22037
Contents: Introduction; Purification of coal gas; Coke; Gas-tar; Gas liquor; Treatment of the gas purifying agents; Treatment of cyanogen sludge; Treatment of crude liquors; Treatment of ammonium thiocyanate, etc.
McCormick, W. H. Electricity. Romance of Reality Series. 1915. Ill. [621.3]	21858
Martin, Geoffrey. Chlorine and Chlorine products. Manuals of Chemical Technology IV. 1915. Ill. [661.3]	22159
Includes the manufacture of bleaching powder, hypochlorites, chlorates, etc., with sections on bromine, iodine, hydrofluoric acid; with a chapter on “Recent oxidizing agents” by G. W. Clough.
Martin, Geoffrey, and Barbour, William. Industrial nitrogen compounds and explosives. Manuals of Chemical Technology III. 1915. Ill. [662]	22160
A practical treatise on the manufacture, properties, and industrial uses of nitric acid, nitrates, ammonia, ammonium salts, cyanides, etc., including most recent modern explosives.

The cost of such bulletins varies according to style, variety of types used, etc., and rarely can it be recovered from sales. Some bulletins are wholly or partly supported by advertisements, and when these are included it is better that they should be on separated pages at the beginning and end, and not, as is sometimes done, inserted in irritating manner amongst the library matter.

[11] C = Central, R = Reference, S = South Norwood, and T = Thornton Heath, the Libraries possessing copies.

265. Preparation of Catalogue Copy.—The quickest and most[255] economical method of preparing catalogue copy for the printer is to do it as perfectly as possible, according to set rules of typing or handwriting, punctuation, type-marking, and revision. Irritations innumerable pursue the librarian who allows copy to go to the printer which leaves anything to the imagination or discretion of that too often unjustly abused person; printers’ corrections are an alarming addition to the cost if they have not been anticipated; and what is and what is not a correction has always been a matter upon which author and printer have rarely seen eye to eye. If the copy is fool-proof and composition-proof the chances of corrections are reduced to the minimum, although it is impossible to remove them entirely.

Separate entries should be made for each book on slips, of uniform size to permit of rapid arrangement; and in most cases the 5 in. × 3 in. paper slips used for suggestions will serve, although where annotation is used to any extent the size is rather too small for type- or hand-written entries. On these the entries are made according to the rules in force, and if hand-written, they should be according to a standard hand-writing. The models given (Fig. 91) are the best forms of hand-script that have yet been devised, and every beginner in cataloguing should be required to learn their use. If the slip is ruled horizontally, with two vertical lines (a double margin) at the left side of the slip, it will be easier to regularize every entry by commencing the leading word or name at the first vertical line, the title at the second, and leaving a horizontal line blank between the title and the annotation. Every type distinction should be indicated according to the standard rules for marking printing copy (see Brown’s Library Classification and Cataloguing, p. 256, “printer’s corrections,” which apply to the preparation of copy as well as to its correction). Finally, all copy should be checked microscopically before it is sent to the printer, even if it has been written by the librarian himself or by the chief cataloguer. The slips should be arranged in order and numbered, or they may be mounted on sheets of paper in columns of about ten or twenty, in order to prevent loss. Two proofs at least should be required from the printer, the first in slip, or galley, form, the second in page form; it is better to have three proofs, especially if the catalogue has elaborate type distinctions, employs many[256] abbreviations, etc. Moreover, the most minute reading of proofs is necessary. It is really wonderful to what an extent errors creep into proofs, and the practice of the printer’s reader who went over every page of proof however perfect until he did find an error, although it is a counsel of perfection, is suggestive of what may be expected from the reader of catalogue proofs.

Fig. 91.—Hand-Printing for Catalogues (Section 265).

266. Printing Specifications.—Hints on printing specifications relating to catalogues can be gained from Philip’s The Production of the Printed Catalogue and from Quinn’s Library Cataloguing, but the specifications there given must be adjusted to the special kind of catalogue proposed. An excellent practical method of obtaining estimates of cost is to have specimen pages printed of the body of the catalogue and the indexes, exactly of the required model, spaced out with the number of lines per page. If the manuscript copy is not ready, estimates can be obtained from the printers per page, according to the specimen pages, and this is a fair way of tendering. If the copy is ready, estimates should be obtained for the whole job, including covers, in the style of the specimen pages. A printer can soon tell how[257] much print a manuscript will run to, especially if the copy has been prepared in a uniform manner, with ten or twelve slips mounted on the folio. A clear understanding as to payment for corrections and additions to proof should be reached before the tender is accepted.

267. Co-operative Cataloguing.—Efforts have been made from time to time to obviate the duplicating of cataloguing work that occurs all over the country, and in every country, and brief reference should be made to these. The principal is the Library of Congress card-distribution system, to which detailed reference has been made. In Great Britain various attempts have been made, but chiefly in the form of annotated and classified lists of new books, which it was expected that libraries would transfer to their own catalogues. Such lists were issued in The Library World in 1901, but were discontinued for lack of support. Later the Library Association issued such lists in The Library Association Record, but in recent years this work, which is still done by members of the Association, is published in the form of weekly lists in strict catalogue form (Decimal classified, and annotated) in The Athenæum; and The Librarian and Book Selector publishes monthly annotated lists which are classified by both the Decimal and Subject classifications. In America, The A. L. A. Book-List, The Wisconsin Library Bulletin, and The Ontario Library Review all provide similar lists. Any of the entries in all of these is suitable for cutting out and mounting on cards or slips for insertion in existing catalogues.

Other kinds of catalogue co-operation are those in which more than one library has joined in the issue of a catalogue to cover the stock of all in certain subjects. A small example was the Union Class-List of the Libraries of the Library and Library Assistants’ Association, 1913; and larger examples are the Classified Catalogue on Architecture, etc., in the Principal Libraries of Manchester and Salford, 1909, which was edited by Henry Guppy and Guthrie Vine for the Joint Architectural Committee of Manchester; and the Newcastle Classical Catalogue, 1912, which contains certain periodicals and books in the Armstrong College Library, as well as those in the Public Libraries. The most recent examples are series of class-lists on important subjects such as Internal Combustion Engines and[258] Aeronautics, both 1918, issued by the Committee on Joint-Technical Catalogues, Glasgow, which bring together titles from the libraries of eighteen institutions in that city, indicating the location of the various books by abbreviations added to the entries, as:

Cassier’s Engineering Monthly. E. Kp. L. Ml. P. Pp. S. St. U.

Many schemes for a national central co-operative catalogue have been drawn up, and lie buried in the pages of library periodicals, until some future time when the benefits of such work will be realized and recognized in this country.

[259]

CHAPTER XIX
MECHANICAL METHODS OF DISPLAYING CATALOGUES

268. We have dealt already with forms of catalogue to some extent, but the five chief methods of displaying manuscript catalogues merit a more detailed consideration and illustration. It is needless to attempt to describe every device which has been introduced for the purpose of displaying catalogues and providing for additions and expansion, and we shall limit our selection to those which are best known, most effective or most used. The five chief methods are the Page, Card, Sheaf, Placard and Panoramic, a nomenclature suggested in an article which appeared in 1893 in the Library, pp. 45-66.

269. Page Catalogues.—The most elementary form of the page catalogue is the ordinary manuscript book, with stepped thumb-index or simple alphabetical division of the leaves, so many being allowed for each letter of the alphabet. This is an unsuitable variety for a public library, and should not be used for cataloguing purposes.

The British Museum public catalogue consists of large guard books, in which printed or manuscript slips of book entries are mounted on the tough cartridge paper leaves, so as to leave space for additions. When a page becomes congested, the slips can be lifted by means of a paper-knife, as they are secured only at the ends, another leaf can be inserted on the adjoining guard, and the old and additional slips can be redistributed over the whole of the newly created space. This catalogue represents but one alphabet, or copy of the catalogue, in some hundreds of volumes, and each volume only holds a small portion of the alphabet, as from Bal to Bec. One copy of the catalogue thus serves many readers at one time. By distributing the entries over a number of volumes, congestion is less likely to occur than in catalogues complete in themselves in one or two volumes.

[260]

Fig. 92.—Catalogue Shelves, British Museum (Section 269).

A variation of this system of guard book is to be seen in some public libraries where the whole of the catalogue is mounted in one volume. A number of copies of this style of page catalogue must be provided to meet public needs, and it is, on the whole, a less serviceable and much more expensive form than the catalogue on similar lines spread over a number of volumes. A good example of this kind of page catalogue is to be seen in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, where it exists in the form of huge guard books displayed on special stands.

270. To overcome the difficulty of inserting additional leaves at pleasure in page catalogues, various kinds of adjustable albums, with movable leaves, have been introduced. At the Bibliothèque Nationale, in Paris, and elsewhere a catalogue is[261] used consisting of thick, hinged leaves, punched at the back and laced into the boards, or secured by means of a screw fastening.

Fig. 93.—Adjustable Screw Binder (Section 271).

271. Another variety of this French binder designed to secure adjustability of leaves is that shown below in the illustration (Fig. 93), wherein the leaves are clamped by the pressure of two wooden slats, which are drawn together by means of two or more endless screws turned by a key.

For this kind of binder it is necessary to notch the leaves to correspond with the screws.

The principle of the sheaf binders (Section 282) can also be applied to page catalogues, and very successful page books have been made up from the form illustrated in Sections 286-87. The most recent methods of loose-leaf ledgers have also great possibilities for catalogues, and are probably to be preferred to any book manuscript type other than the sheaf.

The whole of the devices just described are so arranged that leaves can be inserted, to a more or less limited extent, at any point. The British Museum type does not provide for unlimited additions, nor for any subsequent division of volumes, without much trouble and rebinding. The French and other adjustable leaved binders do allow for unlimited insertions, subject to the condition that the matter mounted on the pages must be redistributed. In an adjustable book new leaves can be inserted at any place till the volume is full, and then the contents may be divided and two books used, this subdivision and spreading being continued as the entries increase in number.

272. A form of page catalogue combining the powers of inserting new leaves at any point, and moving single entries about without having to paste them down or lift them up, is called the Rudolph Indexer. It consists in its book form of thick cardboard leaves, to which metal flanges are secured,[262] down each margin. Each leaf is provided with a double-hinged fastening, which enables it to be hooked on to any adjoining leaf, so as to form a volume of any desired thickness, to which a pair of covers can be attached. The catalogue entries are written or printed on narrow cards, and these are slipped under the flanges, which secure them by either end. Fig. 94 shows at a glance the appearance of this form of page catalogue.

Fig. 94.—Rudolph Indexer Book (Section 272).

273. There are certain advantages claimed for page catalogues which may be enumerated here. The chief is that a large group of entries can be scanned with one sweep of the eye, thereby facilitating the rapid finding of any particular entry. Another is that, being in book form, it is more easily manipulated than other forms of catalogue. Its comparative cheapness is sometimes put forward as an advantage over other forms, particularly cards, but on this point it is not wise to assume cheapness where so much time and labour are necessarily involved. As regards the claim to rapidity in turning up entries because a whole page is exposed at a time, there are considerable doubts as to its soundness. General experience of such catalogues as the British Museum is that, owing to the number of entries, the occasional congestions and disorders where double columns of entries exist, it is more difficult to find a given entry than in the case of cards or slips properly guided and in accurate alphabetical order. This point may be further illustrated by the case of men or women who are not adepts at using alphabetical lists, and who turn up a particular word in a dictionary with much difficulty and loss of time.

[263]

Fig. 95.—Card Catalogue Cabinet with Sliding Extension Runners (Section 275).

274. Card Catalogues.—The card-index is the invention of librarians, and is perhaps the most important contribution to method that commerce owes to them. Cards for library cataloguing purposes were used in France in the middle of the eighteenth century; they were used in Trinity College, Dublin, early in the nineteenth century; and in 1852 they were introduced into the Bank of England for commercial indexing. The plan of keeping cards or slips on edge in boxes or drawers loosely, thereby giving unlimited means of expansion and intercalation, must have occurred to many minds as the best means of maintaining perpetual alphabetical order. Single cards not[264] attached in any way, save temporarily, possess unlimited powers of movability, and can be arranged in any kind of order when assembled in numbers, because each card can be taken away or moved about or fresh cards added at any point in a series, without upsetting any adjoining card, or interrupting alphabetical order.

The cards, when arranged in alphabetical order, are separated into small divisions by means of projecting guides, on which are printed subject or author or other words or class numbers, which serve the same purpose as the running catch-words of a dictionary, only they are much more effective, because more conspicuous. They are secured by means of a rod which passes through holes punched in the lower part of the cards, and the rod is either locked or screwed into the back or front of the drawer.

275. The usual plan is to store the cards in the drawers of a cabinet, marking the contents of each drawer plainly on the outside. Fig. 95 is an illustration of a card cabinet, showing the usual guides and sliding runners to enable the whole extent of a drawer to be pulled free of the cabinet for purposes of examination.

Fig. 96.—Cabinet of Card Trays (Section 276).

Fig. 97.—Sideless Card Catalogue Tray (Section 276).

276. Another form, which is illustrated above (Fig. 96), shows[265] various improvements, including an adjustable angle-block, for supporting the cards at a suitable angle for easy consultation: this can be screwed up tight at any point in a drawer, so as to hold a smaller or larger number of cards in place; a special form of rod on which the cards are strung or filed, easily removable, but still capable of safeguarding them against misuse or misplacement; a special automatic catch at the front of the drawer to prevent it being pulled out accidentally, but which does not prevent any drawer from being taken away from the cabinet if required. Another important improvement introduced in 1902 was the modification in the sides of trays, whereby the woodwork was cut down so as to lighten the tray and enable the cards to be handled from the sides as well as the top. This variety is known as the “Sideless Tray” (Fig. 97).

277. The card catalogue in cabinets of fixed drawers is not, in some ways, such an effective arrangement as detachable trays or drawers stored in a suitable rack or cabinet. The fixed-drawer plan has various disadvantages, chief among which is the serious one that a single person consulting a cabinet may monopolize from 6000 to 10,000 entries, according to the number of drawers forming a tier. Where there are four to six drawers in a tier it is impossible to adjust them so that both tall and short persons will find them equally accessible; and only a few persons can use the catalogue at one time, as two persons will[266] practically cover up three tiers, thus in some cases cutting off from other users at least 20,000 or more entries. There is also the difficulty of filling up application forms for books, as no proper writing surfaces are available, although some modern cabinets have a horizontal shelf which slides in and out as required from the centre or from beneath the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 95. In addition there is the difficulty of obtaining a good light on the lower drawers, and the large amount of space occupied by a large cabinet. To meet these difficulties card cabinets should be placed most carefully so that the person of average height can consult all drawers without trouble; and the extension shelf just mentioned should be provided; or, the cabinets should stand upon a table the top of which projects in front of them sufficiently to permit of drawers withdrawn from the cabinet being placed upon them. This shelf or table provides the desired writing surface; and small paper note-blocks on which readers can note catalogue particulars are part of the table equipment.

When printed entries are mounted on blank cards, it is advisable to “guard” them, in order to balance the additional thickness of the upper part, which causes bulging, by pricking the fronts of the cards, or embossing them by means of a blunt awl, thus:

A similar result may be obtained by pasting strips of paper of similar quality to that on which the printed entries are mounted on the lower part of the back of the card.

278. Various kinds of trays, described and figured below, are intended to replace the “cabinet” system; but it is clear that if every drawer is easily detached from a cabinet and if suitable table space is available their advantages are more theoretical than real. A good form, which is well safeguarded and not too heavy or clumsy, will be found in a tray which is provided with all necessary accessories in the form of locking-rod, guides,[267] adjustable angle-block, outside label-holder, and felt pads to prevent it from scratching table-tops or other furniture. This kind of tray can be kept in racks of a convenient size, and users can remove it to a table for consultation.

Fig. 98.—Cards for Bonnange Catalogue Trays (Section 279).

279. A French form of card-catalogue tray was invented by Mr F. Bonnange, of Paris, in 1866, and improved in 1874. In this, the method of securing the card differs from the rod threading through perforations, as in English and American models. The cards are hinged, and have shoulders formed in the slightly thicker lower portion, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 98), which is also slotted to clear the fastening. The hinged cards shoulder into side grooves formed in the wooden trays, and the slotted portion is placed astride a powerful endless screw, which traverses the tray from end to end, and carries a suitable block which acts as a travelling clamp. The screw is worked by means of a key, and when turned to the right the block travels forward along the screw till the cards are all firmly clamped between it and the end of the tray; when turned to the left the block travels back and so releases the cards to enable insertions to be made. The upper portion of the cards being hinged,[268] and consequently free of the block, are not clamped, and can be turned over readily for purposes of consultation. Guides, alphabetical or numerical, may be inserted either above or at either side of the cards.

Fig. 99.—Bonnange Card Catalogue Trays (Section 279).

280. An Italian card tray on a somewhat similar principle to this was invented by Mr A. Staderini, of Rome, in 1890. It differs from the Bonnange tray in having a sliding-block gearing with a ratchet which is fastened along the bottom and made to engage or disengage with a key. The cards are similar in principle to those of the Bonnange system, save that the lower hinged half is not slotted. The illustration (Fig. 100) will explain better than words the appearance and other accessories of this tray.

Fig. 100.—Staderini Card Trays and Hinged Card (Section 280).

Both the Bonnange and Staderini methods share in common an advantage of some importance, viz., the clamped lower portion of the card forms a counterfoil to show what has been taken, should a card by accident or design be removed or torn off. The accession number or brief title of the book can be[269] written on the clamped portion of the card, and so will safeguard against loss and imperfections. This is an advantage not possessed by any of the ordinary card methods, because when cards are torn from the rods they leave no trace, and become lost for ever, leaving it very problematical whether a catalogue is perfect or not.

281. A card catalogue on a somewhat similar principle to the French and Italian forms just described is known as the Duplex Card Catalogue, and was invented in England to enable both sides of the cards to be used, thereby considerably enlarging the capacity of the catalogue, while materially reducing its bulk. It is fitted with falling ends which act as angle-blocks; a travelling angle-block can be adjusted and locked at any[270] point; a locking-rod for threading the cards upon in order to secure them; and xylonite label-holders. The cards are larger than ordinary catalogue cards, and instead of being hinged are simply creased at a short distance above the rod holes. This gives a slight bulge and enables the cards to have the necessary play. The trays are held lengthways in a position parallel to the body, instead of at right angles as in the case of ordinary trays, and the cards or leaves are simply turned over like those of a book.

An extended, illustrated study of the whole of card-cataloguing methodology is Sayers and Stewart’s The Card Catalogue.

Fig. 101.—Duplex Card Catalogue (Section 281).

282. Sheaf Catalogues.—The sheaf catalogue is not so widely used as the card system in Britain, but, as we have shown, it has exactly the same advantages as regards the power of expansion and intercalation. It aims at combining the advantages of both book and card catalogues, by dividing the catalogue into handy sections so that the maximum number of readers can consult it at one time; providing means for continuous expansion in alphabetical order; safeguarding the contents of sections; reducing the amount of storage space occupied; and enabling users to handle and turn over the catalogue like the leaves of an ordinary book. The introduction of ordinary paper slips, which can be used in any typewriter, which can be easily stored in various forms of binders in book form, and which can be added to in manuscript without undoing the holder, is a real economy in library administration which has not received the attention it deserves. While 1000 entries in a card catalogue will occupy from 750 to 840 cubic inches of space, the sheaf-holders most in use will not take up more than fifty-six cubic inches of space for the same number of entries. The writing surfaces are also much larger.

[271]

Fig. 102.—Leyden Slip Holder (Section 283).

283. The slip catalogue known as the Leyden, from its first use in the University Library of Leyden, in Holland, in 1871, consists of bundles of slips, notched as shown in the illustration (Fig. 102), and secured by means of cord or catgut. The outer boards are hinged, and notched to correspond with the slips, and the cord is tied firmly round the volume and into the slots, so as to bind the whole. These Leyden holders are only adapted for private or staff use, and must be kept in very thin sections, as the volumes get more loose and insecure the thicker they are made. As a means of holding any kind of temporary slip, this is, however, a useful device.

Fig. 103.—Volume of Staderini Sheaf Catalogue (Section 284).

284. A much more mechanically perfect slip catalogue-holder[272] is the screw-binder invented by Mr A. Staderini, of Rome. It comprises a fixed back and boards, to which two iron screw-bolts are attached. On these the slips, which are perforated to correspond with the bolts, are threaded, and the books are secured by means of brass screw-caps which fasten the boards to the bolts, and so make the volume rigid and the slips secure. These volumes are numbered and kept in pigeon-holes, which bear the volume numbers and letters denoting the section of the alphabet contained in each sheaf (Figs. 103-104).

Fig. 104.—Staderini Sheaf Catalogue in the Victor Emmanuel Library, Rome (Section 284).

285. A “sheaf”-holder on exactly the same principle, but with a different and neater fastening, was invented in 1891 by Mrs Sacconi-Ricci, of Florence. This holder also fits into numbered pigeon-holes, and consists of perforated slips threaded on to two upright rods, which are kept in place by means of a sliding bar which, when screwed into place, locks the slips and boards into one compact volume (Fig. 105).

Fig. 105.—Sacconi Sheaf Catalogue (Section 285).

Fig. 106.—Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue, Clamp Fastening (Section 286).

286. The most used and oldest of the British sheaf catalogues is the “Adjustable Catalogue-Holder,” which was invented about 1892. This has a flexible leather back, and the slips are bound and unbound by the contracting and expanding action[273] of two cylindrical screws, turned by means of a metal key. It is not necessary, as in the case of all other sheaf-holders, to undo this one in order to remove the slips when additions are being made, the loosening of the screws being all that is necessary. The slips are punched at the back edge with bayonet-shaped or keyed slots, which give sufficient holding power when the screws are tightened to clamp the boards and slips into one solid and firm volume. The book numbers, if written on the clamped portion of the slips, will remain in the sheaf if entries should be wilfully torn out, and no catalogue could be rendered imperfect without the knowledge of the librarian. Xylonite label-holders[274] are attached to the back of this form of sheaf, which enable contents labels to be changed at will, without pasting or damaging the back. A rack or pigeon-holes can be provided in which to store these sheafs in numbered, alphabetical or class order.

Fig. 107.—Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue, Open for Consultation (Section 287).

Fig. 108.—Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue, Open for making Additions with Cradle and Key (Section 287).

287. The most recent form of catalogue sheaf is that illustrated in Figs. 107-8. It differs from the adjustable in having a rigid back, and but one screw. In other respects it is perhaps easier to manipulate than the binders just described.

The holder consists of a strong wooden back to which two stout covers are attached by means of hinges, specially designed to guard against injury to the covers. Within the holder a special form of brass screw-fitting is mounted, upon which the slips are threaded, so that when the covers are closed the whole sheaf is firmly secured by means of a special screw. A few turns of the key suffices to lock or open the holder.

[275]

		Oliphant (Mrs.)
	Adam Graeme.	Fiction
	Country gentleman.	Fiction
	Curate in charge.	Fiction
	Harry Joscelyn.	Fiction
	House in Bloomsbury.	Fiction
	Kirsteen.	Fiction
		OVER

Fig. 109.—Front of Sheaf Catalogue Author Slip (Section 288).

Oliphant (Mrs.)
Laird of Norlaw.	Fiction
Perpetual curate.	Fiction
Hester.	Fiction



	OVER

Fig. 110.—Reverse of Sheaf Catalogue Author Slip (Section 288).

288. A very good way of maintaining a sheaf catalogue for public use, especially in open access libraries, is to provide a sheaf or sheaves for each class of literature, and to enter the books in class order, using both sides of the slips for entries of[276] small topics. These sheaves can be kept on the shelves with their classes. To this an author and title index can be provided in one alphabet, each author being kept on one slip or more, and both sides of the slips being used to ensure economy of space, and enable readers to find at once any particular book. Thus, on the front of the slip an author entry might appear as in Fig. 109, while on the back, or reverse side, the titles would be continued as on Fig. 110.

		Old
	Old court suburb, by Hunt	U906
	Old curiosity shop, by Dickens	Fiction
	Old dominion, by Johnston	Fiction
	Old Mortality, by Scott	Fiction
	Old world in its new face, by Bellows	Q037
	[and so on]
		OVER

Fig. 111.—Sheaf Catalogue Title Slip (Section 288).

The matter of strict alphabetical order in such index slips is of little consequence, owing to the concentration of entries which enables a consultor to note the contents with one sweep of the eye.

Title entries can be done in similar fashion, the leading word[277] being used as the index or catch-heading, as in Fig. 111. Here, again, strict alphabetical order need not be maintained, owing to the comparatively small compass in which the entries are displayed.

		F000.3 Zoology
	Parker (T.J.) and W.A. Haswell. Text- book of zoology. 1903.
	Hertwig (R.) General principles of zoology. 1906.
	Claus (C.) Elementary text-book of zoology. 1899.
	Nicholson (H.A.) Manual of zoology. 1876.

		OVER

Fig. 112.—Sheaf Catalogue Subject Slip (Section 288).

[278]

The classified sheaves can be kept in the same manner, or, if it is felt that a separate slip should be written for each book, to ensure strict order, this of course can be done. But it is at best doubtful if this is necessary save in very large subjects. For example, entries like the above are quite easily discovered (Fig. 112).

Where annotations on a large scale are employed, it is best to make use of a separate slip for each entry.

Fig. 113.—Adjustable Placard Catalogue (Section 289).

In all kinds of sheaf catalogues a fair margin should be allowed round the entries, to preserve them against finger-marks.

The slips are punched so as to secure absolute uniformity in size and in the position of the holes. The hole being made in an oval form allows the slips to be easily threaded on, or removed from the screw-fitting.

The special construction of the holders prevents the slips from sagging or drooping at their free ends, a fault observable in both the Staderini and Sacconi forms. It is usual to “guide” all forms of sheaf or slip catalogues, by boldly writing catchwords on both outer corners of each leaf (see Figs. 109-10, 112), and indicating the contents by means of the xylonite label-holders on the backs.

The whole subject of sheaf-cataloguing methodology is explained and illustrated in Stewart’s The Sheaf Catalogue.

[279]

289. Placard Catalogues.—The most ordinary form of placard catalogue is a manuscript or printed list of books on a large sheet or sheets, which is framed and hung on the wall where readers can see it. There are several varieties of these framed lists, which are used chiefly for lists of additions. A form giving the power of moving single entries has been devised in England which is better than anything else usually seen. This consists of a frame with a movable back, on which vertical xylonite slips are fastened in such a way as to form long columns with flanged sides. Under the flanges can be slipped pieces of cardboard the width of the columns, which slide up and down in the length of the column as required. The titles of new books can be written on these cards and arranged in any order. If blank cards are left between every letter of the alphabet or every class, additional entries can be added at any moment. If several frames are used, some hundreds of new books can be catalogued, and when full the entries can be transferred to the printed bulletin, or otherwise utilized, to free the frames for further additions. The illustration given above will show the nature of this adjustable accessions catalogue, which corresponds in principle with the adjustable Periodical List.

290. Panoramic Catalogues.—Several methods have been proposed or devised for displaying catalogue entries on an endless chain in a panoramic or continuous form, but none of them has been generally adopted.

Bibliography (Chapters XVI.-XVIII.)

The principal literature of the subject of cataloguing has been mentioned in the text, and much of the best, more recent writing is in periodicals; moreover, every general work on libraries has a chapter or more on the subject. The following is offered as a selection of the literature in separate form:—

291. General:

Bishop, W. W. Practical Handbook of Modern Library Cataloguing, 1914. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

Delisle, Léopold. Instructions Elémentaires et Techniques pour la Mise et le Maintien en Ordre des Livres d’une Bibliothèque, 1910.

Thorne, W. B. First Steps in Library Cataloguing, 1917. L.A.A., Series 8.

Wheatley, H. B. How to Catalogue a Library, 1889. Stock.

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292. Codes, Rules, etc.:

Aberdeen University Library. Condensed Cataloguing Rules, 1914.

New York State Library School. Fellows, J. D. Cataloguing Rules: for the Course in Elementary Cataloguing, 1914. Library School, 36.

Wisconsin University Library School. Turvill, Helen. Cataloguing Rules, 1912.

293. Annotation:

Savage, E. A. Manual of Descriptive Annotation in Library Catalogues, 1906. Grafton.

Sayers, W. C. Berwick. First Steps in Annotation in Catalogues, 1918. L.A.A., Series 9.

294. Children’s Catalogues (see also Division XIII.):

Sayers and Stewart. Catalogues for Children: with a Code of Rules, 1905.

295. Subject Headings:

A.L.A. List of Subject Headings for use in Dictionary Catalogues. 3rd ed., by M. J. Briggs, 1911.

Mann, M. Subject Headings for use in Dictionary Catalogues of Juvenile Books, 1916. A.L.A.

Library of Congress. Preliminary List of Subject Sub-divisions, 1910. Edited by J. C. M. Hanson.

296. Card Catalogues:

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Rules for Filing Cards in the Dictionary Catalogues, 1917.

Sayers and Stewart. The Card Catalogue, 1913. Grafton.

297. Sheaf Catalogues:

Stewart, J. D. The Sheaf Catalogue, 1909. Grafton.

298. Co-operative Cataloguing:

Jahr, T., and Strohm, A. J. Bibliography of Co-operative Cataloguing and the Printing of Catalogue Cards: with References to International Bibliography and the Universal Catalogue, 1850-1902. 1903.

299. Cataloguer’s Reference Books:

New York State Library. Selections of Cataloguer’s Reference Books in New York State Library, 1903.

See also Brown’s Library Classification and Cataloguing and Stewart’s Sheaf Catalogue.

For articles, see Cannons: I, Cataloguing.

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CHAPTER XX
FILING AND INDEXING

300. General.—Although the library invented the card index, it may be confessed that in this country the library has not yet realized the possibilities of its own invention, even if it is convinced of its complete desirability. We make no question, however, of the fact that such methods as card-indexing and its derivative, vertical filing, become more necessary every day if the librarian is to handle with any degree of success the multiplicity of documents, prints, papers and other disparate matter which form so important a part of the stock of a really living library. Since the publication of the second edition of this Manual the whole matter has made such advances that a complete reversal of many of the statements and recommendations made in it is necessary. The general indexing and filing problems before the librarian are these:

1. Borrowers’ register.
2. Stationery and supplies register.
3. Correspondence filing and indexing.
4. Indexing of minutes.
5. The filing of clippings.
6. The filing of broadsides, prints, photographs, maps, lantern slides, negatives.
7. The filing of deeds.
8. The filing of pamphlets.

As the index is the key to the filing system, we will treat of filing methods first.

Fig. 114.—Folder for Vertical File.

301. Vertical, and Loose, versus Other Methods.—Any rigid method of filing becomes confused and time-wasting. For example, the old method for correspondence sent out was to copy it in a letter-book which was equipped with a thumb-index. As[282] all letters so copied were placed in the book in chronological order, it necessarily happened that correspondence with a given person or on a given subject was found in several separate places in the book; and, although the letters received which occasioned the correspondence could be pasted into the letter-book against the replies, no connected view of the correspondence could be gained without several references. The letter-book method served its purpose for a long time, and has been preserved owing to the conservatism which is a British characteristic and to fear of loss, misplacement, or inaccurate record being made. Experience proves, however, that loss and misplacement can easily be prevented, and accurate record of letters is equally possible, when filing by flexible methods is used. Moreover, the principle of classification—alphabetical or subject—is the foundation of successful filing which admits of rapid reference and completeness; for it is beyond question desirable that all correspondence, documents, etc., relating to any given matter, should be kept in one place only. For example, the bookbinding transactions of a library involve correspondence with several bookbinders, specifications, instructions, orders, incidental correspondence respecting defects, errors, etc.—and all this material should come together for the simple reason that it is used together. To ensure this the material must be filed individually as a general rule; that is to say, in such a way that additional material can be inserted. There are various methods: the Stolzenberg file, for instance, and other files which resemble it. These are generally folders of stout manilla, having two flexible prongs inside at the fold which penetrate and fold over the margins of the papers and so hold them in place; and when an insertion is made the prongs are lifted and the new paper fitted into position. More recent is loose filing in folders in which the material is not secured in any way, and insertions are therefore possible without obstruction of any kind. All folders are filed in drawers, in cabinets as a rule, and the average office desk is now equipped with drawers for vertical filing. An illustration of a folder and[283] filing cabinet will show better than much description what we have in mind (Figs. 114, 115).

Fig. 115.—A Drawer of a Correspondence Filing Cabinet.

In these folders correspondence and other documents are filed together with the carbon copies of replies. The carbon copy of a letter is, of course, an exact facsimile of it made at the one original operation of writing or typing the letter; it is thus an exact record, and additions or corrections are easily visible.

302. The arrangement of correspondence, etc., is a matter upon which opinion differs, but except for general correspondence, which may be filed alphabetically in folders—one or more folders as required being devoted to each letter of the alphabet—it is generally found that a classified arrangement is to be preferred. Even in the alphabetical folders an expansible number should be given to each folder in order that it may be indexed briefly and clearly. For the classification of correspondence several schemes have been devised; that, for example, in the latest edition of Dewey’s Decimal Classification is full, flexible and practical; and perhaps that which is most used is L. Stanley Jast’s Decimal Classification of Library Economy and Office Papers, 1906 (revised 1907). The main divisions, a subdivision, and a section of the complete tables will enable us to illustrate its use (see p. 284).

[284]

Main Divisions.		Main Sub-Divisions.		Section of Complete Tables.
0	General.	4	Government and Service.	42	Committee. Trustees.
01	Librarian. Personal.	41	Council.	421	Election. Co-opted Members.
1	Legislation. Founding. Classes of Libraries.	42-3	Committee.	422	Powers.
2	Extension work.	44-5	Staff.	423	Standing Orders.
3	Building.	46	Rules and regulations for readers.	424	Chairman.
4	Government and Service.	47		4243	Matters to be submitted to Chairman.
5	Executive.	48	Relations with other Corporation Committees.	4245	Vice-Chairman.
6	Accession. Description. Conservation.	49	Relations with other Corporation Departments.	425	Clerk.
7	Departments.			426	Minutes.
8	Publications.	5	Executive.	427	Notices of Meeting.
9	Other.	51-2	Finance.	428	Agenda. Notices of Motion.
		53	Stationery. Supplies.	4285	Attendances.
		54		429	Next Meeting.
		55	Communication. Correspondence.	4291	Reports. Returns.
		56-8	Office.	4292	Periodical (fortnightly, monthly, or quarterly).
		59		4294	Annual.
				4295	Next Annual.
				4296	Special.

				43	Sub-Committees.
				431	Finance.
				432	Officers.
				433	Books.
				etc. etc.

Fig. 115a.—A Specimen of the Jast Classification of Library Economy (Sections 302-03).

[285]

303. Everything that comes into the library or goes out of it, except the actual books, will fit into such a classification, and may be numbered and indexed by it. All correspondence is marked boldly with the number of the division to which it belongs, and is filed in the folders which bear the number. The folders are numbered on the projecting edge of the broader flap, as shown in Fig. 114, and are arranged numerically according to the notation order. It may be objected that this method separates letters from one correspondent who may write at various times or on various subjects; but experience proves that except in few cases, such as are provided for under 55, where general correspondence is arranged alphabetically under the names of the writers, the questions the file is required to answer are not answered in terms of names of correspondents; moreover, the alphabetical name index, which is an indispensable accompaniment of the method, brings together all references to letters from any given correspondent. The index should be on cards, and should give the name and address of the correspondent, the classification number of the subject, and the dates of the letters received or dispatched (see Fig. 116).

Not only does this index serve as a key to the correspondence file (Section 302); it may contain, without prejudice to its value, all addresses which the librarian deems it expedient to keep, with telephone numbers, telegraphic addresses, and cable codes where necessary.

It will be obvious that a classified file of this kind will accommodate all other documents and lists—book-lists, reports made on subjects or departments, minutes, and in fact any miscellaneous papers whatsoever.

304. The effectiveness, and indeed safety, of any individual indexing or filing system depends upon the care with which it is manipulated in order that misplacements of papers or cards may not occur. The fear of carelessness or ignorance on the part of assistants has caused some librarians to prefer an alphabetical system of filing. When this is so it should be alphabetical by subjects, except in the case of general correspondence which deals with no particular subjects. Library communications are frequently of this general nature, but the vital letters are upon subjects; for example,

[286]

Exhibitions,
Lectures,
Readings,
Story Hours,

are headings taken at random for which folders would be included. In arranging courses of lectures, for example, a librarian may write and receive any number of letters; and he wants them together as a rule and not in the alphabetical order of correspondents. This alphabetical-subject system requires an index to such folders as do not come under general correspondence; folders coming under the latter would be most useful in a sequence separate from the subject folders, but such separation is not essential.

SMITH, H. J., & SONS, Ltd.
147a Paternoster Row,
LONDON, E.C.2.
’Phone—London Wall 6692.
Code—A.B.C.
1919.
623	—	14	My.
623	—	9	Je.
631	—	18	Jy.
etc.

Fig. 116.—Address, and Correspondence,
Index-Card.

305. If either of the two methods outlined is deemed too complex—neither is so really—the old theory that “the only natural arrangement for letters is an alphabetical one” will rule the choice of method. This simply means arrangement alphabetically by the name of the correspondent, and in this method the file is self-indexing to the extent of the names. If it is made the rule to place letters from institutions under the names of such institutions, and to insert, where necessary, in strict alphabetical order slips of paper to hold all cross-references from the names of officers, there will be no need for further indexing. If topical indexes are required they can be compiled on 8vo slips, the subject word being written boldly on the top of the sheet,[287] and the names of the writers on the topic in alphabetical order below. These slips can take their place in alphabetical order among the letters.

306. All working correspondence files should be weeded out at intervals to remove matter of transient interest and to relieve congestion. The librarian should at the first mark such papers as are to be filed—much correspondence is merely formal, and has no information value, and need not be filed even temporarily; but it is better to file everything and to weed frequently than to lose any important document by initial carelessness. When weeding out, the matter of merely temporary interest may be destroyed; and that which it is desired to keep may be transferred in strict order to filing boxes, or another storage filing cabinet, thus leaving the current files free from any but current matter.

Fig. 117.—Storage Box for Pamphlets, Letters, etc. (Section 306).

307. Prints, Photographs and Maps.—Unframed, unmounted “illustration” material, in which are included prints, illustrations, photographs, maps, and broadsides, requires separate and careful filing. In the first place it should be, so far as possible, mounted on “nature,” “sultan mecca,” or similar mounts of uniform size. This applies particularly to prints and photographs, and is the best means of ensuring their preservation and ease in handling and consulting them. They then need[288] close classification by one of the existing systematic schemes to line on so far as may be with the classification of the books; and it is often necessary to expand a classification considerably to differentiate the almost innumerable sub-topics which may form the subjects of pictures. Such expansion is skilled work and should be done only by an expert classifier. An examination of the classification proposed for local photographic surveys in Gower, Jast and Topley’s The Camera as Historian, 1916 (Sampson, Low), will show how minute a classification photographs demand. Each mount should bear a label, in the top left corner preferably, giving the class-number, the subject, and other particulars (see the sections on Photographic Surveys, 433, etc.). The filing may be in classification order in boxes which will lie flat on the shelves; and the most economical boxes are those made of the stoutest material compatible with lightness, such as cardboard covered with rexine, pegamoid cloth, etc.; heavy boxes of wood are awkward to handle and should be avoided. Better than boxes, because of the ease of consultation and insertion permitted, is a vertical file in drawers. In this the prints are inserted loosely like cards in a card-index, and no lifting and little handling are necessary to find any given print. For vertical filing the mounts should be the stoutest available, and a further protection is to use folders to hold groups of prints—one to a topic as a rule. The projecting edge of the folder may bear the topic number.

308. Maps do not fit readily into the vertical system, and are troublesome material as a rule. Several solutions of the map-filing problem have been suggested—rolling them and inserting them in tubes in a cabinet on the principle of the umbrella stand; mounting them on spring rollers and fixing them over bookcases where they can be drawn down to be consulted exactly as a blind is drawn; and an ingenious method devised by Mr G. T. Shaw, and described in Public Libraries: their Organization, etc., 1918 (Library Association), is worth examination. For the many small maps that all libraries possess, flat filing in such boxes as Fig. 118 depicts is probably the best. Single sheets of the Ordnance Survey, or other similar maps which are much handled, should be mounted on linen or some similar material, and an additional protection from tearing is to bind them with[289] tape, which may be done by folding the tape over the edges and running them round with an ordinary sewing machine.

Fig. 118.—Box for Filing Prints and Maps (Section 308).

309. Newspaper Clippings.—The vertical file is an excellent instrument for dealing with newspaper clippings. These, in the case of matters of temporary interest, may be dropped into classified folders. For clippings which it is desired to keep, it is better to provide a mount, which may be of paper of sufficient substance to bear them, and paste them down, writing in the top left corner the class-number, subject, source and date of the clipping. The older methods of filing clippings in newspaper-cuttings books, or in any form of guard book, have the disadvantage of inflexibility, want of rational means of indexing the contents, and occasion reference in course of time to several volumes for matter on any subject.

310. General.—For most filing purposes quarto folders, to accommodate quarto papers, which file in standard-sized drawers, are sufficient; but both drawers and folders can be obtained in foolscap and other sizes. And notwithstanding our advocacy of the loose method of filing, there is much to be said for such files as the Stolzenberg for papers which have an invariable chronological appearing and are valuable in that order; because the file, having the apparatus already described for securing and binding the papers, has the never-to-be-discounted virtue of book form. Such papers are minutes, periodical reports on special departments, financial analyses, book-lists, etc. Moreover, although the standard Stolzenberg cabinet accommodates its folders in horizontal fashion, the latter are also suitable for filing vertically in the drawers recommended for general purposes.

311. Lantern Slides and Negatives.—Modern libraries collect and preserve, occasionally even make for their own use, lantern slides and negatives. The method recommended for storing[290] these is precisely similar to that for prints; that is to say, in drawers in cabinets of suitable dimensions. Such cabinets are made by several firms specializing in photographic apparatus; and drawers can be obtained of a size to accommodate either slides or negatives. Without being dogmatical upon the point, it may safely be said that the best arrangement of slides is a classified one in drawers, the classification number being written on a label on the mount of the slide and on the top edge of the binding. If the slide is made from a negative in the possession of the library the number of the negative should also appear on the mount.

312. Negatives require more careful treatment, as the film is subject to damage if unprotected. They are also generally larger than lantern slides; and separate cabinets, or separate drawers, are desirable to hold them. A useful method is to insert each in a small manilla folder bearing the number on its edge, which number should also be written in ink (white is best) on the corner of the negative. Negatives may be arranged by accession numbers, as they are rarely wanted more than one at a time; and the slide catalogue will refer from slide to negative, as well as be a direct reference to the latter.

313. The index or catalogue of slides may be on cards arranged as a rule by titles or subjects, as the photographer or slide-maker’s name is rarely wanted. The following example of a card shows the title, source, location, and classification number of a slide and the number of its negative:

656 Ble	LOCOMOTIVES.
	Blenkinsop’s Engine, with Rack-Rail, 1811.

	Print—	Lantern Slide—
	Process	Coloured.
	Size 3 in. × 3 in.
Negative 18.		Lecture—Railways.
66675 P.

Fig. 119.—Lantern-slide Index Card (Section 313).

[291]

Slides which form lecture sets and are invariably used together, may be filed as sets, in spite of the fact that the others may be classified. After all, the rule of classification itself is that things used together must be placed together.

314. Indexes.—Probably no work demands the use of indexes so imperatively as library work. The catalogue is merely an extension of an index, and the borrowers’ register (which is dealt with in Section 366, etc.) is in its most convenient form merely an index. We have already dealt with the indexes for correspondence, lantern slides, etc., and it will be more convenient to deal with the indexes to prints and maps in Sections 438, etc. Here we can mention only one or two administrative indexes, with the general remark that the methods described are not to be regarded as stereotyped, but are merely suggestions which librarians may adapt to their special needs.

The Card Diary.—A useful little card index is one which may go on a desk, and is guided with the days of the week, and has such other guides as “This Week,” “To-day,” “Next Week,” “Miscellaneous matters,” etc., which serves as a reminder to its user. Behind the appropriate guide are filed cards referring to the matters which are to be dealt with at the time indicated. These card-diaries are commonly known as “ticklers,” and can be a most effective aid to methodical administration.

Stationery and Supplies Index.—It is an important matter, especially in large libraries, to be able to put hands immediately upon any article of stationery or other supplies. The old, haphazard plan of thrusting supplies in cupboards with wooden doors, and trusting to luck or memory for finding them again, is too leisurely a method for the busy modern librarian. All storage cupboards or presses should have glazed doors. This simple precaution has the effect of inducing tidiness on the part of the staff, and the prospect of slovenly arrangement is reduced to a minimum. The next process is to decide upon a method of indexing which will offer the greatest facilities for rapidly finding any given article. In the Library World for July, 1899, Mr Jast describes a graphic method of achieving this end. He provides a series of cards of uniform size, one or more for each article indexed, according to the need for indexing them more than once in the alphabet. On these cards he draws a rough[292] diagrammatic elevation of the cupboard or other place of storage, as illustrated (Fig. 120).

	Fine Receipt Books.			Office Desk.



				X

Fig. 120.—Supplies Location Card (Section 314).

On this is indicated at the top left-hand corner the class-number, and name or nature of the supply, and at the opposite corner its location. When a supply is stored away in this receptacle one of the blank cards representing it is headed as described, and the exact place where the articles are stored is indicated by a cross marked on the diagram, as shown above.

Of course, every separate receptacle must have its own series of specially drawn cards. The index is made by arranging these cards in the alphabetical order of the names of the various articles. Any one wanting a new fine receipt book, and not knowing where to find it, would look up this index under the word “Fine” and there he would find the card which indicates not only the receptacle where these books were stored, but also the exact position. This card may be combined with the inventory card described in the next chapter (Section 327).

Another plan would be to mark every cupboard or other receptacle with a letter or number. As these places would have glass doors, if they had any at all, there would be no necessity to mark separate shelves or pigeon-holes further. It is not always possible, or even desirable, to fix the location of supplies beyond[293] the main receptacle. A reference to a cupboard is quite near enough for any one having eyes in his head. To these various receptacles an index on cards or slip books as before can readily be made. The card should bear the name of the article at one of its top corners, and on the opposite corner the number or letter of the place where it is to be found. If necessary the remainder of the card or slip can be used for setting out the dates and quantities of successive orders of the article. This will be found a very useful form of inventory.

315. The indexes of minute books are usually kept in the books themselves and not separately. If a thumb index has not been provided, a few pages, say, twenty-six, may be reserved at the beginning or end of the book, in which an alphabetical sequence can be spaced out in pencil. It is equally clear, for all the reasons given in favour of the individual entries, that cards permit, that these indexes may be made on cards.


F		Dickens, Charles
		David Copperfield
		Macmillan, 4 : 6n.

	Accession No. 7,420		Date withdrawn, 10 : 6 : 18.
	Incomplete		Out of date
✓	Dirty		New ed.Bad
✓	Worn out		No. of copies in Lib., 20
✓	To be replaced		Transferred
	Not to be replaced		Marked in Acc. Bk.

Fig. 121.—Withdrawals Card (Section 316).

316. Withdrawn Books.—The card is a useful medium for recording withdrawals, and furnishes ample room for particulars (see Fig. 121).

317. Stock-taking Results.—Books missing at stock-taking are conveniently indexed on cards (see Fig. 122).

The back of the card indicates the dates at which examinations[294] were made of the various places where the missing book might be traced (see Fig. 123).

MISSING.
355 Legion of Frontierswomen. Pocock, Roger (Ed.) Frontierswoman’s Pocket Book.
Missing on Oct. 1912.	Stock No. 19843.
Found on 28th Jan. 1919.
Where found—In a Newton pillar box. Returned by Postal Authorities.—E. L. M.
Condition	Replaced

Fig. 122.—Card for Missing Books Index (Section 317).

Shelves
Repairs
Recasing
Binding
Withdrawals
Reference

Fig. 123.—Card for Missing Books Index, Back (Section 317).

318. Other.—Other indexes which have been found of value are a general administrative index, with sections allotted to suggestions for activities; information given from the libraries, and not given (a most important matter as revealing deficiencies needing remedy); the location and distribution of keys when the latter are in the hands of several people; classification decisions; and, indeed, there is no limit to the use of the card index as an administrative tool. One simple and invaluable index in libraries where lectures are given is a Lecturers’ Index, with guides for Offers, Next Series, Current Lectures, Past[295] Lectures, behind which are placed cards bearing the names and addresses of lecturers, the titles and other particulars of their lectures, dates of delivery, etc. The mere indexing of such materials affords many suggestions and reduces lecture-organization to a very simple process.

Bibliography

319. Literary Indexing:

Clarke, A. L. Manual of Practical Indexing, 1905. Grafton. New York State Library. Wheeler and Bascom, E. L. Indexing: Principles, Rules and Examples, 1905. Bulletin, 94, Library School, 19. Ed. 2; revised, 1913. Bulletin, 354, Library School, 33.

Petherbridge, Mary. Technique of Indexing, 1904. Secretarial Bureau.

Wheatley, H. B. How to Make an Index, 1902. Eliot Stock.

—— What is an Index: Notes on Indexes and Indexers, 1878. Index Society Publications.

320. Commercial and Library Indexing:

Byles, R. B. The Card Index System. Pitman.

Kaiser, J. The Card System at the Office, 1908. Vacher.

—— Systematic Indexing, 1911. Pitman.

Sayers and Stewart. The Card Catalogue, 1913. Grafton.

321. Filing:

Cope, E. A. Filing Systems: Their Principles and their Application to Modern Office Requirements. Pitman.

Dana, J. C. American Library Economy [Various Sections, particularly v. i., pt. 5, sec. 3, Picture Collection; pt. 6, Art Department; v. ii., pt. 1, Colour and Position Filing; pt. 18, sec. 1, The Vertical File (revised ed. entitled the Information File); etc.], 1909. Woodstock, Vermont: Elm Tree Press.

Jast, L. S. A Classification of Library Economy and Office Papers, 1907. Grafton.

For articles, consult Index of Cannons under Indexing and Filing.

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DIVISION IX
MAINTENANCE AND ROUTINE WORK

CHAPTER XXI
STATIONERY AND RECORDS

322. Forms and Blanks.—Most of the important forms and blanks have already been described and figured under the different departments to which they refer, and this section will, therefore, only deal with a few general forms. Notepaper of various kinds should be provided, some in the ordinary business size, some post quarto, and some foolscap folio. On each of these sizes the usual heading should be printed, with the arms and name of the town, librarian’s name, and any other information thought necessary. All ordinary correspondence can be carried on with the business size, but official and complimentary letters should be written on the larger sizes. Envelopes to suit the various sizes should also be procured, and it is a good plan to stock some large-sized manila envelopes for sending off large documents, reports, etc. These can be had in a variety of sizes, and some of them have clasps instead of gummed flaps, which make them very useful for temporary filing purposes. Gummed postal WRAPPERS should also be stocked in a fairly large size, and LABELS for sending off parcels, with the name of the library boldly printed on them, will be found very useful.

323. Writing Materials.—Inks are manufactured in such a variety of kinds and colours that choice is made difficult. A good black ink should be procured, and also a bright red colour. Copying ink is not necessary even where press letter-copying is employed, as ordinary blue-black ink, if not blotted but allowed to dry naturally, will make perfectly good press copies. Care should be taken not to dry the tissue-paper leaves of the letter book completely when making copies. Other colours of inks,[297] such as green, violet, etc., can be obtained if wanted for special purposes. Ink-wells should be got in the modern reservoir form, with a constant level dipping place. Ink kept in such receptacles never gets thick or dirty, and the pen is never overcharged or underfed. These ink-wells with rubber tops can be obtained for about one shilling each, but for staff and committee use a better variety should be ordered as the rubber degenerates quickly under the chemical action of the ink. Ink-wells should preferably be associated with pen-racks rather than with pen-trays. A rack sorts the pens and pencils out automatically in a visible order, while a tray wastes a large amount of time annually, owing to the groping and examining and fruitless fumblings necessitated before the right pen or pencil is found among its fellows. One pen one place, is a good motto for any librarian. Of course the FOUNTAIN PEN removes a great deal of the waste of time and trouble inseparable from ink-pot filling, pen selecting, pen dipping, etc., and every librarian ought to have one as part of his ordinary equipment. There are various sorts in the market, but the higher priced ones are, as a rule, the only reliable ones, and the cost is an investment on which a return is soon made. Stylographic pens are very useful, but because of their tendency to spoil good handwriting, they are not so satisfactory as fountain pens, although they are much cheaper. For staff use in the numbering of book labels, charging, etc., stylographic pens would be found very useful, and every library of reasonable size should stock a few.

Pencils for public use should be the ordinary cedar ones at about 5s. a gross. For note-book copying purposes a Rowney “H” pencil, retailing at twopence, will be found of great value, as it does not “set off” like the ordinary “H-B.” A hard pencil lasts much longer than a soft one, it does not require pointing so often, and the fact just mentioned, that writing done by its means does not blur or “set off” is an advantage not to be despised. Red and blue crayon pencils should be kept for checking purposes. Ordinary pen-holders and hard and soft pen-points are occasionally stocked in public libraries, as well as pencils, to lend out to the readers. Where this is done a certain amount of loss will have to be faced, as pens and pencils both disappear in the most mysterious ways. It is, however,[298] a very great convenience to provide pens, especially in reference libraries fitted with special reading-tables provided with sunk ink-wells.

Blotting paper, foolscap paper ruled faint, scribbling pads, and common white paper in sheets about 15 inches × 9 inches for mounting slips, should be provided among the writing materials of a library.

324. Library Stationery Cabinet.—It is needless to set out in more detail the various desk accessories and miscellaneous stationery required in a library, and an enumeration of the minimum contents of a stationery cabinet, which ought to be had for every library will suffice. A cabinet of this sort could be made up in various sizes and prices, like medicine chests, and would be found much more useful than the random method of buying articles at present in vogue.

Stationery Cabinet

Paper clips.
Stationery case. For holding a supply of envelopes, note-paper, etc. (large sizes).
Numbering machine (five figures).
Rubber dating stamps, with loose type and with band-changing apparatus.
Rubber printing outfit.
Nest of drawers, twelve in cabinet.
Cash-box.
Paper fasteners, corner clips, wire clips and brass clips.
Red tape, several spools (for documents only).
Pins.
Hand-rest for writing.
Tape measure or good two-foot rule.
Waste-paper basket.
Dispatch basket (wicker), for holding documents.
Letter scales, weighing to eight pounds.
Scissors.
Paste in bottles.
Rubber bands, assorted.
Rubber erasers.
Call bells, for public or office use.
Gummed labels, assorted sizes.
Sealing wax.
Twine of various thicknesses.
Ruled quadrille or squared paper (for planning).
Tracing paper or linen.
Case of mathematical instruments.
Paper knives.
Bone folders.
Leather book-carrying straps.
Reading and magnifying glasses.
Key rings and labels.
Writing pads or tablets.
Manuscript books of various sizes, 8vo, 4to, folio, for odd record purposes.
etc. etc.

325. The typewriter and its accessories are to be taken for granted in all libraries; and in connexion therewith its own[299] special stationery, typewriting carbon, and stencilling papers, inks, etc. Most libraries of even medium size now employ a skilled stenographer who acts as secretary to the chief librarian, manages the correspondence filing, the duplicating work, copies catalogue cards, etc. The best typewriter is the cheapest machine in the long run, and it should be equipped with carding and tabulating apparatus. Those which have more than one fount of type, as roman and italic, large and condensed types, have much to recommend them. A duplicating machine is an invaluable accessory. For small libraries the flat stencil-duplicating machine, such as the Gestetner, will suffice, and probably the best copies of smaller work, card forms, etc., are obtained by this means. But for circulars, book-lists, programmes and other matters of which many copies are required a cyclostyle is desirable. By its means topical reading lists and the many circulars which a live library desires to issue almost every week can be prepared and circulated widely with the utmost dispatch. Such a machine is one of the best investments a library can make.

Date.	Description.	Price.			Vendor.	Location.
		£	s.	d.

Fig. 124.—Inventory Book (Section 326).

326. Records.—An inventory should be kept of all supplies ordered, with dates and quantities, and a very good plan is to use the cards described at Section 327. These could be ruled in a series of columns to show dates, quantities and prices, and kept in a box which would serve the double purpose of inventory and supplies index. But there are other supplies besides stationery, etc., and these would have to be added. An inventory should be kept of all movable property belonging to the library,[300] such as furniture, pictures and other articles. It could be ruled as shown in Fig. 124.

327. The following is a good and simple method of keeping an inventory of supplies, and providing for their automatic renewal. Thin slips on tough paper are ruled and printed as in the examples shown (Figs. 125-6).

Date.	Quantity.				Vendor.		Price.
PAPER
Description—Foolscap, ruled faint and margin.
Location4—2.				Sample359
1906.
April 6	2	Reams	(A	6)	Wicer	8/6	—	17	—
Oct. 20	2	„	(A	59)	„	8/6	—	17	—
1907.
April 15	2	„	(A	165)	Nobbs	8/-	—	16	—

Fig. 125.—Front of Inventory Slip.


							Price.

Fig. 126.—Back of Inventory Slip.

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This inventory does not prevent supplies from running out suddenly, and thereby producing undesirable misunderstandings. There are many ways of effecting this check, all more or less satisfactory, but none, perhaps, is quite so certain as an actual material check upon the running-out of supplies. In addition to the inventory it is necessary to establish an “emergency-supply” cupboard, safely locked up, and in it to place a small stock of everything which is liable to run out. Thus, if two reams of foolscap arrive, a five-quire packet must be taken from it, separately parcelled up, and deposited in the emergency-supply receptacle. Attached to this emergency bundle should be a luggage label, or other conspicuous tag, bearing the words “Foolscap, ruled faint, order No. 69, Stock exhausted. . . .” The blank space is for the date when the emergency supply is transferred to the ordinary stock cupboard. In course of time the accessible stock is used up, and the person who removes the last sheet, or the one who next goes, discovers the shortage, and is forced to ask the key-keeper of the emergency cupboard for the reserved stock. This is produced, the label is dated and handed to the person responsible for ordering a fresh supply.

328. All general library KEYS may be assembled on a special key-board. This should consist of a large board fitted with the necessary number of hooks, one for each key or group of keys, and a proper descriptive label and number should be pasted under each hook. The keys should be numbered and labelled to correspond, with ivory labels attached by rings to every key. In addition an alphabetical list should be fixed to the door of the key-board, so as to facilitate finding. In some libraries the departmental heads and assistants are provided with a master-key to all internal doors which concern them; but keys which give access to the building as a whole should be limited to the chief librarian and the chief caretaker. A large building requires many keys, and a card-index, entering of the name of each key and the person who holds it or its location, is a useful method of checking the safety of keys. When keys are removed from the building, they should be insured with one of the key insurance or registry offices.

There are several minor matters of routine or arrangement not dealt with in other places. Dusting is usually underdone[302] in British libraries. For one thing there is rarely a sufficient supply of cloth dusters; often a dirty one, stowed away in a drawer, is all the provision for a large library. Clean dusters should be attached by means of rings or clips to every bookcase and cupboard throughout a library, and the staff should be required to use them on every possible occasion. Certainly a book should never be handed to a reader in a dusty condition, as not only may the reader be offended, but he must inevitably transfer the dust from the outside to the inside of the book in handling it. There would be much less dust among book-shelves if a liberal supply of dusters were allowed and constantly used. When books are being dusted systematically a large tray or box of wet sawdust should be provided. Into this the books should be dusted by means of a brush.

It is also a good plan, whenever possible, to take very dusty books out to the open air, and smartly beat them together, two at a time. This drives the dust out more effectually than anything else. Vacuum cleaners which work by means of suction are sometimes useful in cases where large accumulations of dust require to be removed, and not simply redistributed, but a powerful variety is necessary as the smaller vacuum cleaners remove the top layer of dust as a rule, and leave a solid substratum. Wood block and linoleum covered floors when treated with wax polish do not require to be scrubbed, and the surface remains smooth, and cleaning is reduced to a minimum. There are various floor preparations which are said to be effectual in keeping down dust, but most of them produce discoloration in the course of time, and periodical scrubbings should be arranged to restore the original colour of the flooring.

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CHAPTER XXII
BOOKBINDING AND REPAIRING

329. General.—Public library binding is an art by itself, and is quite distinct from ordinary commercial bookbinding on the one hand, and artistic binding on the other. A binding which is strong enough to withstand the handling of its owner and his friends, and beautiful enough to please the taste of the fastidious amateur, may be practically useless in a position where it may have to endure the handling of hundreds, or even thousands, of different persons, all of whom are not equally educated in the proper use of books. A public library book requires to be bound neatly and strongly, with particular regard to the integrity of the stitching rather than to its mere covering, although this has to be considered in the case of much-used reference books.

330. For public library work only good binders who are experienced in this particular class of bookbinding should be employed. In many cases, especially in small towns, the work turned out by local binders is about as bad as it can well be, and just as likely to lead to the rapid destruction of books as to their preservation. Cheapness does not in this matter necessarily mean economy, nor is good workmanship often an accompaniment of low prices. It may be said generally that library binding is one of the items of maintenance which no library can afford to have done cheaply and badly. It is much better, in the long run, for a library in a small provincial town to send its work to a recognized bookbinder in a large town, and even to pay carriage both ways, than to depend upon the local bookseller or stationer, who only knows about the casing of magazines. A good binder will bind a book in a manner which will enable the boards to outlive the leaves, while a poor workman will require to have his work done over again very soon, if, meanwhile, his rough and unscientific methods have not tended to shorten the existence of the book.

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331. The question of binding books from the sheets, or rebinding cloth- and paper-board books in leather, before putting them in circulation, has been much debated, though it is really not a very formidable or difficult matter after all. As no one can foretell with certainty whether or not any given book is going to be popular and much used, it is manifestly a mistake to have any book re-bound, or specially bound from the sheets, until this very important point has been ascertained. Time alone can determine whether a book is going to be popular, and for this reason there seems little economy or gain in specially binding new books at the outset. Books in publishers’ cloth bindings, when printed on paper of fair quality, will often circulate from twenty to forty times before attaining a condition which requires re-binding, and when strongly and properly rebound in leather or other boards will outlast the book. Some claims have been advanced with regard to the durability of various styles of binding, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that it is the paper of the book and not the covers of the binding which forms the weak point.

The Great War has rendered this paper problem an acute one. For a few years before 1914 librarians had induced a few publishers to produce some classes of books on a superior paper, and in a reinforced binding—that is, one according to the Society of Arts and Library Association recommendations—but the war conditions not only stopped all this, they prevented the importation of paper and paper-materials. Hence the most appalling rubbish was made to serve the purpose of book-paper, with disastrous results for almost all books published from 1915-19. Few books published in that period are in materials that will last without any particular use for a decade, and far fewer will stand the handling of public library readers or bear re-binding in any material heavier than cloth. The public acquiesced in these materials as a war necessity; it has yet to be seen if the publishers, having found the public apparently contented with them, will persist in their use when they become cheaper. Every effort must be made to prevent it.

Dirt is also as potent a factor as rough usage in shortening the life of a book, and it really matters little what kind of special materials or stitching are employed since no book’s existence can be prolonged beyond a certain term of years when[305] dirt and inferior paper are such important elements in the matter. There are other factors in the question of binding from sheets, and one is the difficulty of obtaining the necessary copies from publishers. Another is the fact that some cheap novels cannot be had in quires at all, and, consequently, any advantage which may result from unused sheets giving a better and firmer hold for stitching cannot be obtained. The durability of new books re-bound in special materials has been somewhat exaggerated, and librarians and committees should first adopt the ordinary method of allowing use to determine the books which require re-binding. But experiments should also be tried with special re-binding and other plans in order to ascertain what is best; and a good general rule will probably emerge—no book should be bound so well that the cover is in excellent condition long after the inside has been worn beyond redemption.

332. It would be a valuable concession if publishers would issue some copies of every novel by well-known authors, printed on specially tough paper, and bound according to the specification given in Section 341. This would meet every need which exists for specially bound copies of popular books, and give the much more valuable advantage of editions printed on paper which is not mere rubbish.

333. Home Binding.—The question of establishing a bookbinding plant, for the purpose of conducting binding on the library premises, is one which affects only the large libraries of the country; but large towns with a number of branch libraries may find it both economical and advantageous to establish binderies, if not for extensive operations in the binding of books, at least for their repair and re-casing. At Portsmouth, Hull, Bristol, Brighton, Bournemouth and elsewhere home binderies more or less extensive have been established, and the experience gained in these places seems to vary considerably.

The advantages accruing to the home bindery are obvious, apart from that of the convenience of having the work done on the library premises; the librarian can select only the best materials and can supervise the work at every stage of the processes. Librarians who have established such a department are convinced not only of its convenience but also—a much more important point in present circumstances—its economy. When[306] it is remembered that much other work than the actual binding and re-casing of books, such as illustration-mounting, ruling, magazine cover-making, etc., may be carried out in the home bindery, there is much to be said for it; but until the experiment has been carried much further home binding is not advocated save in the larger libraries. A joint-stock or cooperative bindery could be worked by the London Metropolitan Borough Libraries with considerable prospects of success and economy, but in isolated provincial towns the plan is not so feasible.

334. Repairing departments stand upon quite another footing, and here there is safe ground for experiment with every prospect of success. At Glasgow, Manchester, Croydon, Islington and other places, small repairing plants have been in operation for some time with good results. At all the places mentioned women workers are employed, who repair and re-case books, stitch pamphlets in covers, and even bind less important books which are not likely to be greatly used. Lettering and numbering can also be done, a useful branch of the bookbinder’s art, carried on at a considerable number of libraries. A repairing plant such as is used at Croydon costs less than £30, while the wages of a repairer may range from 40s. weekly. Materials also run into a certain sum per annum, according to the nature and amount of work done.

335. Finishing, which includes lettering and numbering, can be done by members of the library staff, although instruction is sometimes difficult to obtain owing to trade jealousy and the regulations of most polytechnic schools, which, though supported by public funds, deny instruction to any save those actually engaged in particular trades. Perhaps the day will come when library schools, such as that about to be established in London at University College, will include this subject when dealing with bookbinding, typography and all allied practical arts. A complete finishing plant, including sets of numbers and alphabets, can be purchased at a sum which even small libraries can afford. The satisfaction of accomplishing on the premises the work of class lettering and numbering, which requires both care and neatness, is great. At any rate, inquiry should be made by librarians into the possibilities of establishing a finishing[307] department, especially in cases where a systematic classification is used.[12]

[12] See “Specification for the fittings of a small bindery,” by F. J. Williamson, in Leather for Libraries, 1905.

336. Materials.—For public library purposes book-covering materials should be of the most durable sorts, and it is not wise to employ many different varieties either of cloths or leathers. Ordinary binders’ cloth is nearly as satisfactory as anything else for preserving its colour, lettering and defying the pernicious effects of gas-laden atmospheres and extremes of temperature. It will not stand much handling, however, and is very liable to wear out at the corners and joints. Nevertheless, for little-used collections of pamphlets, sets of local publications, and other matter which merely wants binding for appearance’s sake and storage purposes, ordinary binders’ cloth is strongly recommended. Smooth varieties are preferable to rough or patterned kinds, as being less liable to harbour dust. Apart from ordinary binders’ cloth, the best known varieties are linen cloths, buckrams and Pegamoid and Rexine cloths. Pegamoid and Rexine cloths are treated in a special way with some preparation of celluloid to render them impervious to dirt and moisture. For novels and other short-lived books these cloths are worth a trial, as they cannot be regarded as expensive. At any rate, experience has proved that these materials will outlast any novel which may be re-bound in them, and, after all, that is as much as can be expected of any binding. Leather should rarely be placed upon little-used books, and many libraries which hitherto used it for long sets, have discarded it in favour of legal buckram, or such a material as Winterbottam’s washable cloth. A certain amount of handling is necessary for the preservation of most leathers, as the animal grease from the hands is a preservative, and they deteriorate if this is not forthcoming.

337. The principal leathers used for public library bindings are pig-skin, persian and levant moroccos, and roan. Calf, russia and other fancy leathers should not be used, as they turn brittle under the influence of heated and dry air, and crumble to pieces. Apart from this, they are costly and otherwise unsuitable for public library purposes. The leathers recommended[308] should be used according to the books which they have to cover, and the following list will give an idea of the best classes for which to use each kind:—

Levant morocco, or real morocco, made from goat-skin. This material should be used for very valuable books which require a handsome and dignified binding. It is very durable, but expensive for ordinary work.

Persian morocco, made from sheep-skin, is not so dear or so good as levant morocco, but is a durable and satisfactory leather if a good quality is procured. It should be used for popular books in the non-fictional classes of the lending department. Heavy books can be bound in this leather, but pig-skin is better. The more it is handled the better it wears and keeps its condition.

Roan is a kind of inferior sheep-skin, with a different grain and surface from Persian morocco, and is a useful and cheap leather for certain classes of books, such as the less popular works of travel, science, theology, fiction, etc. Books up to the crown octavo size can be half-bound in this material at prices ranging from 1s. 6d. to 2s. a volume. Heavy books are not recommended for binding in this leather.

Pig-skin is the strongest leather of all, and also the most durable for much-used heavy books; but librarians should make certain that real pig-skin is supplied, and not some wretched imitation. The price of pig-skin is rather more than good Persian morocco. All reference works, such as dictionaries, atlases, directories, and other volumes which are being constantly handled, may well be bound in this.

All leathers specified for bookbinding should be of the acid-free description recommended by the Society of Arts Committee (1898-1900) and the Sound Leather Committee of the Library Association. Sumach-tanned leathers are now to be had with a special guarantee from the makers.

Other binding materials, such as vellum, parchment, canvas and patent leathers of various kinds, are seldom required in libraries, and need not be considered further. Preparations for[309] spreading on books to protect them may also be passed over, and also the continental and American habit of covering all books in manilla or other paper covers of uniform colour. Most of the so-called leather “preservatives” are hurtful rather than helpful, but it may be observed that some leather bindings which get dry and worn will improve if treated with ordinary vaseline. It should be rubbed well and plentifully into the texture of the leather with the fingers, and when it has soaked in, should be wiped with a soft cloth. Vaseline is as good as any patent or other preservative for reviving decaying and shabby leathers of all kinds, although it dries quickly, and furniture polish has also been recommended. As regards covers, the time has not yet come when the individuality of a book, as issued by its publisher, or given by its appropriate library binding, requires to be hidden under a paper mask.

338. Class Colours.—In systematically classified libraries there is a certain amount of advantage to be gained by re-binding each class of books, as required, in some appropriate colour. When open access to the shelves is also granted, there is a very considerable aid to the maintenance of order given by the use of distinctive class colours. Thus, Science may be light brown or fawn colour; Fine Arts, orange; Social Science, light green; Theology, etc., black; History and Travel, dark green; Biography, maroon; Philology, light blue; Poetry, red; Fiction, dark brown; and Juvenile, yellow; and so on to any degree. A variation of this plan is to vary the colours for authors, binding each distinctively; this gives a not unpleasing variety to the shelves and has a certain arranging value.

339. Lettering and Numbering.—When lettering and numbering have to be done apart from the re-binding, they can be executed by the staff after a little practice, as pointed out in Section 335. The object of lettering is to facilitate the finding of books, and for this reason it should be clear and bold. It is also possible by means of a little variation to obtain a certain amount of class-guiding in the system of lettering, and it should be made an invariable principle in every public library to adopt a certain order of particulars on the backs of books, and stick to the order. Too often this important matter is left to the fitful fancy of the binder’s finisher, with the result that very frequently[310] the author’s name appears in all the panels in rotation. The series of suggestions given in Fig. 127 for dealing with each class is offered as a basis on which any librarian can build a system of his own. The letterings are arranged to provide for titles, authors, volume numbers, class numbers, and dates of publication when necessary. Class letters and numbers occupy one definite place on each book, which is not subject to variations in height when appearing on books of different sizes. The markings here figured for the backs of books are arranged so that titles occupy the leading panel in all classes and thereby correspond with the great majority of the books as issued by publishers.

[311]

[312]

[313]

Lettering for thin books showing the correct way of arranging from foot to top.

Fig. 127.—Specimens of Class Lettering and Numbering (Section 339).

The chief points to emphasize in these suggested letterings are that the class letter and number should always occupy the same relative position irrespective of the size of the volume, namely, about two inches from the foot, and that alphabetical classes like Fiction, Poetry and Essays should be boldly lettered with the first three letters of the author’s surname, or numbers from an author table, while Individual Biography only should be similarly marked with the surname letters of the subject of the biography, but not the author, save in the case of autobiographies, letters, etc. If it should be thought necessary to add the accession numbers, they can be placed out of the way in the top half-panel, as shown in No. 7, while shelf colours for open access can be added at the points suggested in Section 243.

[314]

Fig. 128.—Specimens of Class Lettering and Numbering (Section 340).

340. The principal alternative method is that mentioned in the chapter on classification (Section 241), where the book is lettered in accordance with what is thought to be the natural process in arranging and finding books. Thus a book is arranged on the shelves first by its class, second by its author, third by its title, except in the case of individual biography, where the name of the biographee takes the panel which in other books is devoted to the author, and the author takes the panel below the title. Fig. 128 will indicate sufficiently the appearance of such a lettering scheme, and will show how it subordinates ordinary usage to library purposes, especially in the third example.

No. 3 brings Dowden’s book into the group of Shakesperian books, and shows the spelling of the name preferred in the[315] catalogue for the heading; and No. 4 shows the method of indicating both the real name of the author, which is the catalogue heading and arranging name, and also the author’s pseudonym.

341. Specification.—Whether or not library binding should be done by tender, which in practice means giving the work to the lowest bidder, is a question which different places must settle in different ways. Sometimes tenders are insisted upon by the municipality for all work done with public funds. It must be recognized, however, that binding is a very varied matter, some books requiring special treatment, and that binders are equally varied in their ability to do special work. The best results can only be obtained if the librarian has power to send certain classes of work to the firms best qualified to deal with them. So far as general binding is concerned, the present-day combination of master-binders has levelled up prices until every binder quotes practically the same figures; so there does not seem much to be gained by tenders, except that legal formality which is so much approved by public authorities. If it is used, bookbinding specification should include every point which has any bearing on the cost, finish and workmanship of the books. The specification of the Society of Arts and that drafted by Mr Douglas Cockerell are very good, and many of their points could be included in a specification for library binding. As requirements differ in every library, it is impossible to attempt the drafting of a model specification which will meet every case, but the details set out in the following draft may prove useful and suggestive:

DRAFT BOOKBINDING SPECIFICATION.

To the Public Libraries Committee

of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gentlemen,

. . . . . . undertake to bind books for the. . . . . . . . . . Public Libraries Committee in the manner specified below, at the prices stated in the annexed schedule, for one year from. . . . . . . . . . to. . . . . . . . . . .

All books to be well beaten or rolled, and care taken to avoid set-off of ink in new books.

To be sewn one-sheet-on, on strong tapes; the first and last sheets to be enclosed at back in linen strips. All sections broken at the back to be[316] enclosed in linen strips, and neatly overcast, not less than four stitches to the inch, before being sewn to the tapes. Four tapes to be allowed for crown 8vos; other sizes in proportion. The tapes to be firmly secured between the back and front boards, which must be carefully split to receive them.

In leather-bound books, the backs to be made close and flexible, without bands, save in cases to be separately notified, but with blind fillets in imitation of bands. Leathers as specified in schedule, with smooth cloth sides to match colour of leathers.

Schedule of Prices

Sizes.	Half Levant Morocco.	Half Persian Morocco.	Half Pig-skin.	Half Roan.	Best Linen.	Best Ordinary Cloth.
Fcap. 8vo (6¹⁄₄″ × 4″)
Crown 8vo (7″ × 4¹⁄₂″)
Post 8vo (8″ × 5″)
Demy 8vo (9″ × 6″)
Medium 8vo (9¹⁄₂″ × 6″)
Royal 8vo (10″ × 6¹⁄₂″)
Imperial 8vo (11″ × 7¹⁄₂″)
Quarto (11″ × 8¹⁄₂″)
Folio (13″ × 8″)
Prices of other sizes to be in proportion.
Extras:
Per inch for folios over thirteen inches.
For lettering large initials in classes 800 and 920 ... per hundred.
For mending torn or broken leaves.
For guarding plates in linen or jaconet, per dozen.
For mounting and dissecting maps, etc., on fine linen, per sq. foot.
. . . For extra thickness, if books more than half the width of boards. . . .

In cloth- or pegamoid-bound books, the backs to be made open, with suitable linings. Edges to be very carefully cut, sprinkled and burnished, but only when the margins are not too small; otherwise to be left with proof and top edge only smoothed.

End-papers to be of stout, coloured, marbled or printed paper, with at least one white leaf before and after the printed matter. (Or as an alternative—the special library end-papers to be used in all books re-bound, etc.)

Linen or other strong cloth joints in all books.

Lettered in gold with author’s name, title, class numbers, initials, etc., as per separate diagram showing arrangement of lettering for each class.[317] The colours of leathers and cloths for each class to be as specified in the diagram. The order of lettering and colours to be maintained unless altered by the instructions, and class letters and numbers to be placed at a uniform height of two inches from the foot of each book, irrespective of size.

Include all wrappers, cancelled matter, and advertisement pages of certain magazines at the end of volumes, in their published order.

All materials used to be of the best quality, and the work done carefully and promptly. Deficiencies and irregularities in books, if any, to be reported to the librarian.

Each lot of binding to be finished and returned within . . . . . . . . weeks from the date of order.

Should there be any extras chargeable beyond those provided for in this specification, they must be reported to the librarian before the work is proceeded with.

Samples of the manner in which . . . . . . propose to bind books in accordance with this specification are sent herewith.

Signature of firm.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date when sent.	Lettering.	Class and No.	Instruction.	Date Returned.

Fig. 129.—Binding Sheet (Section 342).

Some libraries use vellum instead of leather corners, while others have the corners of the leaves neatly rounded like a pack of modern playing cards, and some have the boards rounded to correspond. It is a good plan to have the corners of the leaves slightly rounded, but added corners of vellum often result in the roughing-up of the cloth which fits down to their edges, and there[318] is no great benefit arising from the rounding of the corners of the covers. Other points will doubtless arise in the practice of every library, and these must be provided for as thought best. Metal corner-pieces let in between the split boards are not recommended.

Pro- gres- sive No.	Date of Des- patch.	Lettering.	Class.	Material.	Date Re- turned.
1
2
3
4

Fig. 130.—Binding Order Book (Section 342).

342. Records and Checks.—When a lot of books for binding is sent out it must be accompanied by a set of instructions to the binder, and a copy of this must be retained at the library as a record and to check the books when returned. The most usual plan is to send out a binding sheet, ruled as in Fig. 129, on which are entered the particulars of the books requiring binding. These particulars are also entered in a binding book, ruled exactly the same as the sheets, and in the last column of this the books are marked off as returned. This result, and an actual facsimile copy, may be obtained by using a duplicating book, the sheet sent to the binder being so perforated as to be easily[319] removable. The double copying involved in making out two separate sheets is thus avoided. It is usual to make the binder’s messenger check over and sign for every lot of books at the end of the page. Another method, which possesses the advantage of enabling the binder to distribute the work in his workshop, and makes every book carry its own instruction, is as follows: Procure a large book of perforated slips, with a counterpart page, unperforated, behind every page of slips, in the style of a manifold order book. Have these pages ruled as in Fig. 130, and progressively numbered.

Or separate order slips, as under (Fig. 131), can be used, and their purport briefly entered in a binding book ruled to show title, class and date returned, with a column for a consecutive number, which of course would be written on the corresponding slip.

No.	Date sent
LETTERING
TITLE


AUTHOR

VOL. No.

CLASS No.

Material


Other instructions

Fig. 131.—Binding Order Slip (Section 342).

When an order for binding is being made up each book is entered on a numbered slip, pen-carbon or other copying paper being placed between the slips and the counterpart below. Dates[320] can be stamped to save time. The slips are then detached and placed in the books to which they refer. An ordinary order form is then made out in some such terms as:

Mr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . will please bind as per contract and separate instructions the . . . . . . . . . . . . books sent herewith, comprising numbers . . . . . . . . . to . . . . . . . . . .

The binder’s messenger can sign the book on the last counterfoil, in a form like this:

Received on . . . . . . . . . . from the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Library . . . . . . volumes for binding.

Or a rubber stamp with these words and blanks can be used. The object of the progressive number is to afford a ready means of identifying instructions and ascertaining in an easy manner the number of books bound in any one year. These numbers may also be written in ink at the end of the letterpress of each book, as a means of ascertaining how often any book has been re-bound. The price, if carried into the column reserved for the progressive number in the counterpart, will also be a useful record to keep. By simply referring to the progressive numbers it is possible to ascertain the price paid for successive re-bindings, and to keep a check on the whole of the work.

343. Repairs should not be entered in this book. It is better to use an ordinary order sheet and copy it in the press order book. It can be headed:

Mr. . . . . . . . . . . . will please re-case the following books:

Mr. . . . . . . . . . . . will please repair the following books, as per instructions added to each:

344. Miscellaneous.—Tape or ribbon BOOK-MARKS are sometimes placed in public library books, but a much more obvious and useful plan is to print a special book-mark with a folding-over tab, which can be placed in all books which are issued, and not confined simply to those which are re-bound. A good form of marker can have one or two pointed rules for the due care and preservation of books printed on a conspicuous part.

Some enterprising firms give away book-marks of various kinds, many publishers insert advertising cards which serve as[321] markers, and occasionally an advertising agent will supply a library with book-marks, and pay for the privilege, on being allowed to use some part of it for advertisements from which he draws the revenue.

345. Special END-PAPERS have been introduced in a few libraries to be placed in re-bound books. They serve the purpose of an ownership mark more effectually than a book-plate, but, of course, they can only be used in the books which happen to require re-binding. The Croydon end-paper is quite an elaborate design, giving compartments showing the arms, monogram and a view of the town hall. End-papers of this kind are a luxury which few public libraries can afford.

346. An effective way of placing an indelible mark of ownership upon a public library book is to impress a blind stamp upon the outside front board. This can be done by means of a screw-press and a special die, and need not cost more than £10. Any member of the staff can impress such a stamp, and it is better than confining this mark of ownership simply to books which have been re-bound. A circular stamp is best, as it will always appear straight.

347. Bibliography

Bailey, A. L. Library Bookbinding, 1916. H. W. Wilson Co.

Chivers, Cedric. The Paper of Lending Library Books: with some remarks on their binding, 1909.

Cockerell, D. Bookbinding and the Care of Books, 1901.

Coutts and Stephen. Manual of Library Bookbinding, 1911.

Dana, J. C. Notes on Bookbinding, 1906.

Graesel, A. Library Binding. In his Bibliothekslehre, 1902.

Johnston, D. V. R. Library Binding. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-1893, vol. i., p. 907.

Leather for Libraries, 1905.

Philip, A. J. The Business of Booklending, 1912.

Society of Arts. Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding, 1905.

Stephen, G. A. Commercial Bookbinding, 1910.

For articles see Cannons, K 1-21, Bookbinding.

[322]

DIVISION X
RULES AND REGULATIONS

CHAPTER XXIII
RULES AND REGULATIONS

348. General.—-A public library is an institution based upon broad lines of mutual co-operation, in which every citizen has equal rights, and in which the rules should be drafted to protect the common proprietary rights, without penalizing any section of the community. Hence the liberal attitude which recognizes that the whole purpose of librarianship is to get books used must be brought to the drafting of rules. Fortunately this attitude is becoming more common, if it is not universal, and the whole tendency of modern public library work is to break down all barriers between the readers and the freest use of books. Indeed, it is better to lose a few books yearly than to protect them from the very few dishonest people who may live in the community by means which militate against the liberty of readers.

349. Hours.—The number of hours during which municipal libraries should remain open to the public will vary according to the local conditions, staff and funds of every town and district. In small places, with scanty populations and little libraries with but one attendant, a few hours open at night on several days in the week, according to requirements, will serve every practical purpose. In towns of a fair size, of say from 10,000 to 30,000 people, the reading rooms should be open all day uninterruptedly from 10 to 9 or 10, but the lending library need only be kept open from 10 to 2 and from 5 to 9. In large towns of over 40,000 inhabitants, the libraries should remain open all day from early morning till late at night—say from 8 A.M. till 10 P.M. for newsrooms; 9 A.M. till 10 P.M. for reference libraries; 10 A.M. till[323] 9 P.M. for lending libraries; and 4 till 8 P.M. for juvenile departments, if any. There should be no interruptions, at any rate so far as departments other than the lending library are concerned, to these services, either in the way of half- or whole-day closing to suit the staff, or any irregularity in hours. The public library is a bureau for the supply of information, and should be found open at any time in a working-day, during which people are likely to use its resources. In large towns there is no necessary connexion between the public hours and the staff, and in an important matter of this kind, which affects the convenience of hundreds of people, the policy of employing extra assistance, in order to keep the library open all day and every day without overworking the staff, should not be questioned. It may be argued that if one town of a certain size can keep its public libraries open all day and every day (save Sundays and holidays, of course), every similar town and all larger ones can easily do likewise. But, as may be seen by reference to Greenwood’s British Library Year Book, 1900-1901, this is not invariably the case. A careful and well-constructed time-sheet will often get over difficulties which may seem to arise from under-staffing or other conditions. There have been, and possibly still may be, libraries in which, largely because of badly constructed time-sheets, the assistants are given only one evening off weekly, and work from eight to nine hours daily, although the library is closed for a half-day every week, and thus both assistants and public are incommoded.

At the same time, to dogmatize upon the question of hours is unwise, as local circumstances condition the question so much. Moreover, the recent movements in the industrial and commercial worlds are in the direction of reducing working hours, and most people are now at liberty before 7 P.M., a fact which does away with the necessity, if not the convenience, of keeping libraries open to the late hours until recently in vogue. Again, a suburban library, with a population which returns from a neighbouring city in the evenings, has need to be open later than one, say, in the city itself. The whole matter is one of public convenience, and if it is remembered that to have the library used to its fullest limit is the ideal, the hours will be chosen well. At the same time, there are always readers who prefer to use the library in the last[324] hour of the day, whatever that hour may be. If the closing hour is nine, they will arrive at 8.45; if eight, at 7.45, and so on; it is a curious, not uncommon human trait, which may be borne in mind when hours are being arranged.

350. Age Limits.—There are wide differences in the practice as regards the limit of age from which persons are allowed to use the libraries, but within recent years the opinion on this point has undergone considerable change. Formerly persons under eighteen and sixteen were forbidden the use of public libraries; now such high limits are very uncommon, though fourteen is still frequently seen in the rules of otherwise progressive libraries. Of course, local conditions must receive due consideration in this matter, though it is difficult to think of any circumstance which calls for any distinction being made between children of twelve and those of fourteen years of age. There are hundreds of bright, intelligent lads and girls of twelve who are the equals in knowledge and ability of their fellows of thirteen and fourteen years of age; in fact, children do not fit, intellectually, into age-compartments; their capacities are surprisingly individual. What seems reasonable is the entire abolition of age limits in lending libraries, subject to the reservation that the librarian should have discretionary power to refuse to issue books to any child unable to read and write. Failing this, the limit might be fixed at twelve where there are no separate juvenile libraries, but reduced to seven where such departments exist. There is a certain amount of trouble and inconvenience to adults resulting from admitting very young children, especially in open access and other libraries without separate juvenile accommodation, and this would be partly met by the compromise proposed. Separate children’s libraries are the solution of the difficulty, and, when these can be provided all round, the age limit downwards can be abolished so far as they are concerned, while the limit for the adult library can be raised to twelve or fourteen. But adequate provision should be made for interchanging, and all necessary facilities provided for enabling intelligent young people under the limit to procure suitable more advanced books if desired, and also for allowing adults to revive their youth by allowing them access to the works of Ballantyne, Henty and other authors.

351. As regards age limits in reference libraries and reading[325] rooms, there is more to be said for keeping them high than in the case of lending libraries, especially when there are separate children’s rooms. But, generally speaking, there is no strong reason for excluding well-conducted boys or girls from a popular reading room, whatever their ages may be, provided they do not come during school hours, or do not otherwise make the library a place in which to hide from some duty. In some libraries, with age limits of twelve, fourteen or over, it is the practice to turn away younger children from news and reading rooms in cases where they are accompanied by their parents or elders. This is an abuse of a rule which was only intended to protect readers from the noisy incursions of irresponsible youngsters, who are wont to stray into public places out of sheer devilment, or accident, or excess of curiosity. To apply this rule to children in arms, or youngsters accompanied by and in charge of their elders, is simply officialism calculated to injure the popularity and prestige of municipal libraries. The age limit for a reference library designed for students, with open access to the shelves, should be fixed at fourteen or sixteen, with discretionary power to the librarian to grant permits to any studious youngster under that age. Where access to public reading rooms and juvenile departments is easy, there seems no good reason for throwing open the reference library to all and sundry, unless under the safeguards suggested.

352. The Borrowing Right.—There are several points in connexion with the borrowing rights of various classes of citizens which it is desirable to notice, especially as they have much bearing on the question of a library’s popularity and good management. In some towns the borrowing right is strictly confined to ratepayers or residents in the library district. Employees who live outside the district are excluded, but for what particular reason it is difficult to understand. An employee contributes directly to the material well-being of the district in which his work lies; he contributes indirectly but substantially towards the rates; he spends most of his waking and all his working hours in the district; and in other ways he is as much a citizen as the resident who works outside the district and only sleeps in it at night. It is impossible to discover any reason for the distinction made between employee and resident in some[326] places, and it may be pointed out that plenty of large towns grant the borrowing right to employees without the slightest inconvenience, difficulty or injustice to anyone. A further wise liberality permits borrowing privileges to all non-resident scholars and students at schools or similar institutions in the town. Similar arguments apply in favour of such an arrangement, and these young folks are usually readers of a valuable type.

353. Teachers and others engaged in educational work should be dealt with as generously as possible, and should be lent as many books as they need at a time for purposes of their work. From six to twelve works are frequently required by a teacher in preparing a subject, and he should be allowed to have them, the most liberal interpretation possible being given to this privilege. Obviously no teacher should be permitted to make his needs an excuse for borrowing batches of current and popular works to the detriment of other readers, but it is better to risk even this than to fail him in what may be an important matter. A teacher reaches farther than the average individual.

354. Another regulation which tells against the interests of municipal libraries is that in which every intending borrower, ratepayer or otherwise, is required to obtain the signatures of one or two registered ratepayers as guarantors before a ticket will be issued. It is not necessary to imagine reasons for this very serious obstacle to intending borrowers. Since many large and small towns dispense with this precaution in the case of ratepayers, and allow non-ratepayers and compounding householders to have tickets on the guarantee or recommendation of one ratepayer or on leaving a small deposit, there is no reason why this elaborate double guarantee should not be abolished all round. The time will doubtless come when guarantees of all kinds will be abolished and suitable recommendations substituted.

There are other antiquated and needless restrictions in connexion with the borrowing right which need not be specified at length, but are grouped together here as examples of bad rules for which there is little justification.

1. The illegal charge of 1d. or 2d. for tickets or voucher forms, still levied in some places in defiance of the Public Libraries Act, 1892, Section 11, Sub-section (3); and various judicial decisions.

2. Requiring more than three days’ notice before issuing a borrowe[327]r’s ticket. (In some places borrowers are required to wait for a week or fourteen days from the date of lodging their application for tickets.)

3. Limiting the time for reading books to less than fourteen days.

4. Refusing to renew books by post-card, letter, telephone, or messenger, and requiring that the actual books shall be brought back to be re-dated.

5. The imposition of fines amounting to more than 1d. per week or part of a week for overdue books. (In certain libraries, some of which are not pressed for funds, the exorbitant fine of 1d. per day is imposed for overdue books, with a time limit of seven, ten and fourteen days. This question is further considered in Section 355.)

6. Refusing to exchange books on the same day as that on which they are issued. (As the books which are brought back for exchange are usually those which the borrowers have read previously, there seems little need for such a disobliging rule.)

7. Refusing to issue books on the same day as that on which they are returned to the library. (A common practice in the old-fashioned libraries, worked by means of charging ledgers, but still found in several much more up-to-date libraries. The same craze for tantalizing the public has in a minor degree infected some open access lending libraries which will not re-issue returned books until they have been replaced on their shelves by the assistants.)

8. Charging borrowers 1d. or 2d. as a penalty for losing their tickets and requiring them to be re-issued. (Query, a contravention of the Act.)

9. Disallowing the use of ink for copying purposes in all circumstances.

10. Allowing only one volume at a time to borrowers.

11. Restricting the number of books which a reference reader may have at one time.

355. Fines and Penalties.—So long as the present rate limitation remains as fixed by successive Acts of Parliament, fines will continue to be levied in British municipal libraries. There is no doubt that the small incomes realized in most public libraries from the niggardly provision made by Parliament is one cause of the efforts made in many cases to increase funds, by imposing fines of varying degrees of severity upon the borrowers from lending libraries. This is, indeed, the principal reason, though it is said that, but for penalties of some sort, books would never be returned at all. There may be some truth in this, as regards a small proportion of borrowers, but the experience of Manchester and some American towns where no fines are imposed rather modifies the statement as to the supposed disastrous effects of non-fining. This, like many another question, is one on which the inexperienced theoretical objector appeals to his imagination for details of all sorts of hardships, inconveniences and dangers[328] arising as the result of abolishing fines. Every argument is directed towards showing how the library would suffer, and incidentally it has been mentioned that, perhaps, the undue retention of a popular book would prove highly inconvenient to other readers who wanted it. These matters need not be discussed, since it must be obvious that popular books can always be duplicated to a certain extent; that more diligence can be exercised in the tracing, pursuit and ingathering of overdue popular books; and that there are methods of punishing hardened delinquent borrowers of this kind, by suspending their tickets, as is done at Manchester without serious results. But it is quite evident that in Britain fining for overdue books will be maintained until it is declared illegal—and no doubt, with bye-laws not legally confirmed, it is a doubtful practice, in England at all events—or Parliament has removed the rate limitation or provided other means of financial assistance, without all this scraping, pinching and doubtful means of increasing funds. What is suggested is more latitude in the imposition of fines, and a less eager desire to make money over the business than is implied in such fines as 1d. a day, and fines of two, three, four and five cents as charged in some American libraries. No library has a right or any need to make a profit out of such a transaction as fining for overdue books, and it would be better to make a uniform charge of 1d. per week, or portion of a week, for books retained over a fortnight, when not renewed by postcard or otherwise.

356. Holiday and Sunday Opening.—Whether libraries are to be opened or not on public holidays and Sundays is largely a matter for local option. In some places libraries have been experimentally opened on PUBLIC HOLIDAYS on the sentimental plea that many persons are unable to use them at any other time, and the result has been anything but encouraging. In other places, like seaside and holiday resorts, they have been opened on such holidays, with decided advantage to trippers seeking shelter from inclement weather. Generally speaking, all libraries should be closed on public holidays, on the grounds that a general holiday should be generally observed as such, and that people are much better in the fresh air than sitting indoors in libraries or anywhere else on such occasions. If any[329] exception to this were made it would be to open only on wet and stormy public holidays, but always except Christmas, and, in the case of Scotland, New Year’s Day. The public holidays in Britain are too few and far between to effect any radical influence upon libraries or readers.

357. As regards Sundays, conditions are rather different. To begin with there are more of them, and they come at regular intervals. But unless the need for Sunday opening can be demonstrated by a satisfactory result derived from a series of trial openings, it is better for the libraries not to be opened as a mere concession to the views of certain societies, or the supposed utility of the movement to people who are alleged to be unable to come on week-days. If experiment proves that Sunday opening is meeting a real need, open the libraries by all means, but not otherwise. As a compromise it is suggested that if Sunday opening is decided upon, the reading rooms only should be open between the hours of 3 and 9 P.M. on every Sunday between October and May inclusive. There is little need for Sunday opening in warm weather—people are much better out-of-doors—especially if, as is usually the case, attendances fall off greatly.

Should the Sunday opening question become a burning one in any town, arrangements might be made to open the reading room and reference library, provided at least 500 citizens take out tickets as an earnest of their intention to use the library. It is doubtful if in any town Sunday opening has been limited to students and other inquirers, but it would form a reasonable manner of settling a difficult question should opinion be sharply divided.

As regards ways and means of carrying on the business of a public library on holidays and Sundays, special arrangements must be made, both as regards the necessary attendants, heating, lighting and cleaning.

358. Enforcement of Rules.—There is nothing in the original English or Irish Acts which gives power to enforce rules and bye-laws, but in the Act of 1901 such may be obtained provided the rules are approved by the Local Government Board. In the Scotch Act very full provisions are made for the confirmation and enforcement of bye-laws. Clause 22 of the Act of 1887[330] reads: “It shall be lawful for the committee to make bye-laws for regulating all or any matters and things whatsoever connected with the control, management, protection and use of any property, articles or things under their control for the purposes of this Act, and to impose such penalties for breaches of such bye-laws, not exceeding £5 for each offence, as may be considered expedient; and from time to time, as they shall think fit, to repeal, alter, vary or re-enact any such bye-laws, provided always that such bye-laws and alterations thereof shall not be repugnant to the law of Scotland, and before being acted on shall be signed by a quorum of the committee, and, except in so far as they relate solely to the officers or servants of the committee, such bye-laws shall be approved of by the magistrates and council, or the board, as the case may be, and shall be approved of and confirmed by the sheriff of the county in which the burgh or parish, or the greater part of the area thereof, is situated.” Provision is also made for advertising and giving due notice of intention to adopt the bye-laws.

359. It should be stated, however, that there are quite a number of cases in which magistrates’ decisions in England have upheld the rules of Public Library Committees with regard to recovery of fines for overdue books, the value of books lost and guaranteed, and on other points. In some of these cases it has not been held or suggested that guarantee or voucher forms should be stamped as agreements, or that any limit under £5 should be placed on the amount of the guarantor’s liability. Nevertheless, a value limit of £1 or £2 might be placed upon a guarantor’s liability, and that will dispose of the awkward point as to the agreement being stamped.

360. Draft Rules and Regulations.—These draft rules are based upon a careful examination of the principal bye-laws adopted by many of the principal libraries in Britain and the United States, with certain modifications to harmonize them with certain leading principles advocated throughout this book. No two places are exactly alike in all their circumstances and local conditions, so that no library is likely to adopt these rules exactly as they stand. But they contain suggestions which may be found useful in drawing up and adopting a series of suitable rules, and enabling most vital points to be met. Some libraries[331] have an enormous number of rules, amounting in some cases to fifty or sixty items, but many of these are quite unnecessary and need not be considered. The draft rules drawn up by the Local Government Board may be obtained if thought needful; but they are printed separately in the Library Association Record, 1903, p. 28. The fewer and simpler the rules the more likely are the people to read and observe them.

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Rules and Regulations

GENERAL

1. The Liberton Public Library is a society established for purposes of literature and science exclusively. The librarian shall have the general charge of the library, and shall be responsible for the safe keeping of the books and for all the property belonging thereto.

2. The library is supported in part by a rate levied in accordance with the Public Libraries Acts and in part by annual voluntary contributions of money and gifts of books and periodicals. The library committee shall not make any dividend, gift, division, or bonus in money unto or between any of the members.

3. Admission is free to all parts of the library during the hours of opening, but no person shall be admitted who is disorderly, uncleanly or in a state of intoxication. Smoking, betting and loud conversation or other objectionable practices are also forbidden in the rooms or passages of the library.

4. The librarian shall have power to suspend the use of the ticket of any borrower, and refuse books or deny the use of the reading rooms to any reader who shall neglect to comply with any of these rules and regulations, such reader having the right of appeal to the library committee, who shall also decide all other disputes between readers and the library officials.

5. Readers desirous of proposing books for addition to the library may do so by entering, on slips (or in a book) kept for the purpose, the titles and particulars of publication of such books, which will then be submitted to the committee at their first meeting thereafter. All suggestions on management to be written on slips or sent by letter to the committee.

6. Any person who unlawfully or maliciously destroys or damages any book, map, print, manuscript or other article belonging to the libraries shall be liable to prosecution for misdemeanour under the provisions of 24 & 25 Vict., c. 97, An Act to consolidate and amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to malicious injuries to property, 1861. The provisions of the statute entitled 61 & 62 Vict., c. 53, An Act to provide for the punishment of Offences in Libraries, 1898, shall also apply.

[332]

Reference Department

7. The library and reading room shall remain open on week-days from 9 A.M. till 10 P.M. (and on Sundays, from October to May inclusive, from 3 to 9 P.M.), but shall be closed on Christmas Day (New Year’s Day), all public holidays, and such other days as the committee may from time to time appoint.

8. Every person on entering the reference library shall sign his or her name, with the correct address, in a book kept for the purpose. Anyone giving a false name or address shall be liable to prosecution, and shall not afterwards be allowed to use the library.

9. Every person before leaving the room shall return the book or books consulted into the hands of the librarian or his assistants, and must not replace books taken from the open shelves, but leave them with the assistant at the exit.

10. Any work in the lending department, if not in use, excepting Fiction, may be had on application at the reference library counter for perusal in the reading room, but on no account must such books be taken from the room.

11. Illustrations of all kinds may be copied, but not traced, save by permission of the librarian. Extracts from books may be copied in pencil. The use of ink is only permitted at certain tables which are reserved for the purpose. Certain works are only issued after a written application to the library committee.

Lending Department

12. The lending library is open daily for the issue and receipt of books every week-day from 10 A.M. till 9 P.M., but shall be closed on Sundays, Christmas Day (New Year’s Day), all public holidays and such other days as the committee may from time to time appoint.

13. Books shall be borrowed for home reading only by persons rated, resident or employed in the Borough of . . . . . . . . . . ., or qualified by Rule 18.

14. All persons whose names appear on the current Roll of Electors of the Borough, or in the local directories as residents, may borrow books on their own responsibility, after filling up an application for a borrower’s ticket, on a form provided for the purpose.

15. Other residents, and non-resident employees in the borough, over twelve (fourteen) years of age, may borrow books, but must first obtain a guarantee (or recommendation) from a duly qualified person, as defined in Rule 14, and must sign an application for a borrower’s ticket, on forms to be provided by the librarian. But no such guarantor shall be allowed to assume responsibility for more than three other persons, unless by special arrangement with the committee, and in no single case shall his or her liability exceed £2 per person guaranteed.

16. Any person resident or employed in the borough, unable to obtain the signature of a qualified resident as a guarantee, may borrow books on[333] leaving a deposit of 10s. with the librarian. The guarantee of the recognized head officials of Government departments, Friendly Societies and similar organizations may be accepted at the discretion of the Committee in lieu of an ordinary guarantee, for persons who are employed in the district.

17. The Application and Guarantee Form, duly signed, must be delivered to the librarian, and if, on examination, it is found correct, the borrower’s ticket will be issued three days (or at once) after (excluding Sundays), but will only be delivered to the borrower in person. This ticket will be available at the central library or any branch or branches.

18. In accordance with Section 11 of the Public Libraries Act, 1892, the committee will lend books to persons, other than those duly qualified under Rules 13-16, who pay an annual subscription of 7s. 6d.; but such borrowers must conform, in every respect, to all the rules of the library, and shall have no privileges other than those possessed by the other borrowers.

19. The committee shall issue additional tickets to readers, available for all classes of literature save Fiction. Any duly enrolled borrower may have one of these extra tickets on filling up an application form as for an ordinary ticket. School teachers may have more than one ticket of this class on application to the librarian.

20. All tickets and vouchers must be renewed annually, each ticket and voucher being reckoned available for one year from date of issue.[13]

[13] In some libraries the practice has arisen of making tickets permanent, as long as the holder resides in the district, without renewal annually. In place of renewal, a revision takes place, to ensure accuracy of addresses, etc.; where this is so, Rule 20 is unnecessary.

21. The borrower must return each volume lent within fifteen days, including days of issue and return, and shall be liable to a fine of 1d. per week or portion of a week for each volume lent, if not returned within that period, but the issue of a book may be renewed for a further period of fifteen days, dating from the day of intimation, on notice being given to the librarian either personally or in writing, and no further renewal will be allowed if the book is required by another reader. Books which are much in demand may, however, be refused such renewal at the discretion of the librarian.

22. Each volume on return shall be delivered to the librarian or his assistant, and if on examination it be found to have sustained any damage or injury, the person to whom it was lent, or his or her guarantor, shall be required to pay the amount of damage done or to procure a new copy or series of equal value, and, in the latter case, the person supplying the new copy shall be entitled to the damaged copy or series on depositing the new one.

23. Borrowers who are unable to obtain a particular non-fictional book, and desire that it shall be retained for them on its return, must give its title, number, etc., to the assistant, and pay 1d. to cover cost of posting an intimation that it is available for issue; but no book[334] will be kept longer than the time mentioned in the notice sent. Novels cannot be reserved under this rule.

24. Borrowers are required to keep the books clean. They are not to turn down or stain the leaves, nor to make pencil or other marks upon them. They must take the earliest opportunity of reporting any damage or injury done to the books they receive, otherwise they will be held responsible for the value of the same.

25. If an infectious disease breaks out in any house containing books belonging to the library, such books are not to be returned to the library, but must be handed over to the Medical Officer of Health or any sanitary officer acting on his behalf. Until such infected house is declared free of disease by the Medical Officer of Health, no books will be issued from the libraries to any person or persons residing therein. In similar circumstances non-resident ratepayers or employees must return their books to the Medical Officer, and cease to use the libraries till their residences are certified free from infection.

26. Only actual borrowers who are enrolled on the register of the library shall have the right of direct access to the book-shelves, but their representatives may be admitted at the discretion of the librarian or his assistants. To prevent disappointment, these representatives should come provided with a list of several book-titles and numbers.

27. Any change in the residence of borrowers or their guarantors, or notice of withdrawal of guarantee, must be intimated to the librarian within one week.

28. Borrowers leaving the district or ceasing to use the library are required to return their tickets to the librarian in order to have them cancelled; otherwise they and their guarantors will be held responsible for any books taken out in their names.

29. No person under twelve years of age shall be eligible to borrow books or make use of the adult library, except by the librarian’s permission.

General Reading and Magazine Rooms

30. The general reading room shall remain open on week-days from 8 A.M. till 10 P.M., and the magazine room from 9 A.M. till 10 P.M. (and on Sundays, from October to May inclusive, from 3 to 9 P.M.). Both rooms shall be closed on Christmas Day (New Year’s Day), all public holidays, and such other days as the committee may from time to time appoint.

31. No persons under twelve years of age, unless accompanied by their parents or elders capable of controlling them, shall be allowed to use these rooms, except by permission of the librarian or his assistants.

32. Any persons who use these rooms for purposes of betting, or who in any way cause obstruction or disorder in these or any other rooms or passages of the libraries, are liable to be proceeded against under the provisions of 61 & 62 Vict., c. 53, An Act to Provide for the Punishment of Offences in Libraries, 1898.

33. Readers in possession of newspapers or other periodicals must be prepared to resign them to any other reader who may ask to peruse[335] them, ten minutes after the request has been made through one of the library staff.

Juvenile Room

34. The juvenile reading room and library shall remain open from 4 till 8 P.M. daily on Monday to Friday inclusive, and from 10 A.M. till 6 P.M. on Saturdays.

35. The admission is free to every boy or girl under (twelve) fourteen years of age residing in the Borough of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . who is able to write and read; but they must obtain a guarantee (or recommendation) from their parents or school teacher as to good behaviour and safe return of all books.

36. Only one book per week will be allowed to each borrower.

37. Application for tickets admitting to the reading room must be made at the library.

There are certain admonitory rules which are best displayed in frames in placard form, such as: SILENCE IS REQUESTED; NO CONVERSATION ALLOWED; NO DOGS ADMITTED; CYCLISTS ARE REQUESTED TO KEEP THEIR MACHINES OUTSIDE THE BUILDING; PLEASE WIPE YOUR BOOTS; NO ADMISSION THIS WAY; NO SMOKING ALLOWED; and so on. Some of the general rules would be much more effective if displayed in this form.

361. Notes on Rules.—1 and 2. These rules are included for the purpose of qualifying for the certificate of exemption from income-tax and local rates, as described in Sections 37-40.

15. In some libraries the guarantee of responsible heads of large government and other departments is accepted for all the employees, and secretaries of associations and school teachers have also been accepted. In the first case the association has become responsible for all its eligible members, and signs through its secretary. In the second case the teacher assumes responsibility for all his eligible pupils. It should be understood that a teacher’s guarantee does not involve the teacher in financial responsibility, but is an indication of his opinion that the applicant may benefit by the use of the library, and usually includes the assumption that he will use his moral influence to secure the due care and return of books. Some libraries have abolished the guarantee for non-ratepayers.

16. Depositors should be treated as ordinary borrowers, and their tickets and numbering should go through the same[336] routine. The money received from deposits may either be paid into the bank and repaid as wanted by depositors from petty cash, or held by the librarian and repaid when called up. Deposit money of this kind when paid into the bank tends somewhat to complicate and falsify the accounts by recording receipts which do not belong to the library, and inflating the petty cash expenditures, but borough accountants regard it as orthodox book-keeping as a rule. The practice differs in all places as regards this point, and the librarian may keep a separate account of these moneys, whether paid into the bank or not.

18. Under the powers conferred by the 1892 Act, many public libraries now permit persons residing outside the district who are not otherwise qualified to become borrowers on payment of an annual subscription, ranging from 5s. to 10s. The money received from this source should be paid into the subscriptions account at the bank, and a proper receipt given to the subscriber, showing how long the subscription is current.

21. The RENEWAL OF BOOKS is generally allowed without question, if no inquiries for them in the interval have been recorded. In other cases, such renewals must, of course, be refused, unless the books are not returned, in which case nothing can be done. Here again the eternal fiction question arises, and there are reasonable doubts if the right of renewal should be allowed in the case of recent popular novels. With classic fiction and other books it is quite another matter, and students should be allowed to renew within all reasonable limits, and by any reasonable means—post-card, telephone, message or other—providing that readers give the necessary particulars. A form of renewal slip is used at some libraries which may be useful. Copies are taken away by any borrower who thinks he may require them, and if he desires to renew a book, he simply fills up a slip and sends it by hand or post to the library. The assistant then picks out the charge from the charging system, inserts the renewal slip in the pocket, and re-issues it under the current date. The renewals may be picked out and sorted in one sequence behind a special guide, so that when a book is returned which has not been re-dated, it is easy to find it; or a “dummy” book card may be inserted in order under the original date of issue bearing a reference to the date of renewal—this is[337] perhaps the more effective method. Renewals should count as re-issues, and a record should be made of the issue of all books which are thus renewed.

Book No.

Issued

Renewed

Fine

This Ticket should be returned
when renewing the Book.

LIBERTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Fig. 132.—Renewal Slip
(Section 361 (21)).

23. The practice of RESERVING BOOKS has been adopted in many libraries, and within certain limits it is useful. The chief points connected with the matter are whether all books should be reserved, and how many orders for the same popular book should be booked at once. As regards the first point, it is wise to exclude current popular, but not classic, fiction from the operation of the rule, partly for the reason that in this class duplicates of popular novels are generally stocked, and also because it is necessary to restrict as much as possible any privilege which may seem to favour one class to the exclusion of another, as there is no doubt that the charge of 1d. will practically[338] exclude many poor people from participating in this method of book-reservation. It is simple to make a rough distinction between classic and current fiction, by adding the classic symbol (some arbitrary sign) to the class-mark of all books which have been published more than ten years. Such works are not necessarily classic, of course, but all that is contemplated is to prevent the holding-up on reservation lists of the latest works. As regards the second point, librarians will have to exercise a nice discretion as to how many readers they will place on the rota at one time, as it is quite conceivable that to reserve any popular work twenty or thirty times ahead is simply to cut it off from general circulation for an indefinite period. In the case of very popular books, the possibility of buying a special copy for reservation should be contemplated. As regards the method of working the system of reserving books, the usual plan is to sell a post-card to the borrower, who addresses it to himself and enters the name of the book wanted. These post-cards are then returned to the librarian, who arranges them in order, and, as the books are stopped on return, sends out the post-card next in order. A usual form for the post-card is as follows: “Please note that the book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reserved by you, has now been returned, and will be kept for you till the evening of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .” The assistant fills in the date by which the book should be claimed. Of course, borrowers who fail to claim miss their turn. A separate register of these reserved books can be kept in addition to the cards, if thought advisable. A receipt should, of course, be given for each post-card, and in some libraries the numbers of the books reserved are written on the counterfoils.

25. Infectious Diseases Notification.—Authorities differ greatly as to the power of books to carry and disseminate disease. American and English bacteriologists, after exhaustive researches and tests, declare that dirty books cannot convey infection, whilst German and French scientists are not so sure. The latest tests and theories are negative. Infection is conveyed in a wet state from the patient to another person, and it is affirmed that when contagious matter has dried it is innocuous. It is, therefore, clear that the conditions under which books may carry disease rarely, if ever, occur. As library assistants are continually turning over,[339] handling and inhaling the dust, etc., from lending library books without observed ill results, it may be assumed that the danger of infection, if it exists at all, is greatly exaggerated. But as the public mind is somewhat excited over this question, it is necessary for library authorities to take steps to reassure the people that everything is done to prevent disease being communicated through the medium of library books. The Public Health Acts are quite clear on the point that persons suffering from infectious diseases, or in charge of other persons so suffering, are liable to penalties for lending any article; and this would cover the case of a library which re-issued a book which came from an infected house. The practice should therefore be for the local sanitary authority to seize all library books found on disease-infected premises, and simply destroy them after due notification to the library authority. A further notification should be sent to the library when the house has been disinfected and declared free from disease, as in the meantime the librarian has stopped the issue of books to persons in the disease-stricken house from the date of the first intimation. There are various forms of notice used for notifying when and where disease breaks out, and what books are destroyed, and also for declaring the infected house free from disease. As regards the disinfection of books by means of fumes, etc., the opinion is that it cannot be properly done without destroying the bindings, and it is best to take the extreme course in view of the public fears. As regards the cost of replacing such destroyed books, the local sanitary authority can be called upon to do this under the provisions of the Public Health Acts, 1901, but unless the annual loss is very great, it seems hardly advisable to raise the point. In small places or towns with very limited book funds, the sanitary authority should certainly be asked to replace all books which are destroyed. It is a wise plan to keep a separate record of books which are destroyed in the interest of the public health. This need not note any further particulars than the dates, titles and numbers of books, and cost. A column can be reserved for remarks.

[340]

Bibliography.

362. Rules:

Brett, W. H. Regulations for Readers. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-3, vol. i., p. 939.

Dana, J. C. Public Service. In his Library Primer, p. 122.

Library Hours. Greenwood’s Year Book, 1900, p. 236.

363. Sunday Opening:

Barnett, Canon. Sunday Labour in Public Libraries, etc. Greenwood’s Year Book, 1897, p. 102.

Cutler, M. S., Mrs Fairchild. Sunday Opening of Public Libraries. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-3, vol. i., p. 771.

Greenwood, T. Sunday Opening of Public Libraries. In his Public Libraries, 1894, p. 458; and statistics in the British Library Year Book, 1900, p. 236.

364. Infectious Diseases:

Books as Carriers of Disease. Library J., vol. xxi., p. 150.

Johnston, T. The Replacement of “Infected” Books. Library W., vol. iv., p. 6.

Rivers, J. Do Public Library Books spread Disease? L. W., vol. vii., p. 143.

Willcock, W. J. Notification of Infectious Disease and the Public Library. L. W., 1899, p. 89.

365. Open Access:

See Manual of Library Economy, 1903, pp. 445-68, for discussion of policy and list of articles on the subject.

Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access, 1915.

For articles see Cannons, E 45-48, Rules and Regulations, Hours, Sunday and Holiday Opening; E 107, Loan Period.

[341]

DIVISION XI
THE LENDING, OR HOME READING, DEPARTMENT

CHAPTER XXIV
THE REGISTRATION OF BORROWERS

366. General.—By a tradition now firmly implanted in the mind of the public, and nourished by journalists, the lending department is the most prominent feature of the public library. The average public criticism, favourable or otherwise, is almost invariably based upon lending library statistics. This is probably because the average person knows the library as a place from which he may “take out” books. In a treatise for librarians the inadequacy of this view need not be stressed, although, as in many matters connected with their calling, librarians are not unanimous as to the relative value of their departments, some exalting one or other at the expense of the rest. There are, however, clear principles which have a fairly general acceptation. The main one is that in libraries which are in fairly close proximity to much greater libraries, it is wise to place more emphasis on the lending than on the reference department. It would be an unjustifiable duplicating of expense for a library, for example, within a mile or two of the British Museum, to attempt the hopeless task of rivalling it in the provision of expensive reference works; while on the other hand it would be justified abundantly in providing the finest possible lending library. Even here dogmatism is to be avoided, because the habits of populations in what appear to be exactly similar localities may differ greatly. Where, for example, a city working population living in a large suburb returns rarely or not at all to the city in the evenings, there may be a real demand for a reference library. Only experience, which bears in mind the[342] general principles stated, can resolve which policy it is best to follow.

On account of its prominence and the numerous opportunities for good work it affords, the lending library deserves the utmost care in its planning and administration, and the simplest and freest methods compatible with reasonable care for the safety of the books are the best. All the considerations we have described as to book-selection and weeding-out, etc., apply with particular force in this department; and a careful study should be made of the various methods of issue described in the next chapter before one is chosen, as a wrong choice may inflict much hardship on readers and later involve changes which will be most expensive; in fact, the converting of a lending library from one system to another is probably the most costly operation in which it can be involved. The staffing of the department requires just as much consideration as that of any other, and the all too frequent and often unavoidable practice of employing the youngest boys and girls at the charging counters or desks is much to be deprecated even when it cannot be altogether avoided.

367. Voucher Forms.—There are all kinds of voucher forms in use in the municipal libraries of the United Kingdom, ranging in size from foolscap folio to post-card. These vouchers are the forms on which borrowers apply for tickets entitling them to use the library, and they are the basis of the necessary registration of borrowers which all libraries must perform. It is not needful to describe more than one form, because it is gradually being adopted, with variations to suit different localities, as the standard system of the country. The legal questions connected with the validity of certain forms of guarantee are also beyond the scope of this section, because judicial rulings have been obtained on all kinds of forms, and the only point requiring consideration, that of the amount of the guarantor’s liability, has already been discussed.

A form of voucher which can be used as a movable card (5 in. by 3 in.) is preferable to a large slip, which requires binding in volumes, or other special means of preservation; and the style of cards given in Figs. 133-136 will be found satisfactory.

These voucher cards should be printed on a stout material, which may be of a different colour for each type of reader—burgess,[343] non-burgess, student, etc.—and handed free to any person entitled to borrow books. When returned filled up, they are duly examined to ascertain if the applicant is duly qualified, and when this is done the card is filed, after it has been numbered from the number book, and the borrower’s card made out. The space in the top left-hand corner is to hold the borrower’s name, boldly written in as a catch-word for alphabetical arrangement. The No. . . . space at the top right-hand corner is for the borrower’s progressive number. The Date. . . space at the bottom left-hand corner is the date of application, which also becomes the date of expiry two years later. The Elector’s Roll. . . space at the bottom right-hand corner is for the number on the current electors’ roll. It is a useful thing to mark this roll with the numbers of the cards of any borrowers for whom a ratepayer may be guarantor, in all cases where a limit is put to the number whom one person may guarantee. There is generally plenty of marginal space for this purpose.

..................................................................

No. ...............................

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

This voucher, properly filled in, entitles the reader to a General Ticket, and, if desired, a Non-Fiction Ticket, which are valid for two years from date of issue.

I, the undersigned, being a Burgess of the Borough of Liberton, hereby make application to the Public Libraries Committee for a Ticket, entitling me to Borrow Books from a Lending Library, and I hereby undertake to replace, or pay the value of any Book belonging to the Corporation of Liberton, which shall be lost or injured by me, also to pay all Fines, and all expenses of recovering same, in accordance with the Rules, by which I agree to be bound.

Name in full

If a Lady, state if Mrs or Miss.

..................................................................................................

Residence

......................................................................................................

Date ........................................

No. on Electors’ Roll ...............................

If the Applicant requires the second Ticket (on which only works that are not Fiction may be drawn), the following should be signed::

I desire to receive a Non-Fiction Ticket

...........................................................

Signature.

Fig. 133.—Voucher for a Ratepayer Applicant (Section 367).

[344]

368. The following are satisfactory examples of vouchers for non-ratepayers and non-resident students and employees (see Figs. 134-6):

..................................................................

No. ...............................

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

This voucher, properly filled in, entitles the reader to a General Ticket, and, if desired, a Non-Fiction Ticket, which are valid for two years from date of issue.

I, the undersigned, residing in the Borough of Liberton, hereby apply to the Public Libraries Committee for a Ticket (or Tickets), entitling me to borrow books from a Lending Library, in accordance with the Rules, by which I agree to be bound.

Name in full

Ladies please state if Mrs or Miss.

..................................................................................................

Residence

......................................................................................................

Occupation ...................................................

Age .......... Date ....................

I desire to receive a Non-Fiction Ticket

...........................................................

Signature.P.T.O.

Fig. 134.—Front of Voucher for Non-Ratepayer Applicant (Section 368).

In some libraries the guarantee form has been entirely abandoned in favour of a recommendation which carries with it no explicit liability for losses.

The vouchers for non-ratepayer applicants should be dealt with in the same way as those for ratepayers, viz., checked with registers and filed in the alphabetical order of surnames, after tickets have been made out and an entry made in the number book.

369. It will be seen that the vouchers illustrated permit any borrower who desires it to acquire a non-fiction or duplicate ticket in addition to a general ticket. The more general practice has been to require a separate voucher to be filled up (and guaranteed in the case of non-burgesses) for every such ticket. In this case the voucher requires no separate wording, but the word “Duplicate” or “Non-Fiction” stamped boldly across the ordinary voucher is sufficient to indicate the difference. But there seems no special advantage in making the applicant go through this double process. The same holds good with regard to vouchers for those who make a deposit in lieu of obtaining a written guarantee, or who subscribe in terms of Rule 18. The words DEPOSITOR OF . . . . . . or SUBSCRIBER OF . . . . . . and the date can be written or stamped on the back of the card. Of course there is no reason, beyond avoiding a multiplicity of cards, why a library should not provide separate forms for every class of applicant, with differently coloured cards, etc., but it seems unnecessary, unless there are special local circumstances to be considered.

[345]

I, the undersigned, being a Burgess of the Borough of Liberton, declare that I believe the Applicant named over to be a person to whom Books may be safely entrusted for perusal; and I hereby undertake to replace or pay the value of any Book belonging to the Corporation of Liberton, which shall be lost or injured by the said Borrower; as also to pay all Fines incurred under the Rules, and all expenses of recovering the same.

Name in full

Ladies please state if Mrs or Miss.

..................................................................................................

Residence

......................................................................................................

Write legibly in ink.

Occupation

................................................................. Do not fold this Card.

The Guarantor’s name must appear on the current Burgess Roll, failing which, the production of the last receipt for payment of Poor Rate, or a lease showing the occupancy of a whole premises, or a rent book showing the occupancy of a whole premises, will suffice. The guarantee lasts two years, unless previously withdrawn in writing by the Guarantor.

Ward .....................

No. on Burgess Roll ..............

Fig. 135.—Back of Voucher for Non-Ratepayer Applicant (Section 368).

..................................................................

No. ...............................

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

This voucher, properly filled in, entitles the reader to a General Ticket, and, if desired, a Non-Fiction Ticket, which are valid for two years from date of issue.

I, the undersigned, being a scholar/employee in the Borough of Liberton, hereby apply to the Public Libraries Committee for a Ticket (or Tickets), entitling me to borrow books from a Lending Library, in accordance with the Rules, by which I agree to be bound.

Name in full ............................................................................

Age ..........

Ladies please state if Mrs or Miss.

Residence

......................................................................................................

School or place of Employment} ..........................................................

Date ...........

If the Applicant requires the second Ticket (on which only works that are not Fiction may be drawn), the following should be signed:

I desire to receive a Non-Fiction Ticket

....................................................

Signature.

Fig. 136.—Front of Voucher for Non-Resident Student or Employee;
the back is the same as in Fig. 135.

[346]

370. Tickets.—Various forms of borrowers’ tickets are used with indicators and card charging, but only the kinds most commonly used need be described. One form is shown below (Fig. 137) for libraries in which borrowers retain their tickets when they have no books on loan. They are made with cloth backs to fold across, and the one with the clipped corner is a good form to adopt for students’ or extra tickets available for non-fictional works only. The variety shown is not ruled to hold a record of the numbers of books which are borrowed upon it, as it does not seem necessary to keep such a record. To keep it involves a great deal of work, and the information it affords, being practically confined to what type of book an individual reads, is rarely wanted. As a check on lost books it may have some value, but that has no relation to the cost of keeping it.

This ticket can be used with any kind of issue method, and it is therefore noted here and not with other cards among the charging systems.

H. C. RHODES,

3 Mafeking Avenue.

Borrower’s Card.

Fold >

LIBERTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

This Card to be given
up when a Book is
borrowed.

TO BE RENEWED BEFORE
6th June, 1921.

Ordinary Ticket.
Blue-lined Cloth.

H. C. RHODES,

3 Mafeking Avenue.

Borrower’s Card.

Fold >

LIBERTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

This Card to be given
up when a Book is
borrowed.

TO BE RENEWED BEFORE
6th June, 1921.

Extra Ticket.
Yellow-lined Cloth.

Ordinary Ticket.
Blue-lined Cloth.

Extra Ticket.
Yellow-lined Cloth.

Fig. 137.—Borrower’s Card (Section 370).

371. The plan which we have assumed to exist of issuing DUPLICATE or STUDENTS’ tickets available for non-fiction works only, in addition to an ordinary ticket available for all classes of literature, first became popular in Britain in 1893, and arose out of a suggestion made by Mr J. Y. W. MacAlister at the Library Association Conference at Aberdeen. In America this is generally known as the “Two-Book System,” and it became very widely adopted after 1894. Indeed, American libraries are most[347] generous in their lending; many libraries lend as many as ten books at a time; and one or two have recently (1919) invited borrowers to take at any one time “as many as they like.” The advantage of this indiscriminate freedom is not quite obvious, and, owing to their more limited stocks, it would be impossible in most British libraries. There are decided advantages in the plan of allowing borrowers to have two books at a time, and there is no doubt it greatly enhances the value of the public library to many people. As indicated by Rule 19, Section 360, special privileges are recommended to be extended to school teachers, who ought to be allowed any number of books, within reason, required for their special and important work of education. There is no objection to allowing special privileges to all earnest students engaged on special lines of research, provided no injustice is done to the general work of the library or to students similarly engaged. Certainly it is better to lend a real[348] student half a dozen or more books at a time than to have these books lying idle at the library. Of course, in libraries with more readers than books, if there are any, extra tickets will require to be issued with caution, but in all large libraries the privilege can be extended without fear or hesitation.

372. Registration.—All borrowers’ tickets should be numbered in a progressive series, and the same number should be given to the same borrower as long as he or she remains connected with the library. This prevents overlapping and the clumsy method of numbering continuously up to a certain limit and counting off the early numbers; a doubtful way of ascertaining the total number of actual borrowers at any given time. The ruling of a number register in book form is shown in Fig. 138.

No.	1901.	1902.
1	H. C. Rhodes June 4	H. C. Rhodes June 6
2	P. Krüger✓ June 4	J. Burns July 10
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Fig. 138.—Borrowers’ Number Register (Section 372).

In this each borrower is entered as he joins, receiving the first vacant number, which is also carried on to his voucher and ticket. The column is chosen which represents the year in which his ticket expires, and against the number is written the borrower’s name, and under it the month and day when the ticket expires. The holder of a given ticket can be ascertained very rapidly by this method, and time-expired or dead ticket-holders can be counted off without trouble. But it is necessary to mark or qualify the entries in order to do this. An easy way to indicate an expired ticket is to mark the register with a blue[349] tick (✓) as shown in Fig. 138 (No. 2). These expired numbers should be given to new borrowers, so as to keep the register filled up and complete, and at the end of a given period, when it is time to ascertain the number of “live” or actual ticket-holders, it is only necessary to count the blue ticks, and deduct their total from the last number of the series, in order to obtain the exact number of current borrowers. A number register book ruled as shown in Fig. 138 will last for many years. It is not necessary to print the progressive numbers or years, and it will facilitate counting operations if fifty numbers are allowed for every page. Duplicate or special ticket-holders numbered in a separate series should be entered in a special book, and juvenile ticket-holders can be treated in a similar fashion.

373. To prevent the possibility of a number of tickets being obtained by the same individuals, all tickets should be registered and made out at one library of a town, but, of course, issued from the library at which the application was made, and such tickets should be made interchangeable. There does not seem to be any advantage attached to separate branch registration, and certainly there is much loss of good service when residents are confined to the use of a particular branch. The residents in a town are entitled to use any of the libraries, and a central registration of borrowers is therefore essential.

374. When the borrowers’ vouchers have been duly checked, numbered, and the tickets have been written out, they should be filed in alphabetical order of the borrowers’ surnames in properly guided trays (or, better, card cabinets), supplied with all necessary angle blocks, etc., as in the case of charging and card-catalogue trays and cabinets. These form the alphabetical index to the borrowers, while the borrowers’ number register supplies the numerical side. Thus any question regarding borrowers can be answered without delay. It is not necessary to keep an alphabetical index of guarantors if the electors’ roll is marked as previously suggested.

375. Bibliography

Dana, J. C. (Ed.). The Work of the Registration Desk. In Mod. American Lib. Econ., 1908.

Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access Libraries, 1915.

For articles see Cannons, E 111, Registration of Borrowers.

[350]

CHAPTER XXV
ISSUE METHODS

376. In modern library practice, methods of book-registration involving the use of ledgers or day-books have now been entirely abandoned, save in a few proprietary and subscription libraries. It will, therefore, be needless to describe charging systems so generally discarded, and it will suffice if reference is made to the first edition of this work, in which many forms were illustrated and explained.

377. The great objection to all charging ledgers in book form was their want of movability and adjustability. The entries when once made were fixed, either in a running sequence under a date of issue, a borrower’s name, or a book’s title. If, for any purpose, it should be desirable to manipulate the entries, in order to secure greater accuracy, or some definite record of a special kind, the book ledgers did not lend themselves to this sort of treatment. There was no kind of movability possible, and questions which might be answered readily enough if entries were movable and separate, could not be put to any issue record in volume form. Chiefly because of this, the slip or card methods of charging were introduced, which enable registration to be conducted in a variety of ways for different purposes. It is impossible to say when or where cards were first introduced, but as they have been used for commercial purposes for years before the public library system was established, it follows that many minds must have discovered the utility and convenience of movable entries. There are many varieties of card or slip charging in existence, and innumerable methods of working or applying them. Movable entry systems are in every respect the most interesting, not only because they present greater possibilities to the ingenious mind, but because they are more scientific and more natural.

378. There have been numerous systems devised for recording[351] issues of books from public libraries, but in none have so many variations been introduced as in the great group using cards as a basis. There is hardly any limit to be put to the variety of ways in which cards can be used; and, without describing every system in detail, it will nevertheless be interesting to select and describe typical plans from among the more practical varieties, as representative of each particular group. The fundamental idea of all card systems of charging is that each book or volume shall be represented by a movable card, which can be stored in various ways when the book is on the shelf, and used to register or charge the book, when issued, to its borrower.

379. When cards are used as movable entries, there is no need to keep a column for showing date of return; and, before describing a method of working, the following specimen ruling for a card is given:

F 9432
HOPE
Prisoner of Zenda
8276	Jul. 19	2641	Nov. 6

Fig. 139.—Book Issue-Card (Section 379).

The first and third columns may be used for the borrowers’ numbers, and the second and fourth for dates of issue, as shown above, or all four columns may be used for borrowers’ numbers. The backs of the cards may be ruled the same, without the heading. These cards are kept in a strict numerical order of progressive numbers in trays or drawers. When a book is chosen by a borrower, the card representing it is withdrawn from its place, the borrower’s number and date of issue entered, the date of issue stamped on the date label of the book, and the transaction is complete when the book-card is placed in a tray, or behind a special block bearing the date of issue. At the end[352] of the day the cards are all sorted up in numerical order, as far as possible, the statistics made up from them, and they are then put away in the dated issue trays, or behind date blocks in drawers. When a book is returned, its date and number direct the assistant to the exact number of the book-card, which is withdrawn, and at leisure replaced in the main sequence. No other marking off is necessary, and the book is immediately available for issue. Overdues gradually declare themselves, as day after day passes, and the cards for books in circulation diminish in number as returns are made. This is card charging of a simple kind, which is rarely used nowadays, as in cases of overdues, queries, etc., it necessitates reference to the borrowers’ register, and such references are always a nuisance; but it forms the basis of all the more elaborate scientific systems.

380. The pocket system of card-charging is that most used in the United Kingdom, not only as a separate method, but also frequently in connexion with, or as an adjunct to, indicators. This is a loose pocket system in which each book is represented by a manila card (about 4 × 2 inches) ruled on both sides to take borrowers’ numbers and dates of issues. Every borrower is represented by a card of a similar kind, but one inch shorter (see Fig. 140). When a book is issued its card is taken from the tray, and, with the borrower’s card, is placed in a loose manila pocket, the date of issue is stamped on the date label inside the book and the borrower receives the volume. It is customary in most open access libraries to hand the borrower his card when his book is discharged. If he does not want another book at the moment he retains his card for the future, but if he does want another he selects one in the usual way, and hands it and his ticket to the assistant at the exit charging wicket, where the charge is made very rapidly by simply selecting the book-card and “marrying” it with the borrower’s card in a loose pocket. In some libraries the charges thus made are simply sorted by book numbers and arranged behind projecting date guides in the issue trays. In others this is postponed till the book numbers have been carried on to the book-cards. Whatever method of registration is adopted the ultimate result is that a complete charge is got by mechanical means, which obviates the need for writing at the moment of issue. The plan of keeping the book-cards[353] in pockets inside the books has been adopted in some libraries, but of course this destroys the value of the system as an indicator to the staff of books in and out. At the same time, in open access libraries particularly, it facilitates service at the moment of issue. The conjoined cards of this loose pocket system appear as in the diagrams on page 355 (Figs. 142-3).

381. The following diagrams show one of the principal systems of card charging now used in British libraries. Each book has a small triangular pocket inside the front board, in which is placed a small book-card (2 × 1¹⁄₈ inches) of manila, on which is written the class number, author and title of the book it represents. In cases of duplicate copies it is advisable to write the accession number on the book-card to facilitate stocktaking. Each book also has a date label inside the front board facing the book pocket (Fig. 141).

4622

A 32

Book-card
projection.

BALFOUR

5916

30 Mar., 1908

RICHARD GARNETT,

1 Museum Street.

Borrower’s
card
projection.

Pocket.

Fig. 140.—Book and Borrower’s Cards combined in Pocket (Section 380).

[354]

Each borrower has a neat linen-covered or other card bearing the name of the library, the name, address and number of the borrower and the date when the card was issued, or better, when it will expire, if periodical renewals are demanded. When a book is issued, the borrower hands his card and the book chosen to the assistant, who takes the book-card from the book pocket and places it in the pocket of the borrower’s card, stamps the date of issue or return on the date label and issues the book. The charges are then arranged in trays as described below, and thus give a perfect record without writing.

E 100·3

BALFOUR

Book-
card.

BOTANY

Book
Pocket.

Fig. 141.—Book Pocket and Card.

382. Charging Appliances.—An important part of a card method is the tray for holding and displaying the cards, and of this there are a number of kinds in use in libraries using indicators and in those working without them. For many reasons, but above all for economy of space, it is best to use a comparatively small-sized charging card, the advantage being that all the accessories, such as trays, guides, etc., are correspondingly small, cheap and easily handled.

[355]

1³⁄₄″

Watson (John)		3″
	30 Thornhill Square.
5963
30th Sept., 1906.
BOOKTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

Fig. 142.—Borrower’s Card
with Pocket.

Watson (John)		←	Borrower’s Card.
	E 100·3 Balfour
		←	Book- Card.

BOOKTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

Fig. 143.—Borrower’s Card
and Book-card conjoined.

383. A standard size of card tray made of wood is shown in Fig. 144.

This tray (b) is provided with a rod (a) for securing the guides (e) in a continuous slot (c) at the bottom, to carry and secure[356] the slot-fastening (f) of the guides (e). It has cut-away sides to facilitate the handling of the cards; a back slide or block (d) to retain the cards at any convenient or required angle; angle-bars and catch-pieces of brass (g and h) to secure a series of trays firmly in place, and prevent upsetting or knocking about. For every kind of card charging, whether in connexion with an indicator or without, this style of single tray, capable of indefinite expansion, is preferable to drawers or frames divided into compartments. Each tray will hold with its guides approximately 1000 cards, and, when divided up into hundreds, any number can be found quite rapidly.

Fig. 144.—Elevation and Plan of Card-charging Tray (Section 383).

384. The guides are generally made of steel, enamelled and figured, or from vulcanized fibre, xylonite or aluminium, bearing the numbers stamped upon them. Every charging system of this kind should have a set of nine guides for each thousand numbers, numbered simply 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or having the hundreds running progressively throughout, 100, 200, 300, 400, etc. There should also be at least two complete sets of date guides, numbered from 1 to 31 inclusive, a set of alphabetical guides (for unclaimed borrowers’ cards) from A to Z, and the[357] miscellaneous guides for fines, marked 1d., 2d., 3d., 6d., etc., “Overdues,” “Renewals,” “Guarantors Notified,” etc. All these are necessary for working card-charging as described in this Chapter.

385. It is advisable to provide a card-sorting tray, which may be a simple rack divided into narrow compartments representing thousands. The compartments need not be more than an inch wide, as the cards can lie just as easily on their edges as flat, and with greater economy of space. Where fiction is kept in a separate series of trays, or the book-issue cards are classed, then, of course, some modifications will be required both in book-issue and sorting trays.

Fig. 145.—Card-charging Trays in use (Section 378).

386. The indicator, as a library tool, is almost entirely an English appliance, and it is somewhat curious, considering their love for, and extensive use of, mechanical contrivances, that American librarians have never taken kindly to it. Various abortive experiments have been tried at Boston and elsewhere with indicating devices of several patterns, but the almost universal opinion of American librarians is against indicators in any shape or form. This holds good as regards colonial and foreign libraries generally, though one or two Canadian and Australasian libraries have adopted indicators of an English design. In[358] England, on the contrary, the invention of these appliances has gone on unremittingly for sixty years, and there are about twenty different varieties, each possessing its own merit or ingenuity.

387. An indicator is a device for indicating or registering information about books, in such a way that it can be seen either by the staff alone, or by the public and staff both. The information usually conveyed to the public is some kind of indication of the presence or absence of books, and the methods of accomplishing this almost invariably take the form of displayed numbers, qualified in such a way as to indicate books in and out. Thus, small spaces on a screen may be numbered to represent books, and their presence in the library indicated by the space being blank, or their absence from the library shown by the space being occupied by a card or block. Or, colours may be used to indicate books in and out, or a change in the position of the block representing a book. No doubt the idea of the mechanical indicator was early evolved from the needs of the first public libraries. The first practical application of it was in 1863, when Mr Charles Dyall, then Librarian at the Hulme Branch of the Manchester Public Libraries, had one made for actual use by the public and the staff. This seems to be the very earliest English indicator, and Mr Dyall is entitled to full credit as the pioneer inventor.

388. The Elliot Indicator, 1870, is very fully described in a pamphlet entitled “A Practical Explanation of the Safe and Rapid Method of Issuing Library Books, by J. Elliot, inventor of the system. Wolverhampton, 1870.” This pamphlet gives diagrams and descriptions of the Elliot Indicator in substantially the same form in which it exists at the present day. The numbers are alongside the ticket shelves or spaces, and a specially thick borrower’s ticket is used with coloured ends to show books out and overdue. The indicator is a large frame, divided into columns by wide uprights carrying 100 numbers each, which correspond with the little shelves, formed of tin, dividing each column.

There are 100 shelves and numbers in every column, and the indicator is made in several sizes, according to the width of the borrower’s card used. The public side is covered with glass. The method of working is simple. The borrower scans the[359] indicator till he finds the space opposite the number he wants vacant. This indicates that the book he wants is in, and he then hands his ticket to the assistant, stating the number of the book he requires. The assistant enters the book number and date of issue in the borrower’s card, and inserts it in the indicator in the space against the number. The book is then fetched, and before issue it is registered on a specially ruled day-sheet, by means of a stroke, to record the day’s circulation for statistical purposes. When the book is returned its number directs to the space on the indicator occupied by the borrower’s card, which is withdrawn and returned to the owner, when all liability for fines is cleared. Overdues are detected by means of differently coloured ends to the borrowers’ cards, or the periodical examination of the indicator. This indicator, which occupies a very large amount of counter-space, has been, or is, in use at Wolverhampton, Newcastle-on-Tyne and Paisley.

491	-	Space for Ticket.
492
493	-	Ticket in space, indicating book out.
494
495
496

Fig. 146.—Diagram of Elliot Indicator (Section 388).

Fig. 147.—A Library Indicator, as seen from the side of the public.

389. Cotgreave Indicator, 1877.—This indicator is that which has been most used in this country, and was the invention of Alfred Cotgreave, then Librarian of the Wednesbury Public Library, in 1877. An account of its structure and working from one of the descriptive circulars issued in connexion with it will enable anyone to gather a good idea of its appearance and use:

“It consists of a wooden or iron frame, fitted with minute zinc shelves, generally 100 in a column. Upon each of these shelves[360] is placed a small metal-bound ledger (3 inches × 1 inch), containing a number of leaves, ruled and headed for the number of borrower’s ticket, and date of issue, also date of return or other items as may be required, numbered or lettered at each end, and[361] arranged numerically in the frames. One part of it is also lettered for entries of date of purchase, title of book, etc. The metal case has turned-up ends, and the numbers appear on a ground coloured red at one end and blue at the other, one colour showing books out, the other books in; other colours may be used if preferred. The out numbers can be covered altogether with a date slide if required. The change of colour is effected by simply reversing the ledger in the indicator frame. The public side of the indicator is protected by glass.

“The modus operandi is as follows: A borrower having chosen a book from the catalogue, consults the indicator, and finding the required number to be on blue, denoting in, asks for the book corresponding, at the same time tendering his library ticket. The assistant withdraws the indicator ledger, makes the necessary entries, inserts borrower’s ticket, and reverses the ledger, which then shows the red colour, signifying out. He then hands out the book asked for. The borrower’s ticket will remain in this number until he changes his book, when his ticket will, of course, be transferred to the next number required, and the returned number will be reversed again, showing by the blue colour that the book it represents is again in, and is immediately available to any other reader requiring it. The entries need not be made at the time of issue, but may stand over until a more convenient time.

“When a book is not required the ticket is returned to the borrower, and acts as a receipt, exonerating him from liabilities.”

There are many ways of working this indicator in order to obtain certain records or notifications of overdues, and nearly every library has some modification of its own.

It is not necessary to trace the history of the indicator in any further detail, because, with one exception, the forms described comprise all that have been introduced to any extent in English public libraries.

390. Another indicator which has been introduced to some extent was invented in 1894, and has several features which may be described here.

It consists of a series of wooden blocks, each of which is numbered with 250 numbers in gilt figures, and each number has a slot under it large enough to hold a book-card with red coloured[362] or white ends, bearing the same number as the slot. These blocks can be built into columns of 1000 with the numbers running consecutively, the whole being lodged in a glazed frame. This indicator differs from other varieties in having the numbers qualified by the red or white line of the card under the numbers to indicate books in; when the slot is blank, the book is out. “The withdrawal of the book-card is the method of indicating books out, and it is the union of this card with the borrower’s card which forms the basis of the subsequent registration. When a book is issued the assistant withdraws the card from the recorder and places it in the reader’s ticket, which is formed like a pocket, fetches the book, stamps it with the date of issue, and so completes the transaction at the moment of service. Afterwards, the readers’ pocket tickets containing the book-cards are assembled and arranged according to classes in numerical order. They are then posted, by book and reader numbers only, on to a daily issue sheet or register, and the date of issue is stamped on each book-card, if this has not already been done at the moment of service. The conjoined book- and reader-cards are then placed in a tray bearing the date of issue, in the order of classes and book numbers, or in one series of book numbers as may be needful.” In other respects this charging system resembles the card methods described in Section 380.

391. The only other indicator which is designed on an entirely different principle from any of the foregoing is the Adjustable Indicator proposed by the author in a paper read before the Library Association in 1895, and published in The Library for 1896, with illustrations. This was a practical proposal for an adjustable indicator in which its size should be limited by the number of books in actual circulation, and not by the number in stock. There is a very important point here, as a library with a stock of 30,000 volumes would require an indicator occupying about thirty-eight feet run of counter space. If it never had more than 4000 volumes out at one time, these could be shown on the limited indicator above named within a space of not more than six or eight feet. This is a most important question, and it is inevitable that, in many libraries where conditions and feeling are opposed to progressive changes, this continual growth[363] of indicator space will force library authorities into the serious consideration of less crowded methods.

392. On the principle of limiting the indicator to one particular class of literature, several varieties have been introduced at Brighton, Wimbledon, Glasgow and Lewisham. So many libraries now use indicators for Fiction only that there is some advantage in having special appliances for the purpose. The Glasgow indicator consists of a series of detached columns with adjustable number-blocks representing the books, arranged so that insertions can be made at any point. The Lewisham or Graham indicator is an alphabetical one, and consists of an ordinary pigeon-holed frame, into which fit small numbered blocks of wood or metal bearing the names of authors and similar blocks with the numbers of their works. The chief advantage of this form is that it is self-contained, and requires no key to enable borrowers to ascertain what are the titles of books indicated in. A simple reference to the author’s name in the ordinary catalogue enables this to be done. An indicator on similar lines has been invented by Cotgreave, who applied the idea to a magazine indicator.

Out . .	●	ARGOSY.
In . . .	○	ART JOURNAL.

Fig. 148.—Diagram of Periodicals Indicator (Section 393).

393. Indicators are occasionally used for recording and indicating the issue of the parts of periodicals, both in lending libraries and reading-rooms. The reading-room indicator simply shows what periodicals are in use or available, in cases where they are kept behind a barrier instead of being spread over tables or racks. There are examples of this indicator at the Public Libraries of St Saviour’s, Southwark, and Finsbury. The principle is simple. The titles of magazines are mounted upon narrow blocks of wood, arranged loosely in columns so as to be adjustable, within a glazed frame. The back of this frame is open to the staff only. Against the end of each title a hole is[364] drilled to take a round peg which is coloured black at one end and white at the other. The white ends are shown when a magazine is in, and when it is issued the peg is reversed to show the black end. This indicates out.

394. As a substitute for indicators, and an approach to open access, many libraries provide a show-case for new books on the lending library counter, to enable readers to see the additions as they are made. In some libraries these show-cases are not glazed on the public side, so that the readers have the additional privilege of examining the new books as well as merely seeing them. Certain libraries, like Birkenhead and St George’s-in-the East, Stepney, have whole departments of books arranged behind wire or glass within seeing distance of the readers, and they have the option of choice by bindings and titles, which, if not much better, is as good as choosing from catalogue entries, and at any rate gives the semblance of freedom and closer touch with the books.

395. At one time a considerable controversy, often conducted with surprising feeling, raged in England over the respective merits of indicator and open access methods. This continued from about 1894, when James Duff Brown inaugurated the safe-guarded open shelf plus card-charging method at Clerkenwell (now Finsbury Central) Library. His liberalizing action necessarily threatened the property of those who owned indicator patents—some of them librarians unfortunately—and an astonishing number of objections to each method were then discovered by the advocates of either (some of them honest). The younger librarians will have none of this controversy. It is a purely impersonal question as to which is the better system, and the gradual extension of the open access system seems to have settled the matter in its favour. It is clear that with advancing education the public will question the right of the libraries to erect barriers, however ingenious and practical, between the books and their readers. All that it seems necessary to say here is that librarians should be able to examine both systems in actual working, study the results obtained, and form their own conclusions without having their integrity or morality challenged because of their conclusions.

[365]

396. Bibliography

Brown, J. D. Charging Systems. In his Library Appliances, p. 20.

Dana, J. C. (Ed.). The Charging System. In Mod. American Lib. Econ., 1909.

Plummer, M. W. Loan Systems. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-1893, vol. i., p. 898.

Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access Libraries, 1915.

Vitz, C. P. P. Loan Work. A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter xxi., 1914.

For articles see Cannons, E 84-106, Lending Library Methods.

[366]

CHAPTER XXVI
BOOK DISTRIBUTION

397. Branch Libraries.—Branch libraries are included in this division, because as a general rule they are principally lending libraries with a reading-room attached, and rarely possess reference departments. Every large town extending over a wide area must sooner or later face the question of establishing branch libraries, not only as a convenience to the public, but as a relief to the central library. No rule can be laid down as to the distance which any reader should be from the nearest branch or other library. It is one thing to make a symmetrical plan on paper, showing a central library with a ring of branches situated at regular distances, and so placed as to bring every reader within one, half or quarter of a mile of the nearest library, but it is quite a different matter realizing this ideal. Topographical difficulties arise; the matter of density of population must be considered; and, to crown all, sites or suitable premises cannot always be obtained at, or near, the places selected, as the ideal spots. For these reasons regular spacing can rarely be achieved in the provision of branch libraries.

Fig. 149.—Quick-reference Collection, Glasgow.

398. A branch library differs from a delivery station in being, to some extent, a miniature central library, carrying its own stock of books, and having its own reading-room accommodation and magazines. A delivery station need not necessarily have a stock of books, beyond those sent in response to applications, and it would have no reading-room whatsoever. Branches and deliveries are often confused, no doubt because both provide for book distribution, but beyond this common feature all resemblance ceases. The question of the amount and kind of accommodation which it is desirable to provide depends entirely upon funds, conditions and requirements. For most situations in which branches are necessary, such as the suburbs of large towns, the minimum provision should include a lending department,[367] and general reading-room for periodicals. Very occasionally a reference department is provided, but few systems will bear the cost of providing more than one such department, and that at the central library; but every branch should have a collection of quick-reference books which answer everyday questions and afford such information as is needed in every library. Such a collection does not necessarily require a separate room, because that requires special oversight, but it is better to place it in a convenient recess of the reading-room or vestibule, where it is under the observation of the staff, and where it is not necessary for the reader to pass through the wickets or other barriers of the lending department in order to make use of it. All kinds of extra features can be added to these provisions, if necessary, but these will depend upon funds; but a lecture room is especially valuable in a branch, as it is usually in an area ill-provided with such accommodation and one in which lectures, exhibitions, etc., can be given most profitably. Modern experience also advocates children’s departments at branches, as the suburbs are the nursery districts of most towns, and therefore the most fruitful opportunities for work with children are afforded in them. Some of the branches at Manchester, Birmingham,[368] Liverpool, Croydon, Coventry, Edinburgh, Bristol, Islington, Lambeth, Sunderland and Fulham are models of what such establishments should be.

399. It is impossible to lay down any rules for guidance as regards the financing of branches, beyond the general recommendation that they should never be developed at the expense of the central library. It is better to have one efficient library in a town than several inefficient ones, as is the case in some towns where this wholesome principle has been forgotten or ignored. Librarians are justified in taking a strong stand upon this point against the unreasonable demands of ward committee representatives, who are sometimes bent upon getting everything they can for their own particular district irrespective of the claims of the system as a whole. Separate account should be kept of all moneys expended upon each branch. Receipts should also be separately accounted for, and the central library should receive a daily or weekly statement of all cash intromissions, issues, occurrences, etc. Such statements can either be rendered upon specially ruled sheets or post-cards, or kept in books according to some such form as shown in Fig. 150. All forms, books, etc., at the branch should correspond with those of the central library, and everything affecting administration stated throughout this book applies, though in a modified degree, to branch work.

400. In the selection of books for branches the same principles should be applied as previously advocated, namely, the endeavour to get a high average of quality and utility in the literature added and the determination to discard useless books when the time comes. But an effort should be made to vary the contents of branch libraries so as to obtain as catholic and representative a stock as possible. With Fiction, of course, this is not so easy, especially in the case of popular novels by well-known writers, but in other classes this can be done frequently. For instance, if the north branch has So-and-So’s Chemistry, there is no reason at all why, all things being equal, the south branch should not have Someotherbody’s Chemistry and the east branch Someone-else’s. Of course it is assumed that these are all text-books of fairly equal merit. As every library should possess a union catalogue showing the whereabouts of every book in the library[369] system, and as borrowers’ tickets should be interchangeable all over the town and not limited to one particular library, this arrangement of different books on similar subjects widely enlarges the borrower’s field of choice. If the central and branch libraries are all interconnected by means of the telephone, as they ought to be, a borrower at the north branch can ascertain if Someotherbody’s Chemistry is available without going himself, and can easily arrange by waiting a day or shorter time to have the book delivered at the nearest branch. At Croydon a system of interchange effected by means of the municipal tramways, which carry parcels of books free, reduces the waiting for a book at another library to about thirty minutes. Such systems of interchange are a great convenience in many cases, and place the entire resources of the library at the command of readers, no matter where they may live.

LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
North Branch.—Report.

Date

................................................................

Total.

Lending Issues

Reference Issues

Receipts

from

Fines

„

Catalogues, etc.

Books asked for

Books wanted from Central

Supplies wanted

Callers and occurrences

Signed

........................................

Fig. 150.—Branch Library Return (Section 399).

[370]

401. Delivery Stations.—A delivery station is a place which may or may not have a small deposit collection of books—generally not—and is meant to supply readers in thinly populated districts and to be the forerunner of an orthodox branch to be established when the district develops. Such stations are usually a post-office, school, police station, or shop, which may be induced to carry out the necessary charging, etc., sometimes at a small remuneration. At the very best a delivery station in a town is but a makeshift substitute for a branch, and, from the borrowers’ point of view, does not afford a very satisfactory or expeditious service. If books which are wanted are not in at the central library, considerable delay and trouble are caused. Borrowers are compelled to make out long lists of the books they desire to read, and as often as not these are all out at the central store. As delivery stations seldom carry a stock of books from which an alternative choice can be made, borrowers are driven to the task of making out new lists or taking anything the delivery attendant can get by telephone, if there is this kind of communication, which is not generally the case; and as delivery stations are frequently managed by any untrained person obtainable, the reader gets very little help in solving real difficulties. Apart from all this, a day must elapse, as a rule, before any book wanted can be obtained, even if it is available, and for these reasons the establishment of book-delivery stations is not advisable save in remote and inaccessible parts of a large town, when every other method of giving a local service has been found impracticable. A highly organized system of delivery stations with frequent motor deliveries might, however, be made effective in scattered suburbs, but although such a system has been suggested, we have no record of a successful British example.

402. Travelling Libraries.—Of much greater importance are travelling libraries, which can be made to serve every purpose of delivery stations, with the great additional advantage of furnishing, in part, the same alternative selection of books as a branch library affords. These libraries are much used in the United States, and take the form of boxes of books numbering from fifty upwards, which can be deposited at fixed points in towns and rural districts, where borrowers can attend and make a choice of reading matter. Boxes of books by this plan can be[371] sent to the care of responsible persons in all parts of a town, and these persons can undertake the local delivery and collection of the books, either for a small fee or as voluntary sub-librarians. Various kinds of records are necessary to keep track of the boxes and their contents and where and to whom they travel. Until lately very little of this kind of work had been done either in the United Kingdom or America, although the Americans are gradually developing systems of rural travelling libraries and town “home” libraries. The travelling libraries of the States of New York and Wisconsin form a most interesting study, as also do the “home” libraries of the city of Boston. Lately this matter has been given a considerable impetus through the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, which has established experimental rural library schemes in various parts of the kingdom in connexion with County Councils and, more infrequently, suitable municipal centres. Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, the counties of Dorset, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Cumberland and Westmorland have all such schemes in operation or have undertaken them. These have a central deposit library and circulate boxes of books at frequent intervals to the villages and towns in the area, in which the clergy, teachers and others act as honorary sub-librarians. In this way the people who are not at present touched by the public libraries are being brought into the fold. The matter is in the experimental stage, and is jeopardized by the fact that, in England at least, the County Councils have no express powers to provide libraries; but results of the most promising kind have already been obtained, and the day is no doubt at hand when the traditional idea of the function of a public library as a store from which literature is doled out to the people, if they know what they want, will be superseded by a very pronounced missionary spirit, and an endeavour to make known in every possible way the value of all kinds of books to all kinds of people.

403. Subscription Departments or Book Clubs.—In some of the older municipal libraries subscription departments or book clubs have been established, as a means of increasing the stock of a library, without much expense. Such departments exist at Bolton, Burton, Dewsbury, Dundee, Elgin, Leek, Tynemouth, Wednesbury and Workington. They are operated as follows:[372] For a certain annual subscription any library reader or townsman may join this select library. From the subscriptions so received, supplemented in some places by occasional grants from the rate, new books are bought, generally in accordance with the wishes of a majority of members, but on this point practice varies. For one year these books are at the service of subscribers only, who borrow them in the usual way, for a fortnight or other periods according to circumstances. At the end of the year each book is transferred to the public library, and becomes the property of the library authority for the use of all borrowers. Where the selection is made with discretion, this may seem an economical way of obtaining books for a public library, and there is much to be said in its favour in present circumstances; but objections have been raised. Public libraries, it is argued, have no right to set up a privileged class in this way, especially as it is probable that the subscriptions cannot pay all the cost of service, lighting, housing, etc.; thus a proportion of the cost of maintenance falls on the library funds, and it is doubtful if in the end there is much gain in receiving as a quid pro quo a number of stale and, perhaps, not very judiciously selected books; and, further, public libraries have no right to compete with private and commercial subscription libraries for the sake of ministering to the few people who can afford the luxury of a select public library to themselves.

404. Another form of subscription is occasionally indulged in by public libraries. By paying a certain subscription to large commercial libraries, like Mudie’s, they are entitled to borrow so many volumes at a time, and these are re-issued to the borrowers in the ordinary way, the library being responsible for losses. In small libraries this is often an economical way of obtaining the temporary loan of copies of expensive books for which there is a large transient demand, and in this way the people have immediate access to books which might otherwise never be bought, or only obtained in second-hand form long after their interest had faded. The only trouble about this arrangement is that it depends upon the mood of the said commercial libraries for its continuance. To what extent these would endure a constant drain from a hundred or so municipal libraries remains to be seen, as also does the problem of how they would[373] meet the demand when it attained large dimensions. At one time certain of the London commercial libraries absolutely refused to lend books to public libraries on any terms. Now they are more complaisant.

405. Inter-Library Exchanges.—This is a method of book distribution which has not been tried to any extent among British municipal libraries, and some organization would be required to place it on a working basis. Briefly, the idea is to enable a public library which has not got a particular book, to borrow it from some library which has, assuming all the responsibility for its safety and due return; and making its own arrangement with its borrower for the cost of carriage. This kind of exchanging could be managed better in London than elsewhere, but it could be applied to any group of libraries, such as those of Lancashire, Wales, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, etc. Each exchanging library would require to possess a complete set of class lists and bulletins, or other catalogues, of all the other libraries, and when a demand was made for a book which was not in its possession, the assistant could look through the catalogues of the other libraries till he found a copy, and it could then be written for, the borrower paying all resulting expenses. Of course, this arrangement would only apply to non-fictional works. There would be an undoubted advantage, too, if such a privilege could be obtained for public library borrowers from some of the older proprietary libraries with huge stocks of practically unused books which municipal libraries would not buy in the ordinary course. Arrangements whereby books from special scientific or other libraries could be borrowed for the use of local borrowers would also be an arrangement, could it be managed, which would benefit a greater number of students and other persons than at present. But, of course, there would be very serious difficulties in the way of inducing the owners of valuable special libraries to lend books for the use of strangers introduced by municipal library authorities. Meanwhile, because of these difficulties thousands upon thousands of valuable and useful books are lying idle and neglected in every part of the country, a waste of power which it is sad to contemplate.

A modification of this idea is the arrangement now made between a few towns whereby readers from the one who are[374] visiting the other, who have been vouched for as being in good standing by their own library, are permitted to borrow books from the library in the town visited. Such an arrangement exists between Brighton and Croydon, Waterloo has a similar scheme, and possibly other places, and these have given much satisfaction. The main difficulty is that few inland libraries can give a full return to libraries in pleasure or health resorts, but perhaps too much emphasis should not be laid upon the necessity for an absolute return of service.

Reference List of Authorities

406. Branch Libraries:

Cole, G. W. Branches and Deliveries. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-1893, vol. i., p. 709.

Eastman, L. A. Branch Libraries and Other Distributing Agencies. A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter xv., 1911.

Hutchins, F. A. Travelling Libraries, 1902. (A.L.A. Tract, No. 3.)

For articles see Cannons, D 13, Branch Planning; F 1, Methods; L 67, Books; F 2, Delivery Stations; F 4, etc., Travelling Libraries.

[375]

DIVISION XII
THE REFERENCE DEPARTMENT

CHAPTER XXVII
GENERAL REFERENCE LIBRARY METHOD

407. Character and Scope of the Department.—The reference library is the communal study, bureau of information, and muniment house, when it is developed to its full possibilities. A definition of reference work turns upon a definition of a reference book to a large extent, and it is not easy to give more than an approximate one. A reference book is one which is consulted to obtain some particular fact or matter from it and not one that is read through as a whole. All works in dictionary, encyclopædic, chronological, periodical and similar forms are of this character. But any book which may be consulted in the way indicated is also legitimately a reference book. Further, all literary and graphic material which may so be consulted, whether in MSS., printed, photographic or other form, is rightly a part of such a library. The encyclopædic work is therefore the basal stock of the department; and standard treatises on every branch of literature, whether in actual reference form or not; the definitive editions of the classics, as for example the Variorum Shakespeare, must be included. Transient or permanent small reference material, such as pamphlets, magazine articles, broadsides, news-clippings, trade catalogues, illustrations, maps, etc., should all find a place in it; in fact, much of the most valued information work is done with the aid of such small material; important facts are frequently found in seemingly insignificant material; and the work of bringing it in relation to other similar material is one of the first-class services of the reference library.

From such a statement of the nature of the stock the purpose[376] of the department may be deduced. Primarily, as its name implies, it is a place where references to books are made; but, although this is primary, it is too limited a statement of the functions of the department. In it continuous reading, research, and prolonged study are all carried on, and if a library does not provide facilities for these it is to that extent inefficient. These considerations give rise to certain necessary arrangements, the first of which is freedom of access to quick-reference material.

Fig. 151.—The Mitchell Library, Glasgow. A recent large reference library, with a great central reading-room, and several special departments.

Fig. 151 enlarged

Fig. 152.—Plan of Islington Reference Library.

Fig. 152 enlarged

In the arrangement of the library building it is essential that the most quiet part of the building which is accessible to the public should be devoted to the reference department. It should be a room which in its design and proportions is dignified, and produces by these things and its furnishing and decorations an atmosphere conducive to mental tranquillity and study. It is impossible to define such an atmosphere, but it exists in all really successful reference libraries, and these may be studied at most of our great cities and towns, as at Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, in the British Museum, and elsewhere. The decorations, for example, if there are any beyond the merely architectural, such as painted ceilings, walls, etc., should indeed be[377] artistic, but are appropriate only when they are restrained, inobtrusive, and do not divert readers from the main purpose of[378] the room or encourage visitors to come merely to stare at them. Some reference libraries, built on ecclesiastical models, have stained-glass windows which are beautiful features, but the same principles apply in this form of decoration.

408. Furniture.—The library furniture must depend upon the size, shape and lighting of the room, but the alcove system, as it exists at the Bodleian and similar older libraries, has never been surpassed from the point of view of study, although it is possibly not so good as the rotunda of the British Museum, or that of the Library of Congress, and the Picton Reading Room at Liverpool, for merely reference purposes. Again, the alcove system occupies more space than one in which the cases are fixed against the walls and arranged in other parts of the room to secure the maximum of shelf accommodation. As regards tables and seating accommodation the older reference departments in municipal libraries has usually been defective in that they merely allowed seats at long tables, with about twenty-four inches of sitting space and a half of a two- or three-foot table in front, often with provision, equally scant, for a reader to sit opposite. The reference reader requires not only isolation, to a considerable extent, as is provided at the British Museum, but plenty of space in which to spread out his books and papers. Moreover, nothing is more disconcerting and uncomfortable to a reader than the unpleasant proximity of other people, and no student or reader who makes extracts, or has to wrestle with obstinate facts in history, science or philology, can do so if he is environed by others similarly or otherwise engaged, at very close quarters. This is recognized in the British Museum and similar libraries, where each reader has what is virtually a desk to himself so constructed as to secure the maximum of privacy. The provision of small, self-contained separate tables as described in Section 161 is probably the best that can be made. These not only give plenty of space at the top, but also provide a definite amount of space for books, etc., under the tables themselves. For the consultation of elephant folios and similar very large books the special slope outlined in Fig. 33 and described in Section 153 is a reasonable and necessary provision. One or two large flat tables for use in special cases are also to be desired.

Fig. 153.—The Islington Reference Library. Note the special tables.

409. Access.—For successful reference work a certain measure[379] of open access is essential, and is allowed by most libraries which otherwise are arranged on the closed system. The British Museum, Birmingham and other large reference libraries allow readers free choice from a selected assortment of books, numbering from a few to 20,000 or more volumes, of quick-reference character, including atlases, gazetteers, dictionaries, directories, encyclopædias, codes, etc., which answer everyday questions[380] and which are wanted without delay. These, in themselves, form a fairly considerable reference library, and that fact should be recognized when the question of access is under consideration. Other libraries allow freedom of access to nearly the whole collection; but none allows it to the whole. There are in many libraries unique books, records, and other works to which access is wisely limited, in the interest of their preservation as records and from other points of view. These, however, form an infinitesimal part of the stock of average municipal collections. All it is wished to emphasize here is that open access without any formality whatever should be allowed to the obvious quick-reference works of the kind enumerated above. A much-occupied business man who wants an address, the definition of a word, or a cable code is not likely to endure the bother of filling up application forms patiently; and to insist upon it may mean the loss of the patronage of a valuable class of the community. For the general part of the reference library where open access is in vogue admission is usually gained by signing the visitors’ book. Such signing has not definite safeguarding value, but is to some extent a moral check upon would-be defaulters, and is useful as a means of registering the number of readers. The plans given in Chapter VII. give some idea of the disposition of the ordinary reference library, and no one plan can be called the best. All that can be affirmed positively is that ample reading space should be allowed, that good light, natural and artificial, and ventilation, ease of administering the stock, close classification and the fullest cataloguing possible should be aimed at. The commonest error, as we have hinted, is crowding and insufficiency of seating accommodation. A well-administered reference library creates its own reading public, and accommodation which may be ample at the opening of the library often proves in a few years to be inadequate.

CAREVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Reference Department.
No Book must on any account be removed from this room, or transferred to other readers.
Book No.	Author and Title of Book.		Initial of Assistant.

Name of Applicant		...................................................................
Address	...........................................................................................
Date		...................................................................

Fig. 154.—Reference Library Application Form (Section 409).

Where access to shelves is not allowed, and application forms are used, it is customary to supply blanks similar to that shown in Fig. 154, on which particulars of the book wanted are entered. In some libraries these slips are placed on the shelves in the place of the books issued, and remain there till the books are replaced. To ascertain that no books are missing an assistant examines the shelves every morning, and notes any slips still remaining which[381] represent books issued on the previous day. To facilitate this operation a differently coloured slip may be used on alternate days—white to-day, blue to-morrow—so that on a white day the presence of a blue slip will instantly draw attention to a misplacement or a missing book. In other libraries the slips are filed near the point of issue, and remain there as a check against the shelves and the readers until the books are returned. Some libraries return the slips to the borrowers as a receipt, and compile their statistics from the books; others retain the slips and make up their statistics from them. Some libraries also insert an issue label in the inside front of each book, which is stamped every time the book is issued, and thus a record is made of a book’s popularity or otherwise, which should prove useful when discarding has to be considered. Application forms, or for that matter signatures in visitors’ books, are no protection against thefts of books. Readers have simply to give a false[382] name and address, and walk off with any book they please, if they intend theft.

410. It is the common practice in open access reference libraries to have notices displayed of this nature:

Readers are requested not to return books to the shelves when they have done with them, but to close them and leave them on the table.

Or, they may be required to return them to the assistant; in any case it is better for readers not to return them to the shelves personally. Either of the methods recommended enables the staff to make records of the use of books. The consultations can be entered up in a rough-ruled and classified book kept for the purpose, and the staff can replace the books at once. It will be recognized that complete statistics are practically impossible in open access departments, because only books so left on the tables or taken to the tables can be counted; but much valuable work is done by readers in the shape of rapid consultations at the shelves with immediate replacing of the volumes consulted.

Whatever may be his general method, the wise librarian will never limit a reader to one or any number of books at a time. Sometimes a dozen—we have known fifty—books are required to settle a comparatively small point. They are forthcoming in a good reference library. Students of recognized regularity may even be released from overmuch form-filling; fifty forms for the fifty books we have named would be an interminable demand.

411. The Stock.—The building-up of a reference stock demands the highest skill and prevision in the librarian. The purpose which it is intended to serve must be clearly before his eyes, and this may, and does, differ with differing places. A library in a distinctly commercial and industrial area faces needs obviously different from one in a purely residential area. But in all libraries every kind of dictionary and encyclopædia, general and special, philological, technical, scientific and historical, is a prime requisite. On these the stock will be balanced with a view[383] to procuring the best and latest statement of knowledge in every field. This end the too-often neglected bibliographical collection subserves. Every general and special bibliography from the British Museum catalogue to the small select catalogues issued by local libraries, every index, every special catalogue, indeed every catalogue within reason of other libraries which a librarian can procure, is a necessary tool in building up the collection and in tracking information when it is complete. There have been many select bibliographies, but there is still room for many more. The average bibliography of a subject is not selected; it aims at completeness, and seems to assume that its users are people who want to spend a lifetime on the subject. There are such, no doubt, but to the average reader it presents a formidable if not paralysing array of entries. What is needed, both from experts and from libraries, is a series of very brief lists which contain only the best books given in order of their value, comprehensiveness, historical character, and so on. Knowledge of bibliographies and the methods of using them is the chief part of the equipment of the reference librarian.

In this work there are two ideals, as was shown when the general question of book selection was under consideration: one the museum ideal, in which every kind of book of every age is collected; the other which limits the stock to books of proved or probable utility to the population served. The former is the business of the national libraries and those of the great centres of population, such as Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, etc., and to a certain extent those which are at great distance from such large centres; and special libraries within their own fields should be exhaustive. But this ideal is not for other libraries, except in so far as it applies to the local collection; that should contain everything of whatever value. Otherwise the live book is what is wanted. The ordinary reference library should therefore be revised periodically, obsolete and dead stock should be discarded, and no book should be included because it does not appeal to lending library readers or has been received as a gift for which there seems to be no other depository—these are emphatically books to be excluded. With these general provisions a brief survey of the principal requirements of the stock may have its uses.

[384]

Fig. 155.—The Picton Reading Room, the Central Reference Library of Liverpool.

[385]

I.	Quick-reference works of every type.
II.	Bibliographies, general and select, and catalogues of every type.
III.	The best editions of the classic authors in every language.
IV.	The most comprehensive compendiums and treatises on every subject.
V.	All material on the predominating local industry.
VI.	All books, pamphlets, and all other literary, pictorial and graphic matter relating to the locality. This will be dealt with more fully in considering the Local Collection.
VII.	Permanent files of at least The Times, and all local newspapers; and temporary files of other newspapers most in demand.
VIII.	Sets of periodicals, as indexed in the Library Association Index of Periodicals. This is a rather large business, and should be attempted only by libraries that can afford the cost. Others should elect to keep only those of such character as to add permanently to the book-strength of the library, and to use the Periodicals Loan Library, which is worked in conjunction with the Index of Periodicals, for other periodical material. All periodical indexes, whether general, as Poole’s, The Review of Reviews, The Athenæum, and The Wilson Company’s, or particular, as The Times, the indexes to The Quarterly, The Edinburgh, etc. The value of these in large libraries is obvious; it is not always so clearly recognized that they have even a greater value for smaller libraries as clues to accessible material which may not be in their stocks. In any case the Library Association index should be taken.
IX.	The publications of the major learned and scientific societies, as the Royal Society, the Royal Geographical, the Historical and similar societies. These present knowledge well in advance of that contained in books as a rule.
X.	Clippings from newspapers and periodicals which have definite facts, in addition to those contained in books, and on current happenings of moment, matters of[386] “useful” character (the day to day changes in rationing rules, etc., during the war are a case in point) and similar material having an immediate, and real, if transient value.
XI.	Government publications, which in most libraries may be selected after a brief interval. Many of the reports of commissions, surveys, etc., have a high permanent value.

This conspectus is not necessarily complete, nor is all the material named of equal value or equally in demand; but every librarian should review these headings in relation to his reference department. To place rigid limits upon the stock is absurd, seeing that utility and not mathematical or other precision is the object of the work. If, therefore, a librarian finds some other special field of material is demanded he should add it without hesitation if he is convinced that the demand is not frivolous or very restricted. For example, to add an expensive and recondite (say) archæological treatise in Modern Greek at the behest of one reader is a case in which his decision might wisely be for refusal.

412. Classification.—In its classification the reference library presents more physical problems than the lending library. The most minute classification is the best undoubtedly, and this should be used; but the size problem is a real one. While the greater number of reference books are of octavo size, quartos, folios, and even larger books are many. They cannot stand together in class sequence without an impossible loss of space. The simplest method is to have three sequences, for octavos, quartos and folios respectively, in appropriately sized shelves, in three different parts of the room. But this means various journeys across the room when all the books on a subject are required. The distance is abbreviated if the octavos, quartos and folios follow one another in each class. A third method which has proved most successful is to divide every tier (which is presumed to have adjustable shelves) into three parts and to run three parallel sequences in each, the octavos occupying the top part, the quartos the middle, and the folios the bottom. The parallel can be only approximate, but it is sufficiently[387] close for the reader or the staff to review any subject completely and readily. With any of these methods broken order may be resorted to if it is thought well. The arranging of all quick-reference books in a separate complete sequence nearest the entrance or the place of service is a case in point; and special[388] separate classifications may well be given to periodicals, to local literature, to the predominating industry, and so on without limit. Again, convenience is the supreme law.

Fig. 156.—The Main Reading Room of the Royal Society of Medicine, a modern open access reference library.

413. Cataloguing.—The catalogue of the department should aim at the maximum of fulness and be in as many forms as are necessary to bring out the entire resources of the department; there should be no retrenchment of time or labour in producing the best here, as a small collection of books adequately catalogued will give greater service than a larger one catalogued poorly. It is not an unfair paradox to say that the smaller (within reason) a reference library is the more detailed should be its catalogue. This being so, whatever kind of catalogue may publish the basal stock, the general current needs of the library can be kept supplied only by a card or slip catalogue of unlimited expansibility. The reference catalogue, even for books already in stock, can rarely be complete, and any fixed form of printed catalogue, unless it is supplemented by a MS. catalogue, will soon fail signally as a guide to the collection. As to the cataloguing form, experience proves that a mere author catalogue has a very limited value in reference work. It should be provided in some form, of course, but for one reader who inquires for a book by its author, a score require something about subjects, usually specific subjects such as the Horse, Verdun, Violin strings, Election Law, Tithes, Date of a Battle, Arms of Sussex, Birthplace of Douglas Haig, Words of a Poem, etc. There must therefore be some form of subject catalogue, and there is much virtue in the fully classified card or sheaf catalogue, with author and subject indexes. These, if carried out efficiently and minutely, will do the work that is required. By fulness of entry we mean that titles should be abbreviated as little as is possible within common-sense limits; that all bibliographical particulars, number of volumes, size, pagination, date, illustrations, maps, diagrams, glossaries, indexes, bibliographies and date and places of publication (except when London) should be indicated. Moreover, annotations of obscure books, and indicating sequences, commentaries, missing parts, and so on, are of special value here. Added entries may, and should, be carried as far as the cataloguing resources of the library allow, all books of composite character, miscellaneous works, transactions, many periodicals, etc., being analysed and displayed in the catalogue[389] under their class headings. It is also most useful to collect in the catalogue references to bibliographies of all kinds contained in works which are in the lending library. For examples, the Home University Library and the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature are not books to be found in the average reference library, but they contain excellent little select bibliographies which the reference librarian will find useful, and an entry of each of these should be made. Every item which goes into the library should be catalogued, pamphlets and excerpts from other works, however small, included, if it is intended to preserve them, as well as maps. Photographs and prints probably need a separate catalogue, as certain considerations, dealt with later on, enter into their cataloguing, but in a card catalogue provision can be made for nearly every kind of material. Temporary material may be entered on a coloured card, which permits of rapid revision of the entries.

Fig. 157.—Reading Table, Chair, and Accessories, Royal Society of Medicine.

[390]

414. Pamphlets.—Pamphlets and magazine excerpts form a large part of every reference library and are often difficult to deal with effectively. When not bound in volumes, they may be stitched in manila wrappers, and stored in boxes of various sizes, such as 8vo, 4to, etc., of the kind specified in Section 306. Each pamphlet should be lettered on the side of its wrapper, with its author, title, date, class letter and number and accession number. The collection might be commenced with an 8vo box for each class, and gradually extended from this nucleus as the stock increased, the contents of boxes being divided and subdivided, and placed in new boxes with changed lettering. As these would be arranged in class order, there would be no more difficulty in finding a single pamphlet than in finding a book. With miscellaneous collections of pamphlets bound in volumes, the best plan is to renumber them in a progressive series, and carry the volume number against the catalogue or other entry. It is not advisable to run more than one series of numbers, and if by chance a collection is acquired which is already numbered, these should be covered over with the continuation numbers of the library’s own progressive series. On the whole it is better not to bind pamphlets, partly owing to their miscellaneous nature, which prevents any real classification or even approximate subject order in the volumes composed of them, partly because of their very temporary value as a rule and because of the impossibility of inserting new ones into bound volumes. A student or discoverer frequently advances his first conclusions in a pamphlet, and sooner or later these are superseded by books, and many pamphlets are merely statements of views upon political and other questions of much immediate but usually quite passing interest. In the average library they become dead stock in a few months or years. Pamphlet collections should be weeded out more frequently than book collections.

415. The vertical file is the most adequate method of dealing with cuttings, broadsides and similar separate matter. If the folders are closely classified, the ordinary printed index to the classification scheme used is a fairly good key; but a slip index of some kind will exhaust the file better and accelerate reference. If a brief index entry is made before the cutting is dropped into its folder, in some such form as follows, the work will not be unduly burdensome:

[391]

Atlantic Flight.

U.S. Seaplane, NC4, flies to Lisbon.

D. Chron., 28.5.19-1.629.

Fig. 158.—Clippings-index Slip (Section 415).

416. Accessories.—Every means of comfort and every reasonable aid to study should be given to readers. We have dealt with reading tables. The chairs deserve almost equal consideration. They should be comfortable; an arm-chair is better than other forms. The view at one time expressed that seats without backs in some way induced to mental alertness was that of some stupid theorist; as a matter of fact ease of body is essential to elasticity of mind. Chairs should have rubber tips or silent castors to prevent the nerve-racking scritching which moving chairs too frequently make, but when metal castors are used they should not be of the slippery variety that slides readers unexpectedly on to the floor. Reading stands with clips for holding books open should be on every table, or provided in sufficient numbers to meet all probable needs. At certain tables the use of ink should be permitted, and blotting pads, ink, pens, etc., should be provided. Tracing may be permitted from most illustrated books, prints, etc., but as a protection a sheet of xylonite should be available and the reader be required to interpose it between the copy and his tracing paper. Sheets in several sizes should be kept for use with books of different sizes. Rulers, T squares, a map measurer, a reading glass, compasses, etc., may all reasonably form part of the equipment and be lent on request. Scrap paper for notes, both at the catalogues and at the tables, is another reasonable provision, as is a small stock of foolscap which readers may purchase at cost price. Some libraries have the rule that letters must not be written in the room, and it has its uses, as cases are not unknown where nomadic business men, election agents, etc., have monopolized tables for hours or days for the distinctly non-literary and non-library purpose of addressing circulars; but the writing of occasional correspondence, if it does not exclude other readers from the writing tables, may safely be winked at. Other libraries do not allow the reading[392] of other books than those from the shelves in the department, but the absurdity of such a rule, if carried to its logical conclusion, is patent. It may not be superfluous to add that every reference library should be equipped with a stand for hats, coats and umbrellas, but readers may be warned by notice that the library does not accept responsibility for their safety.

All the forces of the library stock in all departments should be at the disposal of the reference reader; thus any book in the lending libraries, except perhaps current novels of the popular kind, which may be on the shelves, should be allowed to be requisitioned, as also should any newspaper, periodical or other material in files which may not form part of the department. A good plan in open access libraries is to give the reference reader a pass admitting him to consult the lending library catalogues or shelves, but after he has selected books from them to have them brought from the lending library by the staff. Such uses of lending library books should count as reference consultations.

417. The Lending of Reference Books.—Whether or not reference library books should ever be lent away from the building is a question upon which librarians are sharply divided. It is argued that a reference library is a place where a reader has a right to expect every book in stock to be available at all times, and this is a reasonable theory. That reader, however, is a hypothetical person as a rule, and too rigid a policy of refusal has some disadvantages. Experience tells every librarian what books ought not to be lent in ordinary circumstances, if in any; and these are quick-reference books of all kinds, and any book the loss of or damage to which would be irreparable. Occasionally, however, a real student really requires the home use of a reference book which is not in everyday demand, and the library would suffer little and might gain much by lending it. If the ordinary loan periods are thought to be inadmissible, much can be said for lending over week-ends or at hours when the library is inaccessible to readers. It is a question which every librarian must settle for himself. In one successful reference library which lends, when a reasonable cause is shown, every book not excluded by the exceptions just named, and has done so for twenty years without the least inconvenience, a form of application, which is also a charging form, is used. This is a card[393] 6 inches × 5 inches, which folds in the middle and files as a standard-sized catalogue card (3 inches × 5 inches):

Purpose wanted for ......................................................................................

Why Book cannot be studied in Library ..................................................

(Do not write below this line.) (See inside.)

Allowed to be returned within ............ days.

(Signed) .................................................... Chief Librarian.

If application is not signed request is disallowed, in which case explanation is enclosed.

-------------------------------------------(Fold.)-------------------------------------------

Date ............................

Application for Borrowing a Reference Book for Home
Reading. [See Special Notice inside before filling up.]

Name ................................................................................................................

Address ...........................................................................................................

Occupation ....................................................................................................

Book Required: Author ...............................................................................

Title (brief) ..................................................................................

Class No. ....................................... Time required ....................

(Do not write below this line.) (See inside.)

Issued .................... by ........................... Rtd. ................ by ..........................

Fig. 159.—Application for Loan of Reference Book (Section 417).

One side of it is worded as shown above, and the other side, to which the attention of the applicant is specially directed, is worded as follows:

SPECIAL NOTICE.

As every book removed from the Reference shelves may mean inconvenience and disappointment to some other reader, a reasonable case must be made out for permitting it to be taken away. Such a vague indication as “reading” is not sufficient. Quick-reference books, such as encyclopædias and dictionaries, very expensive or rare books, and books in constant demand, will not be issued under this regulation.

The applicant must be a resident in the Borough, and if not of some standing or sufficiently known to the Librarian or his Staff, should be prepared with some recommendation from a clergyman, head teacher, or other person of standing in the Borough. Should the application be granted, failure to return the book within the time allowed may entail the refusal of all further applications.

Fig. 160.—Application for Loan of Reference Book (back) (Section 417).

[394]

When the applicant is unknown to the staff and the conditions required in the last paragraph on the form are not fulfilled, a separate slip is handed to the applicant, which reads as follows:

Re Application for Borrowing a Reference Book for Home Reading.

The Librarian regrets that he is unable to accede to the accompanying request without a signed recommendation from a clergyman, head teacher, or other person of standing in the Borough.

Every facility, however, will be accorded for consulting the book in the building. The Reference Library is open each week day from 9.30 A.M. to 9 P.M.

Fig. 161.—Refusal Form: Loan of Reference Book (Section 417).

When the book is unsuitable for lending purposes another slip is used:

Re Application for Borrowing a Reference Book for Home Reading.

The Librarian regrets that he is unable to accede to the accompanying request, as the book applied for—

is	a quick-reference book;
	very expensive;
	rare;
	in constant demand.

Every facility will be accorded for consulting the book in the building. The Reference Library is open each week day from 9.30 A.M. to 9 P.M.

Fig. 162.—Form showing Reason for Refusal (Section 417).

The application forms, when completed and allowed, are filed alphabetically under the name of the borrower. There are so few of them (probably a dozen weekly) that any other form of charging has been found to be unnecessary. The assistant concerned in the work examines the file weekly, and books overdue are written for immediately. Borrowers guilty of retaining reference books beyond the allowed time are denied the privilege of borrowing thereafter.

418. Staff.—It is fair to say that there are too few reference librarians in this country; that is to say, persons who, in addition[395] to ordinary scholarship and library technique, have trained specially in bibliography, the drawing out of readers and information-hunting. Perhaps as a result of the library schools now in course of organization a race of such useful librarians will arise. The staffing of the reference library is perhaps the greatest difficulty a librarian has to overcome. In the larger libraries the department is in the control of experts, or at any rate of the most efficient workers on the staff, but in smaller towns it falls to the keeping of an assistant, often a different person every day or even shift, who can be spared from the general staff; indeed, in some libraries reference work is so small that this is all that can be afforded. In such circumstances the best work is out of the question. The reference reader demands skilled attention. Libraries catering for a learned or special clientele have their own special problems; but the ordinary civic library has, in addition to numbers of such clients, the average man and woman to deal with who are not only unskilled in the use of books, but have also some difficulty in making known their actual needs. It is obviously beyond the power of a boy or girl assistant to draw out of these readers the exact nature of their difficulties; that is a task requiring address, sympathy and tact, which experience alone gives. In small libraries the librarian himself may consider it a privilege to work at busy times in this department; it will be well worth his while. The qualifications a reference librarian should aim to possess are a complete library technique, an intimate knowledge of the sources of information and of his stock, and a certain missionary spirit which loves knowledge for its own sake. In addition he must have sympathy with all classes of inquirers and be able to suffer fools gladly. On the technical side he will find in certain little books a good elementary grounding; among them is Hopkins’s Reference Guides, Kroeger’s Guide to Reference Books, and so on. All juniors in a reference department should go through a course based upon these, and courses in practical book-selection and bibliography. No question should be regarded as trivial; it is no part of the librarian’s duty to assess the value of any information asked; and patience even beyond what may seem reasonable limits is an everyday requirement. For example, the question once asked, “On which side of Cromwell’s nose was[396] there a wart?” seemed frivolous enough, and it involved the consulting of dozens of books; but it proved to be wanted for the identification of what is believed to be a unique death mask.

419. Records.—All information the sources of which were not obvious should be recorded on cards, together with the sources from which it was given, in order that similar search may not be necessary when it is required again. Carbon copies of all special lists of books compiled should be filed for future use. Failures of the library are most important as showing deficiencies in the collection, and questions which could not be answered should always be recorded. When a reference library cannot supply information from its own resources, it should endeavour to find what neighbouring library can supply it, and either direct the inquirer there, or, better, borrow the book required. Mutual co-operation of this kind between libraries is easy to arrange, and few librarians do not recognize its value. It should always be borne in mind that to turn a reader away empty is a loss of prestige to the library, while a reader well served and satisfied is a potential friend and probable patron afterwards.

420. Special Library Collections.—In the average town it should be the endeavour to concentrate all the special libraries of institutions and societies in the reference library. It is obviously an uneconomy for special collections to be locked up for the greater part of the week in the private rooms of institutions and societies when they may be made available all day and every day to the members of these societies and to the general public in the municipal reference library. These bodies may often be induced to deposit their collection if some simple arrangement is made by which books may be lent as required to their members and may be available to everybody for reference purpose when not so lent out. By this means a useful reinforcement of the stock is made at the expense of shelf-room and administration only. It is usual to catalogue such collections exactly as other parts of the stock, but to add some individualizing symbol to the class-mark to show its ownership.

421. Information Bureaux.—Among the many possibilities of the department we shall confine ourselves in this chapter to its use as an information bureau, leaving such important considerations[397] as the Local Collection, and its auxiliaries Regional and Photographic Surveys, and Commercial Libraries for treatment in separate chapters. The information desk or bureau is the name given to the department of the work which lays itself out to answer inquiries for business and other people. It is primarily quick-reference work and is done in proximity to the quick-reference collection. But it goes further in the direction of supplying such current information as the present population of the town, its rates, etc., the addresses of burgesses, the latest Derby winner, the cable code used by this or that firm, the plays available at the theatres, the social or other events of this, next or last week, and indeed any useful or convenient information whatsoever. Much of the material needed is in the quick-reference collection, much must be clipped from the newspapers, and some—as, for example, the programmes of local societies—must be sought for at first-hand. It may be objected that this information may, to an extent, be found in newspapers by the inquirers themselves. Admitted; but they have not always the required newspaper at hand, and the information bureau is always there. Briefly indexed vertical files, within hand-reach of a public telephone, are the means of working such bureaux. The telephone is essential to real success, and inquiries by telephone should be invited. Where there are commercial libraries in connexion with the library system, much of this work may be done in them, but there is, as the examples given above show, a large amount of work that can be done outside their field; and a ready and efficient information bureau is a real asset to any town.

422. Indexes of Readers.—Another useful work that in large libraries may properly be relegated to the cataloguing department may be conducted in smaller ones by the reference staff. This is the supplying of firms and individuals with lists of books of use in connexion with their industry or study. Some libraries supply such people with a small card catalogue of the whole of their subject as it is represented in the libraries, and send cards regularly for entries of additions. Other forms of catalogues can be used, of course, for this purpose. In conjunction therewith, and as a useful adjunct to other work, it is a good plan to make card entries of the special subjects affected by individual[398] readers under the names of the subjects, and to advise the readers by post-cards of all additions made in those subjects.

423. Bibliography

Bodleian Library. Manual for Readers and Visitors, 1912.

Dana, J. C. Library Primer, chapters xii.-xiii.

Hopkins, F. M. Reference Guides that should be Known, 1916.

John Rylands Library: A Historical Description of the Library and its Contents, 1906.

Kaiser, J. B. Law, Legislative and Municipal Reference Libraries, 1914.

Koch, T. W. Library Assistant’s Manual, 1913.

Kroeger, A. B. Guide to the Study and Use of Reference Books. Ed. by I. G. Mudge, 1917.

Library of Congress. Manual. In Report of the Librarian, 1901.

Lowe, J. A. Books and Libraries: A Manual of Instruction in their Use, 1916.

Marcel, Henry, and Others. La Bibliothèque Nationale, 1907.

New York State Library. Material for a Course in Reference Study, 1903.

Peddie, R. A. The British Museum Reading Room, 1912.

Rawlings, G. B. The British Museum Library, 1916.

Richardson, E. C. Reference Department. A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., chapter xxii., 1911.

Small, Herbert. Handbook of the New Library of Congress, 1901.

Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access Libraries, 1915, chapter ii.

Ward, G. O. The Practical Use of Books and Libraries, 1917, 2 vols.

Wiswell, L. O. How to Use Reference Books, 1916.

For articles see Cannons: E 79-83, Reference Rules, Management and Policy, etc.; D 7, Planning; L 66, Books for Reference Libraries.

[399]

CHAPTER XXVIII
LOCAL COLLECTIONS

424. General.—Of the departments of reference, other than the general working department, prior consideration may be given to the Local Collection on the ground that every municipal public library must have a collection of this kind. At any rate it should have as complete a collection as possible of material relating to its town. County collections are a much more serious matter and should only be attempted by towns of county rank, or the town in each county where the majority of the population is. There is hardly a county in England which can support two county collections, because rival collections are mutually inimical, and their competition for certain items causes the price of the latter to increase absurdly. The town is another matter. The one place where copies of books, pamphlets, photographs, etc., relating to a town ought to be found is its public library; and there are several principles, warnings and suggestions that may be enunciated in connexion with the work. The relative value of the material to be collected is hardly a matter for the librarian; often most despised material has great value when brought into relation to other material. The best general principle is: “Get everything and leave its evaluation to posterity.”

425. Material collected.—Primarily the words local collection are co-extensive with local bibliography. This last term, however, is too narrow, and the broad headings embraced by the collection may be set out, and then considered in detail. These are:

(a) Printed records.
(b) Written records.
(c) Pictorial records.
(d) Engraved records.

[400]

All or most of these are found in every local collection, and their statement immediately raises the question: Can pictorial records, although undoubtedly a part of local history, come into the province of the library? Are they not rather in that of the art gallery? Similarly are not engraved records (bronze coins, tokens, rubbings of monumental brasses and seals) better placed in the museum? It may be urged that the art gallery is concerned with art, the museum with science, and the library (in this connexion) with history. Pictures and engraved articles are not collected by the librarian because of their artistic qualities—in fact, many of his most cherished possessions are artistic atrocities—but because they are records. On this argument a good case can be made for their retention in the library. No doubt, where a town has the three institutions named, and where the local collecting spirit is at work in each, and is definitely co-ordinated, it would be wise and economical to sub-divide the field; but where there is only the library, there can be only one principle, and that the one already emphasized—“get everything.”

426. When we come to consider the printed records of any locality, we are surprised at their extent. These, again, can be set out in a brief tabular form:

A. Books of the locality.
- 1. By local authors.
- 2. Locally printed.
- 3. Newspapers and periodicals.
- 4. Public material: parliamentary, legal, etc.
- 5. Public material: municipal.
- 6. Trade material.
- 7. Programmes: theatre, cinema, music hall, concert hall, etc.
- 8. Posters.
B. Books on the locality.
- 1. Topography.
- 2. History.
- 3. Biography.[401]
- 4. Public material: parliamentary, legal, etc.
- 5. Novels, poems, and plays with local setting.
- 6. Newspaper and periodical references.

These headings cover a wide area, but the presence of every form of material named is desirable in the local collection.

427. For the purposes of the local collection an author may be defined as 1, a writer who is born, and educated in whole or part, in a town, or whose family is indigenous in it; 2, residents of some years’ standing or whose works reflect the locality; 3, authors of utterances or writings made in, or upon, or addressed to the locality; 4, public men, officials, etc.; 5, any minister, public speaker, etc., who holds office or meetings in the town; 6, all local bodies, public or private—the municipality, churches, societies, clubs, etc.; and 7, all local tradesmen—catalogues, etc.

It is a prime duty of every public library to collect locally printed books; the lacunæ in our national bibliography have been lamentable in the past in regard to locally and privately printed books, owing to the lack of such collecting, and they are not likely to decrease if this duty is not vigorously undertaken by the librarian of to-day. The search must be specially eager for the privately issued volume, but however limited the author intends his circulation to be, he is usually quite persuadable as far as a copy for the local collection goes. Local newspapers, it is obvious, are material of cardinal value. Every one of them must be collected, bound, and to some extent indexed. And similar if somewhat lesser value attaches to every periodical whatsoever—be it the issue of a sect, school, institution, trader, party, club, or any other body—published in the town. It is a curious fact that few libraries possess, for instance, sets of the various church magazines. These are, usually, of course, made up of a London-published religious periodical inset in sheets dealing with the particular church that distributes them. The inset may be discarded, but the local part should certainly be collected from every such periodical issued locally. Few records are more important than this.

The local collection must certainly include all local acts, bye-laws, orders in Council that have a local bearing. It is remarkable[402] how many of these there are for even supposedly insignificant areas.

Novels and other imaginative literature, which have a local setting, come clearly into the collection. It is a curious fact that the modern novel of this character is frequently missed. It seems all the more important to collect it when we know that the average “selling life” of a six-shilling novel is about six weeks, and its public life quite often not much longer. Only the local library can—or ought—to save much of this fiction and imaginative writing.

References to the district in outside newspapers and periodicals should always be kept. Even when they are founded on the material in the local newspapers they are usually coloured by the outside view, or are in better perspective than the local writer can bring to bear upon whatever is under discussion.

428. The basic records of a town, and, therefore, from the point of view of the local collection, its most important, are its written ones; and in these, generally speaking, libraries are most deficient, for the obvious reason that the ordinary municipal library is a newcomer, and that in modern days the printed record has largely superseded the written one. Not altogether, however, as we shall see. Written records are almost of as many types as are the printed—there are parliamentary, municipal, parochial, private business and personal manuscripts, of which every librarian should strive to obtain possession. A copy of the Domesday Book for his area, albeit impossible, except by successful burglary of the Public Record Office, would be a desirable beginning to the collection. After that, we may tabulate a list of the classes of written material which should be sought:

1. Parochial Records: Tithe Registers, Parish Registers, Rate Books.
2. Municipal Records: Rate Books, Assessment Registers, Minute Books.
3. Private business records: Leases, indentures, agreements.
4. Manuscripts, autographs, etc.

Parochial registers of all kinds, tax books, etc., were until comparatively recent years kept in the charge of the Church.[403] Modern vicars have, as a rule, little interest in them, and are often willing to hand them over to the public library. Such books have an obvious value in resolving the whereabouts, rateable value and occupants of various types of property; and very interesting questions may be settled by their means. The actual parish registers—of births, marriages and deaths—are another matter, and the originals cannot, we believe, be transferred to the library. In some cases the staffs of libraries have obtained permission to transcribe these verbatim, and have actually done so.[14] It is undoubtedly a useful work, but scarcely comes into the province of the librarian as such; his work is to collect existing material, not to create material, although there are infrequent exceptions to the rule. In general we must wait until one of the publishing societies produces these registers, and in the meanwhile refer inquirers to the Church. All we need to emphasize here is the fact that for centuries the corporate life centred in the Church, and it is to the Church that we must look for our primary written records.

[14] At Walthamstow this was done by a member of the Libraries staff.

We reach somewhat surer ground when we endeavour to collect municipal records. The older municipalities—Coventry, Stratford-on-Avon, etc.—have had some regard for their records, and have at least preserved them. Modern municipalities preserve them, too—that is to say, theoretically. A visit to the basement or attics of the average municipal building is, however, a woeful experience for the collector. Usually, in cob-webbed chaos, he will find the records that in a century (or much less) will have immeasurable interest for the student of local affairs. There are written minutes as distinct from printed ones of municipal committees, rate, assessment, receipt, wages, work, and numerous other books to be found in the confusion. It is not always easy to persuade the people concerned to hand over these books, and indeed the more recent of them probably ought not to be handed over; but a little persuasive tact has in more than one case secured the right of the librarian to take charge of and to classify and catalogue them. Sometimes limitations are placed upon their use (for example, books of the last ten years may not be exposed to general consultation), but in any case they ought to be secured for the collection if it is in any way[404] possible. The records, it must be mentioned, are voluminous and bulky, and if in addition to the right of custody the municipality can be induced to provide a room for their reception, the relief will generally be a welcome one.

In some ways the most attractive of written records, the most human, are the private ones; and these are also the most difficult to obtain. Leases, wills, agreements, indentures, and similar deeds are naturally not stored systematically anywhere in the average town, and they must be searched out. Old inns are likely places, as are old solicitors’ offices, and auctions sometimes bring them to light. There are, of course, dealers who specialize in them, and most desirable deeds have been obtained cheaply from London dealers. Such documents throw more light on the changes, customs, and language of a locality than do any of the more formal records mentioned above.

Local literary manuscripts, autographs, manuscripts of local authors, letters, and similar written documents are so obviously desirable that more than a mention of them is superfluous; but we want, in this connexion, to urge that to-day will very quickly belong to the past, and that the collection of these things from the hands of living men is to be desired. When a librarian receives a letter from the mayor, a prominent alderman, or similar local celebrity, he does not as a rule think of it as something to be preserved in the local collection. Why not?

429. Pictorial and Graphic Material.—In recent years librarians have given systematic attention to the collection of pictorial records, although, indeed, they have long been recognized as a part of the collector’s province. These naturally divide into:

1. Painted records.
2. Prints.
3. Photographs.
4. Maps.

(We think we can extend the word “pictorial” to cover maps.) The presence of painted records may be questioned, but their value as records is undoubted, seeing that they give colour, atmosphere, and have other interpretative values which are absent from the more meticulously accurate photograph. Local prints and photographs should be collected without special regard to their artistic value; record is always the motto of the collector, not beauty, however much we may desire it personally.[405] Care should be taken to secure photographs in a permanent process, but it is better to have them in the more evanescent processes, and to take special care of them, than not to have them at all. All gas-light photographic prints (with a distinct preference for platinotype, bromide and velox papers in this descending order) are practically permanent; but the finest photographic paper extant will not endure direct sunlight everlastingly. The question of the treatment of prints and photographs generally, however, deserves separate treatment, and here we are concerned only with what should be collected. The pictures, then, must represent distinctive things, interpretative of the life of the district. Pictures of individual flowers, which grow anywhere, trees which are not peculiar to the place, “pretty bits” which might be matched in any place in the kingdom, are of little or no value. Omitting these inessential things, practically everything else from the portrait of the Member of Parliament to that of the local amœba comes within the scope of the collection. The cheapest print from the cheapest periodical need not be despised. It may serve its turn.

430. Special endeavour should be made to secure a complete set of the maps of the region covered. In spite of the conventionality and inaccuracy of many early maps they are our original source of information on many points vital to the collection. For some counties the maps have been scheduled with exemplary thoroughness, and by basing his collection on one of these schedules the collector will be helped greatly, seeing that the old cartographers usually worked on several counties, and the map bibliography of Yorkshire, for example, may be expected to furnish useful clues to the maps of Kent. Old gazetteers, topographies, histories, encyclopædias and periodicals of general scope often contain maps, and the least prepossessing of such works should be consulted in order to obtain them.

431. Engraved records are fewer than any previously mentioned. They include local seals, crests, coins and tokens, and similar articles. Tokens, it may not be generally known, were coins, usually having the values of a farthing, a halfpenny, and a penny, which local traders were permitted to issue to supply the scarcity of a small coinage from the national treasury. These were issued mainly from the sixteenth to the eighteenth[406] centuries and generally had a local exchange value only, although a number were accepted in many counties. Clearly these tokens, which often carry the trade marks, signs, etc., of the trader issuing them, are a valuable and interesting part of local material. The Coventry Public Libraries possess what we believe to be an unique collection of tokens relating to that city. Various local medals should also be sought.

432. Sources of Supply.—There is something trite and unoriginal in the discussion of the methods of obtaining books for the local collection, but perhaps something useful may emerge from a recapitulation of the principal ones. So far as the municipal library is concerned, the common method must be by purchase, although much will be secured from private generosity when the collection has become known. It is important, in our opinion, not to leave the collection unmentioned in the annual estimates; a definite appropriation should be made for it, the amount of which will of course depend upon the resources of the library and upon the area covered. We have found at Croydon, where the collection covers extra-metropolitan Surrey, that much may be done on an appropriation of £35 a year. This need not be spent entirely upon the collection, nor should the collecting be limited to the purchasing power of this sum, but it seems to be very desirable to have money so ear-marked in order that attention may be focussed upon the collection as an important part of the activities of the library.

It is also essential, if the collection is to be successful, that the librarian should have discretionary power in the spending of the appropriation. Local literature disappears with a rapidity that is sometimes astonishing, and keen collectors on making discoveries in the catalogues of booksellers and dealers, usually secure the coveted books by telephone or telegram. The library would be a greatly handicapped competitor if the sanction of the libraries committee had to be awaited before purchases could be made. In some towns the discretionary power is vested in the chairman, and where he is immediately accessible to the librarian there are distinct advantages in this method, especially if he is sympathetic. It is a good axiom for the librarian to avoid responsibilities which can judiciously be distributed!

A certain amount of judicious advertisement of the needs of[407] the library is desirable in this matter. Care should be taken that a note to the effect that local material is purchased should appear in Clegg’s Directory of Booksellers, and in other similar publications. On the notepaper of the library some such note as the following might be given in small type: “The librarian will be glad to hear of written or printed material relating to Selsey, either as a gift or for purchase.” This is especially useful, as the notepaper circulates mostly in the district itself, where much literature may be hidden, unvalued and neglected, which its owners would willingly add to the collection. With the directory entry before him the bookseller will generally report individual items, but in any case he will send his catalogues, and these must be perused diligently. As a rule the bookseller is sufficiently master of his business to enter likely material, under county and town headings, but not infrequently books which have a local appeal appear in other parts of the catalogue. In this work the librarian will naturally and wisely make use of his whole staff, and every inducement should be held out to assistants to help in the discovering of local material and to make suggestions for the extension of the collection. Generally, however, little inducement will be needed, as library workers as a whole are both keenly interested in and proud of the local collection.

Other sources of supply may be dealt with briefly. Donations will account for many of the most curious and useful, and these are best induced by exhibitions of material from the collection, by references made to the collection in books in the lending library (a slip can be inserted in all topographical books, for example, calling attention to the existence and scope of the collection), and by paragraphs, articles, etc., built up from local material, which may appear in the public press, and which the local press is only too glad to publish.

433. Photographic Surveys.—The current pictorial records, the photographs, can usually be obtained, by the expense of much energy and little money, through a Photographic Survey Society. As this matter has just lately received systematic and authoritative treatment,[15] it is unnecessary here to enlarge upon it[408] further than to say that a photographic survey society is usually a band of photographers, professional and (mainly) amateur, who make photographic records in a systematic manner of a particular district, its history, antiquities, natural features, architecture, industries, current activities, and, in fact, everything that presents or interprets its life. Such societies are increasing in number, and have a social side in the shape of photographic excursions, reunions, etc., which make them rather more than gatherings where the cacophanous jargon of the dark-room pervades everything; hence they band together many people who are interested in a district and the preservation of its memories. As a rule the whole of the work of the survey, except the cataloguing and classifying—which are the business of the librarian—is done by members of the survey. The library usually supplies mounts, storage and cataloguing requisites.

[15] Gower, H. D., Jast, L. S., and Topley, W. W. The Camera as Historian: A Handbook to Photographic Record Work. 1916. Sampson Low.

434. Regional Surveys.—Similarly, but more recently, regional (or civic) survey societies have come into existence, which parcel out certain local areas, and study everything in them, from their geology to the last manifestations of the human intellect working in them, and record the results on maps.[16] Thus maps of the local strata, water-bearing beds, flora, rainfall, industries, old inns, milestones, boundary marks, and so on, have been made for the circle of twenty miles, centering in Croydon. This is a new form of work of the utmost value for providing data of current utility, and for preserving the record of local features. Such societies are already recognizing that the municipal reference library is the natural storing-place of such material.

[16] See Library World, vol. xix., pp. 32-34.

435. Cost.—Naturally the most important factor in collecting is the price of the material collected. This, not remarkably, often gives us considerable pause, as the present-day cost of local literature does not seem to bear any relation to its original cost; and to appraise the value of manuscript material, deeds and similar matter, is almost impossible. Scarcity and competition are the two factors in creating prices. In local literature the demand can be controlled if librarians do not traverse other fields than their own district in making their collection. A little consultation with brother librarians should bring about a workable division of any given county, with the result that the[409] individual collection would be satisfactory, and the duplication of effort and expense would be avoided. Only the very large towns should attempt county collections. Moreover, this avoidance of competition would lessen the demand for the same book, and so help to bring down its market value. The competitor who can completely out-distance the average library is the keen private collector with a generous purse and unlimited leisure. In his case the librarian can only hope that his will contains a clause in which his collection and the library are in happy juxtaposition. With relation to actual buying, it is a good axiom never to purchase anything except “on approval.” It is really wonderful how attractive a commonplace and almost valueless item can appear to be in an agent’s catalogue. In few cases this “sending on approval” is refused by booksellers, but the majority are only too glad to do it, especially if the prospective purchaser undertakes to pay postage both ways in the event of rejecting the material. By this means large bundles of stuff which have only a nucleus of useful matter can be weeded out, and the price arranged according to the result. This is particularly desirable when dealing with deeds, which often prove to be incomplete, or of far less interest than (say) the entry, “Forty Surrey Deeds, 1542-1816,” would imply. One does not suppose that dealers in these things are one whit less honest than other men, but their prices are often in the region of the absurd. If the collector has reason to think that this is so, he should make a reasonable offer for the books he wants, and it will generally be found that the bookseller is amenable to this sort of argument. Naturally we are speaking of the general items for the collection. In every district individual items have a definite high value which cannot be reduced, and it is the lot of most local collectors to be compelled regretfully to pass by, as beyond their means, many things that they would gladly possess.

436. Mounting of Prints, etc.—It remains to devote some attention to the mounting, cataloguing and storage of material. Books and pamphlets are treated as in the general library, as are broadsides, cuttings and similar separate material. The photograph may be treated in various ways. At Birmingham, for example, the prints are mounted, and stored in what are virtually[410] loose-leaf albums, which permit perfect classification and the insertion of any new photograph without dislocation. The more usual method is to mount the photographs on a uniform size mount—17 in. by 13¹⁄₂ in. for large prints, and 12¹⁄₂ in. by 10¹⁄₂ in. for smaller (and the great majority of) prints have been found satisfactory. Nature papers of double strength have been used, and every effort should be made to secure an acid-free paper. When it is obtained the prints should be fixed by the dry-mounting process, if possible; nearly all adhesives have injurious chemical action upon photographic papers. The mounted prints and photographs are stored in boxes such as that shown in Fig. 118, or in the drawers of a vertical file.

437. Classification.—The classification of the local collection demands a much closer arrangement than any general scheme provides. Up to the present most librarians have constructed one for their own use; and there are two methods. One, and that most readily used, is a topographical arrangement with a subject sub-arrangement; the other is the converse—a subject arrangement with topographical sub-division. The choice may be determined by the answer the reader gives to the question: Which are users more likely to want—

1. The churches of a county or town as a whole? or
2. Material, including the church, relating to a town (in a county) or parish or ward (in a town)?

The topographical arrangement of (say) a county survey is usually secured by adding to the subject number the number of the square on the key Ordnance Survey map of the county. That is, when the main arrangement is subjectival. When it is topographical the ordnance number precedes the subject number. A detailed example of the working of a local collection classification is given in Gower, Jast and Topley’s The Camera as Historian.

Every mount should bear upon it a label showing particulars of the subject, number, photographer, process, date, etc. This goes well into the left-top corner. The example given is that of the Surrey Photographic Survey. A similar label with the necessary adaptations is advisable on all prints which are not the property of such Surveys. In the case of surveys the label[411] is filled in by the photographer, except the space for the class-mark, and the upper part is detached by the Survey Secretary and is pasted up in a guard-book to form his record. Only the label within the thick squared lines is affixed to the mount.

	THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY AND RECORD OF SURREY.					Access to collection.
						The collection is permanently housed at the Public Library, Town Hall, Croydon, under regulations making it accessible to the public.
	Slip to accompany prints and lantern slides.
It is requested that you will fill in the required particulars on this slip and forward it and your print or lantern slide to the Hon. Survey Sec., Mr H. D. Gower, 55 Benson Road, Croydon.						Copyright.
						The Copyright of a photograph remains the property of the contributor, unless specially ceded to the Association.

CLASS NO.[1]			LOCALITY		No. of 6 in. Ord. mp. ¹⁄₄ sheet.			SUBJECT		SURVEY NO[1]

SIZE		PROCESS		DATE PHOTOGRAPHED			TIME a.m. p.m.		[2]COMPASS POINT	DATE RECEIVED[1]
plate
DESCRIPTION

NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRIBUTOR						MEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING AFFILIATED SOCIETY—

Use one form for each print.Write clearly.Make description brief.[1] Leave blank.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY AND RECORD OF SURREY. [2] The compass point towards which camera is pointing.

Fig. 163.—Label of Photographic Survey Prints (Section 437).

438. Cataloguing.—The cataloguing of the local collection should, of course, follow the code in general use; but certain[412] amplifications are desirable. The size, pagination, date of publication, town of publication, and the names both of printer and publisher (if they are different) should be given. Omissions from titles should be as infrequent as possible, and when made should be indicated. The object is to make this catalogue as fully bibliographical as possible.

439. The cataloguing of prints is a fairly simple matter if treated in common-sense fashion. Inquirers only occasionally require the works of artist or photographer in connexion with such prints as are stocked by libraries. A subject-index appears to be the best form, with a local index; thus

Golf Course, Reigate.263.5

Reigate. Golf Course.263.5

Fig. 164.—Print-index Slips (Section 439).

are a sufficient cataloguing of a particular print. All the detail beyond that can be found on the prints, which themselves are in their arrangement a classified catalogue. Of course special prints would go under the artists’ names, or under their titles if their value warranted that course. Usually it does not.

440. Maps.—It is appropriate to deal with maps here, as the largest number of maps will probably be local ones. The classification methods suggested for prints apply to maps as well; that is to say, the predominating arrangement should be topographical, and the sub-arrangement subjectival, and the ultimate arrangement may be chronological. Thus a map of the geology of a particular town would arrange—

Class No. of Town.|Geology No.|Date.

441. The cataloguing of maps may follow the Anglo-American rule, which runs:

Enter maps under the cartographer. If the name of the cartographer is not found, enter under the publisher; thus:

[413]

Gregory, C. C. M’Millan’s map of New Brunswick. Drawn by C. C. Gregory. Scale of statute miles ca. 8 to the inch.

Johnston, W. and A. K., pub. Johnston’s commercial and library chart of the world on Mercator’s projection.

This simple rule needs some amplification for a large collection of maps; and the following simple rules have been found to be satisfactory:

1. The Arrangement of entries is in chronological order, and where two entries occur under one date they are arranged alphabetically by the heading.

2. The Name adopted for Heading is that of the cartographer where found; where the cartographer is not found, the publisher, or engraver, or title (in this order) forms the entry word.

3. The unit of Scale wherever possible should be the inch.

4. Give the Size, measured from one inner margin to another, vertical measurements first, to the nearest quarter-inch below the actual size.

5. The Date of arrangement is that printed on the map; but modern maps illustrating places at a past period in history arrange under the period, the publication date being added to the entry merely as information. Undated maps from atlases or other works take the date of the work in which they appear.

All catalogues so arranged require topographical and subject indexes.

The filing of maps was dealt with in the chapter on Filing and Indexing.

442. Deeds.—Deeds are difficult to handle and store because of their shape and size, the seals attached to them, and for other reasons. For ordinary purposes flat filing in boxes similar to those used for maps will serve. The cataloguing of deeds has been variously done, but for local purposes a topographical arrangement, with a chronological sub-arrangement, is recommended. Examples of typical entries may be given:

Bagshot.

1715 21 June (i. George I.). Lease of Cottage and Land. Bagshot. From Walter of Busbridge to Grayham of Bagshot, 99 years at 4/- per ann. (consid. £24.3.0.).

dS69(333)

[414]

Cottage, barn, and 3a. land. Special condition under penalty of forfeiture of lease if broken.

“And goeing with sd. John Walter his heirs and assns. to the Eleccon of the sd. Co. of Surrey att any time when any Eleccon for Knights of the Shire shall be held, and vote for such person as the said John Walter his heirs, exors., admors., and assignes shall direct. . . .”

Beddington.

1490 2 July (v. Henry VII.). Bond for £500 (Latin). From James and Richard Carru [old spelling of Carew] to John Iwardby and Chris. Troppenell.

dS655(333)

Securities: The manors of Bedyngton, Bandon and Norbury; and other lands and tenements in Bedyngton, Croydon, Streteham, Bristowe [Burstow] and Horne; and the manor of Maitham in Kent.

Such a catalogue must be equipped with a name index at least, and an index of places is also desirable; these may be combined in one alphabet.

Bibliography

443. Local Collections:

No monograph. For articles see Cannons: G 56, Local Collections and Surveys; G 59, Maps; I 17, Cataloguing Rules; H 78, Classification; L 45, Bibliography.

444. Photographic and Regional Surveys:

Gower, Jast, and Topley. The Camera as Historian: a handbook for survey or record societies, 1916.

Fagg, C. C. The Regional Survey and Local Natural History Societies. In South-Eastern Naturalist, 1915, p. 20.

Westell, W. P. The New Doomsday. In My Life as a Naturalist, 1918.

For articles see Cannons: I 24, Cataloguing; H 85, Classification, etc.

[415]

CHAPTER XXIX
LIBRARIES OF MUNICIPAL REFERENCE

445. General.—It is appropriate to devote a brief space to the consideration of reference libraries of municipal material, because the Library Association has affirmed the desirability of such libraries; although, so far as this country is concerned, the matter is in the prospective stage rather than that of accomplishment. In various Canadian and American cities such libraries exist and have proved their utility.

Municipal history would probably furnish many examples of independent attempts to solve similar local government and administrative problems, all conducted without that reference to one another which is implied in organization, and without full profit being derived from the successes or failures of former workers. It is true that before carrying out schemes appeal is made by municipalities to their official experts; but the experience of the latter, however wide, is usually circumscribed, and they can add to it only by personal visits to and correspondence with, similar experts. This limited knowledge, and the expenditure of time and money, could be avoided by any municipality which possessed an organized library of reference material.

It is, as we have shown, the business of every library to preserve in its local collection all publications of the authority to whom it belongs. The value of this limited work is obvious, but it does not necessarily demand a special department. When, however, an attempt is made to collect every kind of material, manuscript, printed, pictorial and statistical, which is likely to throw light on problems of local administration, including the municipal literature issued by other authorities, the task becomes so large that a separate and self-contained department must be devoted to it.

446. In almost every municipal office there is to be found a smaller or larger collection of the more obvious technical books[416] for the reference use of its staff. Such books are treatises on engineering details, accountancy, and the Town Clerk has usually a small collection of acts, manuals, and other literature bearing upon municipal law. The collections are rarely if ever large enough to possess a representative and co-ordinate character, nor are they easily available for the whole of the staff of the local authority or for members of the town council and the public. There is a certain wastefulness in this method of providing books. One or two of the greater towns have more general municipal collections; Glasgow is an example; but there is no town in the United Kingdom which possesses a systematically arranged and professionally administered municipal library, or bureau of municipal research, if the term is preferred. Yet many things may be urged in favour of such a department. It would be an infinite advantage to any inquirer, whether an official or a member of the public, to be able to go to a specially constituted department and to study what has been the general experience of any question or scheme under consideration or in prospect.

Within the limits presumed the field of the municipal reference is a wide one. It would collect all books of an authoritative nature on local government, and every available municipal document, from the minutes of the local council to the small paragraph from the newspaper which would shed light on municipal administration. It is definitely bibliographical work and should be placed under the control of the libraries committee; moreover, it is expert work, and can only be conducted satisfactorily by a man or woman who has been trained in the collection, classification, filing, and particularly the minute cataloguing and indexing of literary material; in short, to be effective, it must be placed in the care of a professional librarian.

447. Such a library would demand fairly generous accommodation if it is to contain the material indicated, and would require a proper staff; it would cost money. Here, perhaps, we have the crucial factor in the situation, because it is difficult to convince the average municipal governor that books can bear a part in the solution of municipal problems. It is obvious that such a department cannot be supported out of the present resources of library committees—in fact, it is most undesirable, even if it is[417] legal, that the cost should fall upon the library rate. It is special work to assist the government of a town, and should be paid for by the governing authority as a whole and quite apart from ordinary library funds. In Milwaukee, where the Public Library administers such a department, the city makes an annual appropriation of five thousand dollars from the general city fund to be added to the library’s revenue, and used only for municipal reference purposes. One thousand pounds a year would possibly seem an excessive amount to the average town council, but when it is remembered that such a library, by the information it would afford, might save many more thousands of pounds, the investment would seem to be an eminently satisfactory one.

448. America has anticipated us in this, as in many other library matters, and such libraries of this character as she possesses have proved to be quite successful. A large volume has already been devoted by Mr J. B. Kaiser to the discussion of the practical methods in vogue in this and collateral libraries. There, as here, stress is laid upon the economy resulting from such work. It prevents the adoption of ill-considered municipal schemes, or schemes which it shows to have been a failure elsewhere. It provides examples of the successes of other towns, and, therefore, gives the possessing town the best models upon which to frame its own work. It is insisted, too, that this is work for the librarian, and that it is useless to spend money upon the provision of material and to place it in the charge of people who are not specially equipped by education, experience, and technical training to understand and focus the information contained in the library. What is not so vital in America, because of the comparative wealth of libraries there (few of them are really over-financed), is the fact that while this may form an important branch of the public library, it must have a separate revenue.

449. Bibliography

Kaiser, J. B. Law, Legislative and Municipal Reference Libraries, 1914.

Moore, H. K. Municipal Reference Libraries. In Library Association. Public Libraries: their development and future organization, 1917.

For articles see Special Libraries, vol. ii., p. 22, 1911; and Cannons: G 60, Municipal Literature; L 122, Bibliography.

[418]

CHAPTER XXX
THE COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT

450. General.—The most recent development of library works which has justified itself in practice has for its aim the provision of information useful to commercial and business men. It is comparatively new to this country but has been in vogue in America for some years past, in particular in the Commercial Museum at Philadelphia, which is a separate, self-contained institution. In Great Britain commercial libraries have been established as part of the public library system at Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Leeds and elsewhere. The names of these towns indicate an important fact. Separate comprehensive commercial libraries are expensive institutions, and are only justified where a large demand for their services may be expected. Smaller libraries may indeed have commercial departments in connexion with their reference departments, but it is wiser to limit their stock and work to the definitely local trades than to attempt a general commercial service entirely beyond their means and probable needs.

451. The Commercial Department.—As distinct from the general commercial library as established in the great towns we have named, the commercial section in an ordinary library is a development of the Information Desk. It specializes in local industries and trade, and on that subject collects every form of printed and graphic material, the standard text-books and works of reference, directories, year-books, codes, reports and periodicals. These are classified and indexed minutely, and are so disposed that ordinary questions which a business man may be expected to ask can be answered as rapidly as possible. It is what the Americans call “quick-fire reference work,” in which immediacy of need and of its satisfaction are the prime requisites. We do not wish to set limitations to any branch of library service, and if a librarian can, without loss or inconvenience[419] in other directions, include further features from those described in the following sections, he should certainly consider himself at liberty to do so; but this will rarely be the case. The separate, highly-developed commercial library is distinctly a work for the some half-dozen British cities which are centres of great commercial and industrial populations.

452. The Commercial Library.—The need has long been felt in this country for rapid access to current and standard commercial intelligence, although it has not always been realized, and the need has been accentuated by the Great War, which has made Great Britain more than ever a competitor in the world-struggle. The Board of Trade has established an intelligence department in London, and chambers of commerce exist in most towns which have intelligence-work as part of their reason for existence; but London is too far away for the provincial man of business who wants immediate information, and the chambers of commerce do not embrace in their membership more than a part of the business community. Hence the desirability of fully-equipped, skilfully-administered libraries.

At Glasgow, Liverpool and elsewhere the commercial library is housed in a commodious, appropriate department as near to the business centre of the city as possible. It is administered by the library authority, and is in the immediate charge of a librarian skilled in classification, filing and indexing, and the use of works of reference. The stock of the library has been defined by Mr S. A. Pitt, the chief librarian of Glasgow, as standard and current; the standard consisting of treatises, encyclopædic works, code books, Government reports, Parliamentary papers, and works on commercial law and business method; the current of all kinds of fugitive papers and material of great temporary, but probably very transient, interest, such as notices, reports, pamphlets, leaflets, news-cuttings, catalogues and price-lists. To the standard would be added directories of every trade, industry and profession, and of every country, county and important town; atlases, maps, charts and similar material would form an important part of the collection; and, perhaps most important of all, every financial journal, trade periodical, etc., in English, with a liberal supply of those in other languages. The consular reports, and other Government publications,[420] including those of the Patent Office and other technical departments of the Crown, should be included. Some of these can be obtained as a free grant; many of them, strange to say, can only be obtained by purchase.

453. The methodology of such a library resembles that of the ordinary reference library, with special emphasis on minute filing and indexing. As much of the current information as possible should be on cards or in vertical files in the most concise form; the business man has no time to read lengthy material, nor can he afford to wait for it while the commercial librarian slowly produces it—that is, as a rule; there are times when a question demands a reference to London or to some other place, which involves delay; but in the ordinary course, a quotation, address, character of a firm, route, code, or some such information, is wanted, and it should be forthcoming on the instant. The card index and vertical file, and experience in the needs of readers, should eventually lead to effective service. Much of the work is done by telephone, and a complete telephone equipment is an essential of the library. The whole resources of the general library system of the town are also at the disposal of the user of the commercial library. The library also keeps records of the specialities of the various manufacturers, traders, etc., of the town, of changes in their scope, management, and so forth; and an index of translators, typing firms and others required at times by business people. It must revise its material regularly and systematically so that it may always be the latest.

454. To secure the best results co-operation with exchanges and chambers of commerce is desirable; and in many places this seems to have been forthcoming. At Glasgow, Bailie A. Campbell states that the commercial libraries, as projected by librarians, “are to meet the wants of the smaller commercial man, the tradesman, the man who pushes his way, the men who have risen from nothing”; the others, presumably, are provided for by the exchange and the chamber of commerce. At Manchester, however, the commercial library is actually in the Royal Exchange, and other cities have made their present progress through the co-operation of the representative organizations of commercial men. Unless this is forthcoming there seems not very much chance of success. It may be that the commercial[421] library, as now initiated by librarians, will in course of time become the nucleus of a commercial institution or bureau in which the branches of the Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce, and the various Consuls may be housed, controlled in its operations by an expert paid a very high salary, who shall be for the district a sort of Minister of Commerce capable of guiding the commercial people. But that is in the region of speculation.

455. Technical Libraries.—While the commercial library furnishes information for the buyer and seller of commodities, the technical library is concerned with information for the manufacturer and operative; the question is therefore closely related to the question of commercial libraries, and in some districts is the more important. In large American libraries there is usually a separate department of the reference library devoted to technology, but in this country the supply of such books as this department would afford has been inadequate. Lately considerable attention has been devoted to technical libraries, and we may summarize a few of the results and recommendations.

456. Local Industries.—It is clear that municipal libraries have a special interest in providing all literature possible on local industries; text-books of the various trades, periodicals, patent publications, reports, catalogues and similar matter should be collected assiduously. This does not mean that every trade represented in the town need be treated in an exhaustive manner, but the leading industries, by which numbers of the townsfolk live, certainly should be. Examples of such collections are those on engineering at Coventry, furniture at Shoreditch, clocks and clock-making at Finsbury, coal-mining at Wigan, and the leather trades at Northampton. Some of these, however, are confined to books, in many cases perforce for lack of funds and personal service; but the ideal, too often unrealized, is a collection of material of all kinds of which books form only a part. Local means and opportunities must determine how far any library can carry such a collection—usually, at present, not very far; but as many works of recognized value on the predominant industries should certainly be stocked.

457. Technical Collections Generally.—Hitherto it has been the province of the municipal library to supply general works[422] in technology, and the special libraries of individual industries have been provided by the industry. This, in the view of the Ministry of Reconstruction’s Adult Education Committee (Third Interim Report, Libraries and Museums, 1919, Cd. 9237), should be the prevailing method of the future. It is obvious that few public libraries can supply expensive treatises on technical questions in which their own district is not directly interested; even with a greatly increased library rate they could not do so in any large measure. The greater cities may perhaps acquire these books, but they could not supply more than one or two copies. Too limited a view should not be taken in great towns, because co-ordination and co-operation such as are implied in the Joint-Technical Catalogues published at Glasgow bring the whole resources of a wide area to a focus. In ordinary towns the present aim should be to obtain the largest possible number of general and special works in science and applied science, and to leave the supply of the more expensive, recondite, and valuable but rarely used treatises to a central reservoir library, which may be developed out of the Central Lending Library for Students, perhaps with the aid of the special libraries of the various institutions which represent trades and professions. The main aim of the Library Association is to have a central reservoir library established in London from which all libraries may draw important little-used books; and the Ministry of Reconstruction’s Committee adopt this idea as the basis of their scheme for the co-ordination and re-organization of libraries.

In building up technical collections a library benefits greatly by expert assistance; but the advice of several, and not one only, is very desirable, since experts rarely agree on minute questions of books, and each of any two experts cancels the idiosyncrasies of the other. But experts can usually be found from neighbouring universities, or big industrial concerns, who will give the library the benefit of their knowledge, especially in assessing the value of older books. No section of the library needs revision so frequently as the technical, unless it be the commercial. This is more especially likely to be the case in these next few years after the War, when all industrial advances made from 1914 onwards will probably be recorded, to the superseding of many previous books.

[423]

Bibliography

458. Commercial Libraries:

Dana, J. C, and Bull, S. B. Business Branch. In Modern American Library Economy, 1910.

Glasgow Corporation Libraries. Adams, Robert. A Commercial Library for Glasgow, 1913.

—— Pitt, S. A. The Purpose, Equipment and Methods of the Commercial Library, 1916.

Library Association. Interim Report on the Provision of Technical and Commercial Libraries. In Public Libraries: Their Development and Future Organization, 1917, p. 114 [and separately].

Ministry of Reconstruction. Third Interim Report of the Adult Education Committee: Libraries and Museums [Cd. 9237], 1919, p. 10.

Pitt, S. A., and Others. Commercial Libraries. In Library Association. Public Libraries (vide supra), p. 47.

Power, R. L. Boston’s Special Libraries, 1917.

Special Libraries, vol. i., 1911, and to date.

459. Technical Libraries:

See all literature in Section 458.

Hulme, E. W., and Others. Technical Libraries. In Library Association. Public Libraries (vide supra), p. 65.

The Library Association Record has been occupied largely with these subjects from 1916, and reference should be made to its indexes.

For articles see Cannons: C 459-61, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific Libraries; C 144, Commercial Libraries in U.S.; F 13, Library in Relation to Industrial Education; G 53, Industrial Collections; G 76, 78, Industrial and Trade Literature.

[424]

CHAPTER XXXI
READING-ROOM METHODS

460. Newsrooms.—The chief difference which exists in the composition of British and American libraries is the frequent absence from the latter of general reading rooms in which the principal newspapers are displayed for public use. The newsroom has never been generally recognized in the United States as a necessary department of a public library, and, save in a few exceptional cases, these rooms are not to be found in the average American public library. The nearest approach to the British newsroom in America is the large magazine reading room, in which all kinds of weekly and monthly periodicals are displayed. This is substantially the same as a newsroom, but without the current numbers of daily newspapers. There are reasons why the Americans do not encourage newsrooms, and one is the enormous number of newspapers which exist in every large town. The display of a representative selection of newspapers and the cost of maintaining the department would occupy a large space, and the funds would be spent to a considerable extent in providing one of the least healthy forms of literature. But perhaps the real reason for the American indifference to the newsroom is the sensational and vulgar tone of a considerable portion of the newspaper press. Some American newspapers are free from such undesirable and objectionable features as sensational and untrue comments on current events, vulgar personalities, exaggeration and misrepresentation, objectionable and dangerous advertisements, and a very low level of literary merit, but many are not. The best fugitive work of American writers of any importance is to be found in the magazines and literary weeklies, which offer a marked contrast in every respect, save perhaps as regards advertisements, to the somewhat debased character of many American daily newspapers. These are all reasons why newsrooms on the British plan are not quite desirable[425] in American libraries, and they apply to a large extent to the altered conditions of recent British journalism. Time was when the average British newspaper represented a high standard of accuracy, fairness and literary ability, but since the importation of many doubtful American methods, the character of the press has to a large measure degenerated. Moreover, few British newspapers are independent of political or corporation control, although exceptions exist, and impartial reports of and comments upon news are rare.

461. The stock arguments in favour of newspapers are reasonable, and have a strong element of truth in them. They attract a class of reader who would not otherwise come to the library at all, and satisfy the literary aspirations of some ratepayers who might receive otherwise no direct return for their rates. The presence of literary, technical and commercial periodicals in the newsroom is also said to attract a large number of interested readers, and no doubt it does; but this result might be achieved independently of the newspaper element. Newspaper readers are often a class apart; they rarely read anything else. Real newspaper readers are comparatively few, and besides those who come for the weekly periodicals, the newsroom attracts loafers, sporting men and all kinds of hopeless individuals, to whom the comparative comfort of the newsroom is an attraction. Mr George Gissing, in one of his sketches, has drawn an exaggerated picture of such a newsroom haunter, who suffers from a kind of neurosis which drags him irresistibly to a public newsroom, there to indulge his morbid olfactory sense. The main argument in favour of newsrooms is that they present representative journals of every shade of opinion, and give the opportunity which is badly needed of comparative reading. But it is a department which some librarians think costs rather more than is justified by its actual value. When the annual charges for periodicals, fittings, lighting, heating, oversight and proportion of loan are all added together, it will be found that a newsroom costs a very considerable amount, which could be applied to more permanent advantage in a reference or lending library. The smaller the library the greater is the proportionate cost, and committees may seriously consider the question of limitation in public newsrooms, at any rate so far as daily newspapers are[426] concerned. It is clearly a department where continual supervision is necessary, where it is most difficult to enforce discipline, and one that gives rise to continual public criticism.

462. A few years ago the practice of blacking out the betting news was adopted in some newsrooms, as an experimental device to discourage the sporting element, which in some towns used to obstruct the greater part of the newsrooms. This is mentioned, not as an example to be followed, but as showing the shifts some library authorities have been driven to in order to prevent abuses. This practice of obliteration is now rare. Another suggestion for coping with the betting fraternity is to cease buying or displaying the evening papers, or to procure them so late as to make them useless for the purposes of the sporting element, while not in any way penalizing the reader who comes after 7 p.m. As a further suggestion for limiting the cost and obstructions of most newsrooms in large towns, it has been proposed (1) that only the morning daily papers be bought, for the benefit of the unemployed; (2) that the “Situations Vacant” columns only be displayed from 7 or 8 till 11 a.m.; (3) that the whole of them be removed at 11 o’clock, and their places occupied by maps, charts, pictures of current topics, or other similar broadside matter likely to interest and instruct.

463. In this way a newsroom might be greatly improved, and the character of its work changed, without interfering with the use of the illustrated periodicals, technical journals and trade papers displayed on the tables. By utilizing the wall space only for newspapers, good oversight is obtained and a certain amount of limitation is forced upon the authority by mechanical means. In arranging newspapers on the stands, care should be taken to separate the popular journals by a few less popular ones, so as to avoid continuous crowding at one or two points. The people who read newspapers should be distributed round the walls as thinly as possible, and this can only be effected by spreading the papers all round the available area.

464. In selecting newspapers for a newsroom great care should be taken to represent all political parties, and at the same time to avoid as far as may be the sensational element. All local papers should be taken, if not for display at least for permanent preservation. The leading London and provincial dailies should[427] be taken, and a representative daily from Scotland and Ireland, and the leading foreign newspapers in French and German at least.

Fig. 165.—Double Newspaper Stand, Chelsea (Section 466).

465. Newspapers are best displayed upon wall stands where possible, as more oversight can be obtained, and the economy over standard slopes, with papers on both sides, is undeniable. A newsroom fitted with newspaper stands at right angles to the walls, and covering most of the floor space, presents a somewhat crowded and obstructed appearance, and it is impossible for the staff to thoroughly overlook it easily. Apart from this a newsroom gains much in appearance, spaciousness and airiness when the newspapers are relegated to the walls, well out of the way. The weekly journals can be kept very conveniently on tables, as shown[428] in Sections 162-65, and it is sometimes found advantageous to secure them by means of cords or chains as described in Section 163.

466. Newspaper Stands.—The present conditions of printing and production seem to make the broadside style of newspaper a necessity in all countries, and till some radical change in machinery is introduced which will permit newspapers in pamphlet or small quarto form to be produced rapidly, large stands for the display of newspapers will have to be provided. Standard newspaper slopes either at right angles to walls or distributed over the floor of a newsroom are not recommended, for the reasons already given and because their cost is much greater. They are necessary, however, in some cases, owing to considerations of light and convenience, and the form and dimensions indicated will be found useful (Figs. 165 and 166).

Fig. 166.—Double Newspaper
Stand (Section 466).

Fig. 167.—Wall Newspaper
Stand (Section 467).

467. Apart from the fact that an exclusive use of wall slopes[429] leaves the centre of the room free, it permits the titles and whereabouts of newspapers to be more easily noticed. Wall slopes should be made to the same dimensions as standards, save, of course, that only one face is necessary. The lower part of the slope should project eighteen inches to fifteen inches from the wall, to give a convenient angle for reading. Too great a slope is not desirable, as it tends to throw the top of the paper out of the reach and eye range of short people. This difficulty has been met most satisfactorily by the system designed, we believe, by Mr E. A. Savage for use at Wallasey. Here the slopes work on a central pivot and move backwards and forwards to enable the top or bottom of the paper to be read with ease, and are so balanced that they fall easily and readily into their correct position when released. These slopes, it may be added, are much lower than those usually adopted, and a reader may be seated at them and may compass the whole paper thus. A small beading or projection at the foot of the slope is frequently of use in preventing papers from drooping.

468. Newspaper Fittings.—Titles for newspapers should be fixed on the stands over the centre of the spaces occupied by the papers. A title-board about six inches high should be provided for the purpose. It can be made to slide along a projection on the top of the stands if grooved on its under side. On this the name-tablets of the newspapers should appear in bold letters, not less than two inches high. These tablets may be printed on paper or card, or may appear on enamelled, metal or plate-glass tablets. There is a very large variety of such name-tablets on the market, and choice will not be difficult. It is a useful practice to attach to the fronts of the stands at intervals small bone, metal or card tablets intimating that papers must be surrendered to other readers after a certain period of warning has elapsed. A useful form of such intimation is as follows:

Readers are requested to relinquish newspapers within TEN MINUTES of being asked to do so by other readers.

Fig. 168.—Simplex
Newspaper Holder
(Section 469).

Fig. 169.—Revolving Newspaper
Holder with Clips
(Section 469).

469. Holders.—There is a very large variety of rods, clips, and other means for holding newspapers on their stands, and[430] the following illustrations will describe them better than words. A good form is used in the public libraries of Hammersmith, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Finsbury, Liverpool, etc., and consists of a pair of screw clips which can be readily adjusted to any height of paper. These Simplex clips are illustrated on the revolving rod. Fig. 168 is called the “Simplex” newspaper rod, and is fastened to the bottom by means of a screw turned by a key. It is used in the public libraries of Wolverhampton,[431] Croydon, Hull, West Ham, Glasgow, etc. Fig. 169 is a revolving holder which can be adjusted to different sizes of illustrated periodicals, by means of the sliding screw clips. It is intended for periodicals like the Graphic, Sketch, Architect, etc., which frequently have large folding plates running across two pages, and which cannot be conveniently examined when the journal is secured to a stand. A special form of separate wooden stand or easel is also made for such illustrated journals, which will be found useful when room is scarce on the other slopes.

470. Other fittings for newspaper slopes which are sometimes used are metal leaning bars or fences to keep readers from leaning on the papers and tearing them. These must be very strongly fastened at the foot of the slope in such a position as to project about four to six inches from the front. They should be held in strong brackets, as they have to support a very considerable weight.

The sticks and rods for holding single or several newspapers, such as are used for clubs and restaurants, are not particularly suitable for public library use, unless under very exceptional circumstances.

One of the commonest abuses of the newsroom is the tearing or cutting out of parts of newspapers (ladies frequently remove them with the scratching of the point of a hat-pin!), especially of advertisements. It is well to have a notice prominently displayed to the effect that this is a penal offence, and that persons desiring to copy advertisements may borrow pencil and paper for the purpose on application.

471. Magazine Rooms and Periodicals.—The newsroom may be made the store for all the trade, technical and other weeklies which in any way convey news in their own particular fields; while the magazine room, if provided separately, may be reserved for the monthly and quarterly magazines, reviews and other miscellanies, which are not so much vehicles for the spread of current news. This is a rough division, but it seems a reasonable one for libraries where some distinction must be made between newsrooms and magazine rooms. In the selection of periodicals and magazines the same care should be taken as with newspapers to choose only the best and most representative. Committees should make it an invariable rule never to take any sectarian paper, save as a donation, or in response to a widespread public demand. Church and chapel papers are often forced upon[432] libraries by their respective partisans out of sheer rivalry, and when this sort of thing once begins the library is sure to suffer by having to pay dearly for the gratification of mere sectarian feeling. It is waste of money to subscribe for the papers of this, that, and the other sect, on the sentimental grounds of fair play all round, and of meeting the views of large bodies of ratepayers in the same spirit as the wishes of trades or professions are met by providing technical and other journals. But there is this difference. A technical journal appeals to all sects, while a sectarian journal does not, and, as a matter of fact, is seldom read by its adherents once the honour of the faith is vindicated by having it placed in the public library. Some libraries adopt the rule of refusing all donations of periodicals in order to prevent the difficulties that arise.

472. The arrangement of periodicals and magazines in their respective rooms calls for some notice. There are several ways in actual use which all prove satisfactory, and which are, nevertheless, very different in application. The most common plan of displaying periodicals is to spread them loose all over the tables in strong covers lettered with the titles, and to try to maintain a rough alphabetical order. Another method is to place the periodicals in their covers in racks as described in Sections 162-65. The readers are expected to take what periodical they want from these racks, read it at the tables, and return it to its place in the rack. As a rule they either do not return them accurately or they leave them lying on the tables. But in any case this method is preferable to the plan of spreading them over the tables, as it acts in a measure as an indicator to the periodicals in use. A third method is to keep the whole of the periodicals off the tables or racks, and to issue them from a counter or rack which is superintended by an assistant. This can be done in a number of ways, but preferably by means of an indicator such as is described in Section 393. The last plan is one which has the advantage of providing each periodical with a fixed place where it can always be found, though it entails the provision of a separate chair and table space for every magazine, and so requires a much greater amount of space than any of the other methods.

Fig. 170.—Adjustable Periodicals List (Section 474).

473. With tables provided with racks in the manners shown[433] in Section 165 the periodicals can be arranged alphabetically, or classified by kind, and secured to the rack or table by means of stout cords or chains covered with leather to prevent noise. If double-sided tables are available, with divisions as described above, they should be provided. Double-sided tables, especially if narrow, are not comfortable to sit at, either on account of the knees, breath or manners of your vis-à-vis, but when divided by means of a central partition, much of this objection is removed. Except for the difficulty of providing space for every separate periodical, it has been found, after trial of most of the other methods, that the fixed plan, plus some convenient means of inserting a new periodical at any point, is on the whole the most satisfactory all round. It is a decided advantage for a reader[434] to be able to go straight to the place where the magazine he wants is fixed, and to find it always there when directed to it from any form of indicator or periodicals list. If the less popular or valuable periodicals were placed in a rack similar to that shown in Section 165, Fig. 49, the space required for displaying the better periodicals and magazines would be considerably restricted in area, while there would be a gain in space as well. The plan of keeping all the periodicals together which deal with the same trade or subject is very advantageous, and has the effect of removing the readers of lighter magazines, who are sometimes of a restless type, from the more studious reader who wants quiet.

474. In any plan of displaying periodicals on tables or racks a key to the order should be provided in the shape of an adjustable periodical list, which gives a complete list of every periodical or magazine contained in a room. It is an appliance in which the name of every periodical taken by the library is clearly displayed on a printed movable slip in a glazed English oak frame. This frame has a movable back to which are attached xylonite strips which retain the printed titles of the magazines in place, enabling them to be arranged in any order and to be added to or taken from at pleasure. Thus the name of a withdrawn or defunct periodical can be easily removed and that of a new one added.

475. The checking of periodicals and newspapers as received, and every morning as they lie on the tables, should be done by means of special records or checks. An effective form of check card for magazines or periodicals as received from the newsagent is shown in Figs. 171-3. This shows overdues at once, and enables a complete check to be kept on the delivery of periodicals. One kind of ruling suffices for every kind of periodical, daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly, and the cards are ruled as in the figures below with heading and fifty-two lines to the page. If necessary both sides can be ruled, and so one card can be made to last for a long time.

In the cards for monthly periodicals the names of the months should be written in advance, the dates of receipt being added against each month as the magazine is received. In the case of weeklies and dailies the numbers are to be entered number by number as received. An overdue can be noticed at once by anyone going over the cards, by simply noting that a weekly[435] due on Friday, the day previous to the actual date of publication, has not been entered. These cards should be examined for overdues daily in the case of dailies, and every Friday evening or Saturday morning in the case of weeklies and monthlies. If each kind is stored in a suitable box or portfolio the checking and marking-off can be done with great rapidity. These cards can also be used for annuals, society publications, etc. In the latter case the year can be written at the top of the column, and the publications received for the subscription can be written in the column lengthways. If nothing has been received by the middle of any year, the society can be notified. But the irregularity of society and other subscription publications is a feature which requires a good deal of watching, and a card check of some kind is essential.

Cornhill Magazine.						Annual Cost, 9s.
Vendor, Jones & Co.				Due about 28th.				Location, Rack 30.
19	01.	19	02.	19	03.	19	04.	19	05.	19	06.
No.	Rec.
Jan.	Dc. 28
Feb.	Jn. 29
Mar.	Mar. 1
Apl.
May
The ruling continues for 52 lines.

Fig. 171.—Periodicals Check Card, Blue (9³⁄₄″ × 6″), showing Arrangement
for Monthlies (Section 475).

1901.		1902.
Jun.	1	Jun.	2
„	8	„	9
„	15	„	16
„	22	„	23
„	29	„	30

Fig. 172.—White Card, showing Arrangement for Weeklies (Section 475).

[436]

<		19	01.	>	<	19	02.	>
Jun.	1
„	3
„	4
„	5
„	6
„	7
„	8
„	10
„	11

Fig. 173.—Buff Card, showing Arrangement for Dailies (Section 475).

476. The morning check of periodicals as they lie on the tables should be done by an assistant armed with a list, written or printed on a card, by means of which he or she can follow the order of all the periodicals as they are arranged on stands, tables or racks. Anything missing should be noted on a separate slip of paper, and entered in the work-book. The initials of the checker should also be written in the work-book in the space provided. (See Section 89.) The librarian should receive the check slip if anything is missing. In similar fashion the assistant who examines the periodical check cards for overdues should notify the librarian of any numbers not promptly received.

The filing of magazines and newspapers may be done in a variety of ways. Newspapers should be kept in order on special racks, in piles, with a suitable board underneath to act as a runner and support, and a sheet of cardboard or glazed casing paper above to prevent the settling of dust. Periodicals and magazines may either be kept in special cloth-covered boxes made to take a whole or half-year’s numbers, as the case may be, or kept on boards in the same manner as newspapers. In both cases alphabetical order of titles will be found a suitable arrangement. The plan of placing the numbers of a periodical as done at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, seems a simple and effective manner of dealing with a large number of files. This is illustrated in Fig. 174.

477. It is not advisable to reserve anything, either for binding, or preservation for a time, and it is wise to make up a list of periodicals and newspapers which it is intended to keep, file[437] them, and give all the remainder away to poorhouses, asylums or similar institutions. Sometimes they can be sold at half-price as withdrawn from the tables, but in most cases all matter of this kind has to be sold as waste-paper.

478. The only satisfactory method of counting the attendances in general reading rooms is by means of a recording turnstile. All other methods of occasional counts and the striking of averages are unreliable. The demand for statistics is sometimes so strong, unfortunately, that librarians are driven to satisfy their committees as to the use made of reading rooms, and in the absence of a turnstile the best thing to do is to take whole-day counts as follows: on a Monday in January; Tuesday in February; Wednesday in March, etc.; divide the total by twelve, and multiply the average thus obtained by the number of days open. Every individual who enters or re-enters must be counted. This gives a mere approximation to the actual attendance, but is a better and more reasonable plan than counting the readers present in the rooms every hour or half-hour, adding the totals together, and reckoning the result as the day’s attendance.

Fig. 174.—Periodicals File (Section 476).

As an aid in keeping order in public newsrooms it is a good plan to frame a few copies of the 1898 “Act to provide for the Punishment of Offences in Libraries,” and to hang them in conspicuous places, along with the admonitory notices regarding “Silence,” etc. The official appearance of a framed Act of Parliament has a daunting effect upon a certain type of mind, and has been found to act as a check upon sporting and loafing individuals.

479. Women’s Rooms.—About eighty public libraries in Britain have provided separate rooms for the use of women, but it is doubtful if such accommodation is really necessary, and[438] they have not been uniformly successful. To a certain extent the matter depends upon the locality. If there is plenty of room in the building there is no harm in making this extra provision, if the room can be properly overlooked, but in cases where space is limited, it is a mistake to cramp the rest of the building for the sake of a somewhat sentimental idea. A few extra women of a fidgety or timid sort may be attracted to the library because of this exclusive accommodation, but the great majority of women prefer to use the ordinary departments of a public library on the same footing and conditions as men, and resent distinctions, such as the room implies. If women can use the crowded spaces in front of restricted lending libraries, and can mix with men in open lending libraries, they can surely use the other public rooms without harm or inconvenience.

480. Public Lavatory Accommodation.—This is perhaps a convenient place to mention lavatory accommodation for the public. It should not be provided by public library authorities at all, unless to a limited extent for the use of reference library readers, or for social meetings in connexion with lecture rooms. It is the duty of the sanitary or public health authorities to provide this kind of public accommodation, and not library boards with painfully limited funds. Somewhere adjacent to the library building provision of this kind can be made by the local authority, and it will be found a convenience to the public and a relief to the library funds.

481. Bibliography

No monograph. For articles see Cannons: E 69 et seq., Newsrooms; D 38-9, Racks and Stands; E 70-4, Fittings and Notices; E 78, Ladies’ Rooms.

[439]

DIVISION XIII
LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN

CHAPTER XXXII
THE CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT

482. General Considerations.—The declaration of the Library Association that library work with children is the foundation of all other library work represents, so far as Great Britain is concerned, an ideal rather than an accomplished fact. The will to make provision for the child has not been lacking, but the means at the disposal of library committees have hitherto been insufficient for other activities, and the child has necessarily been dealt with in a parsimonious manner. Undoubtedly, in circumstances hitherto prevailing, the axiom that to pursue work for children at the expense of the efficiency of the library as a whole is to defeat its very purpose, is true. But from comparatively early times the book needs of the children have been recognized. So long ago as 1882 Nottingham possessed a reading room for children, and, with intervals, such departments have been multiplied, and there is now hardly a town of any size which does not make some provision for young readers. The object of the children’s department is to provide the intellectual workshop for the use of the child. He is taught to use intellectual tools in the school, but the library provides him with the material upon which they may be exercised. Usually the department serves children from the age of six to the age of fourteen. In a completely organized department there are library, reading department, and study corners; and such activities as story hours, lectures, reading circles, and the keeping of festivals are maintained.

483. What has been Done.—Separate, distinctive children’s departments are a quite modern institution. Hitherto, in the[440] majority of libraries, an alcove, or a number of shelves, have been set aside for children’s books in the adult lending department, and no provision has definitely, been made for newspapers, magazines and other reading material for the young. Many difficulties have arisen from this arrangement. The age of admission to libraries is usually fourteen, and children under this age, except in special circumstances, have been limited to books in the shelves allocated to children. But children of eleven or twelve frequently require books which cannot by any ordinary reasoning be regarded as juvenile works; and on every such occasion special concessions have been made, the requiring and the granting of which are irritating both to the child and the librarian, however liberal-minded the latter may be, and therefore subversive of the best results. More recently the age of fourteen has been regarded as too high, and in some towns twelve, or even ten, years has been regarded as a suitable age at which children may be given the freedom of the whole lending department. This seems better, and where such low age limits have been set the results have been good. It is obvious, however, that the limited provision we have described in this section is not calculated to prove the “foundation of all library work.”

484. Children’s Libraries.—From these considerations has developed the modern children’s department as an entirely separate part of the library, equivalent in rank and importance to the adult lending or reference departments. In England the most elaborate system of such libraries is that at Cardiff, but many other towns, including Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Islington, Chelsea, Hampstead, Coventry, St Helens, and Nottingham, have such separate departments, and every modern librarian in planning a library system provides for them. The limits of this Manual do not permit of an exhaustive study of the many varieties of children’s libraries and their manifold activities, but an outline of the methods most commonly in vogue here and in America (where the work is far more highly developed than here) are an integral part of our work.

The children’s department, then, should be an apartment as effective in architectural character as any other department: well-lighted, spacious, lofty, and decorated tastefully. These factors are overlooked at times, sometimes, unfortunately, of[441] necessity; but we insist upon them, because the atmosphere induced by a handsome and suitable library is necessary if we are, first, to avoid ruffling the sensitiveness of children who are as jealous of their rights in the public libraries as are adults; and, second, to create that feeling of reverence and respect for books which is a factor in obtaining discipline in the apartment. An ill-lighted, crudely-decorated basement is sometimes devoted to the purpose, and this may have its uses, but it is certain to fall short lamentably of the full possibilities of a children’s library. The apartment being provided, several problems have to be settled. The systems in existence differ in different places. In some towns the children’s department is a reading room and reference library merely, and books are not lent for home reading. It is thought, in such cases, that the children can best be provided with books for home reading through a system of school libraries, such as we describe in the next chapter. This, however, seems to ignore the fact that such school libraries are usually restricted to public and council schools, that there are other kinds of schools in every town, and large numbers of children, therefore, who have not access to school libraries; and their claims to library facilities are as strong as those of public and council school children. Such is the system in vogue, we believe, at Cardiff. In other towns the department embraces lending library, reading room, and reference library, and good examples of these are to be seen at Islington. Here the room is divided into two parts, the smaller part being an open access lending library, and the greater part a reading room, with special tables set apart for quiet study, and containing a carefully-chosen collection of reference books. These methods have both great advantages, and are worthy of rather more detailed consideration.

Fig. 175.—Children’s Hall, Cathays Branch Library, Cardiff (Section 485).

485. The Reference-Reading Method.—We have used this name for want of a better to indicate the system which limits the use of the contents of the room to the room itself—-a system, we may add, which has been approved by the Conference of Librarians held at Manchester in 1918, as the better of the two described. The library is usually a large room with wall-cases for books upon two or three sides of the room, but with one wall left blank and whitened for use as a lantern screen, and intervals of the walls covered with baize screens upon which pictures,[442] bulletins, lists, etc., can be displayed. Part of the room is reserved for children who desire to do home lessons, or make special study, or who wish (as is more frequently the case than is generally supposed) to become authors. For these, small desks, separate if possible, are provided, and the use of ink is permitted. Another set of tables is allocated to such newspapers[443] and periodicals as are suitable for children. The selection of the latter is a matter requiring special care. Good daily newspapers may be provided—The Daily Graphic, for instance, is interesting to most children—but there is a real need for a definitely children’s newspaper, one that presents in a manner attractive to the child mind a selection of the matter occurring in the ordinary newspaper; the recognized children’s periodicals in English and French, and in other languages where circumstances warrant it; such “instructive” periodicals as those teaching shorthand, languages, how to make things, and simple “trade” periodicals; as well as a selection of such weekly journals as The Illustrated London News and The Graphic. Children are more virile mentally than is sometimes supposed, and many ostensibly adult periodicals are quite suitable for them. The remainder of the room may be devoted to tables or desks for the reading of the books from the cases.

486. Lending Library.—All the features enumerated in the foregoing section should be found in the department which has also a lending library, except that the number of books to be provided for reading in the room will probably be smaller, and fewer book-cases will in that case be necessary. The lending section will be conducted on principles similar to those governing the adult lending library, with such adaptations as experience suggests to be desirable. Simplicity is the keynote of the work, and the regulations governing the issue of readers’ tickets and the lending of books should be made as easy and unambiguous as possible. A few of these may be mentioned:

1. Children should be permitted to borrow books upon the recommendation of the head teacher of the school they attend. In some libraries a more definite guarantee is required to prevent possible loss and to recover the cost of loss or damages, as it is obvious that the teacher cannot be expected to accept financial responsibility in this connexion and would undoubtedly refuse to do so; and these require the children to be guaranteed by burgesses in the same manner as adult readers. It will be found, however, that children have frequently some difficulty in finding a guarantor; even parents at times refuse to bind themselves[444] in this way; and, with careful supervision, the teacher’s recommendation will be found to be effective. A good form of application is as follows:

..............................................................No. ...............

NEWTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

To be signed by the Applicant.

I, the undersigned, being a scholar, under twelve years of age, at ..................................................................................................... School, apply for a Ticket enabling me to borrow books from a Lending Library, in accordance with the Rules, which I promise to obey.

Name in full...........................................................................................................

Address..................................................................................................................

Age................................................ Date................................................................

To be signed by the Head Teacher of the School the Applicant attends.¹

I, the undersigned, am of opinion that the above Applicant may be trusted to use the Libraries carefully, and to his/her advantage.

Signed....................................................................................................................

Head Teacher of..................................................................................... School.

Date...........................

¹The signing of this Voucher does not involve the Head Teacher
in any financial responsibility.

Fig. 176.—Voucher for Children (Section 486).
The back is the ordinary guarantee, as Fig. 135.

2. Children should be permitted to borrow books on the application of the head of their household. In this case the householder may be expected to assume the responsibilities of any ordinary guarantor.

3. In ordinary circumstances a child should be permitted to borrow one book only at a time, and should not be permitted to change it for another more frequently than once a week.

We desire to avoid controversial matter in this Manual, and this provision, we expect, is open to criticism; indeed, when it was suggested elsewhere an American librarian remarked that it “seemed unnecessary.” British librarians, however, have actually been requested by teachers to make these restrictions on the arguments that few children do any comparative reading, and that[445] still fewer can read more than one book in a week and at the same time do their home lessons and spend as much time in outdoor recreation as is needful for their health. Another less satisfactory reason is that some librarians have found the child population, when not so restricted, crowding the lending library to such an extent that their staffs have been unable to maintain the discipline without which effective work is impossible, or to meet the demands of the children. Such librarians have divided their register of children alphabetically, and children whose names begin with certain letters are admitted to the lending library only on certain days.

4. The rules should embody simple provisions governing the duration of loan (usually fourteen days are allowed, but circumstances may warrant an extension of this time), cleanliness, care of books, and the disposal of books in cases where the child or any member of the household is in contact with infection.

A difficult matter is what, if any, penalties should be inflicted upon children in the case of undue detention of books or for other offences. Fines are sometimes imposed, as in the adult library, but often they cannot be recovered without great trouble, and they should usually be remitted when any reasonable excuse can be offered. Many children cannot obtain the necessary pence, except from their parents, and to press for fines frequently means that the child will be forbidden the use of the library by the parents. In this matter the librarian should have the fullest discretion. Persistent offenders are effectively dealt with by the suspending of their tickets for a time; but we do not wish to insist upon this method, as the librarian naturally desires to have books used rather than to prevent their use. Lost books must be replaced by parents as a matter of course whenever it is possible to get at them; and the teacher will often lend his powerful assistance in securing the return or replacing of missing volumes, and, indeed, in seeing that the library rules generally are observed by his pupils. Co-operation and sympathy between librarian and teacher are first essentials of successful work.

487. Furniture and Fittings.—The furnishing of the children’s[446] room is governed by the considerations explained in Division V., but again with adaptations dictated by the fact that the furniture is for children and not for adults. Desks, tables, chairs, reading slopes, etc., should be of such heights that they can be used with comfort. In regard to tables and chairs, 25¹⁄₄ inches is a suitable height for the former and 14¹⁄₄ inches for the latter. Book-cases should be approximately 6¹⁄₂ feet in height as against 7 feet for adults. Such rigid furnishing as that which provides long narrow desks resembling school forms for the children, so arranged that the children all face one way, is to be deprecated. Tables which provide the maximum of space, comfort and seclusion are as desirable for this room as for any other. Each periodical and reader requires three feet of lateral space, and there should be three feet between each table, or four where the space is a gangway. Screens of some soft wood, covered with baize, should be placed on the walls, at intervals; and a blackboard and an optical lantern are valuable parts of the equipment. Any space that may remain on the walls may be devoted to pictures, which need not be many, but should be large, deal with definite subjects, and be good of their kind. These are the more obvious differences between the children’s and the adult departments, except that in some libraries lavatory accommodation is provided in order that children may wash their hands before entering the library proper. Such accommodation has distinct advantages, as many children come into the department straight from playing in the street, and it is rather hard to refuse them admission because their hands are not in a suitable state for the using of books. On the other hand, strict supervision of such accommodation is necessary, and this is difficult to provide on account of the increased cost involved.

488. Book Selection.—A few principles governing the selection of books for children may be given here, drawn from an immense mass of written material upon the subject. In a general way it may be asserted that the child is the best judge of its own literature, and the classics for children survive as such simply because they receive the continued suffrages of children. Excellent bibliographies and lists exist, especially American ones, and many libraries have issued catalogues of their children’s libraries. A comparison of these is a necessary[447] preliminary to stocking the department. Catholicity and a not too rigid insistence upon high literary merit are proper attitudes, because there is no exact definition of a children’s book, and any book likely to be used by children should be regarded as suitable; and the variations in taste and capability of children are so great that if there is too pronounced insistence upon high literary quality many children will neglect the books provided. It is better to commence with a lower average of merit and attract children, and then, by placing better books in their way, to improve their tastes without too much obtruding of the fact upon them. By this it is not meant that worthless books are to be included, but there are undoubtedly books having no claim to high rank which are wholesome and harmless. A preponderating part of the lending stock will be of fiction—perhaps twenty per cent. of it—and here the librarian has the accumulated experience of other librarians to assist his selection, and, with regard to contemporary writings, they are not so numerous that the characteristics of any given author cannot easily be tested. Books of classic rank should be available in such numbers that there are always enough copies to meet the current demand and at the same time to leave a copy on the shelves. A librarian should never be compelled to reply to a child that Ivanhoe, The Last of the Mohicans, Alice in Wonderland, Robinson Crusoe, or The Jungle Book, for example, is “out.” It is questionable whether abridged or adapted versions or extracts from classics should be stocked; they often give children an entirely false impression of the work they represent, and as a general rule works that may be “extracted” for children should be provided in their original form. A “Bowdlerized” Shakespeare is an objectionable work; the more virile or doubtful parts of the complete plays rarely touch children or are understood by them. In other classes of literature great discretion must be exercised. A balanced selection covering the whole field of knowledge should be the aim, and although there are still many blank spaces in this field, there are fortunately thousands of works on the arts, sciences, history, biography, and, indeed, upon most subjects, eminently adapted to children. Mere simplicity is not the first essential of such books. Children of quite tender years can make use of many books which are not intended primarily for them,[448] and these may frequently be admitted with great advantage. The intrinsic side of selection may be summarized briefly: Admit all books which appeal to children so long as they are in good English, have no immoral tendency, do not bring the sanctities of life into ridicule, are accurate, and have a worthy quality of humour. This last condition is important. The average child has not a very refined sense of humour, he prefers it of a concrete quality, without irony or sarcasm, and too often founded upon human depravity, deformity and misfortune; this taste must be counteracted.

489. The physical side of books is only less important than the literary, a fact frequently overlooked. Good, legible, well-inked type, good paper, well-drawn, coloured and accurately-registered illustrations should always be sought. There is an æsthetic value in books which should not be neglected, and this is absent from ill-produced works; and the eyesight of children should be guarded from small or illegible print. Bindings should be strong and durable, an almost impossible condition at the present day when cheap machine-made cases are the rule. The life of the book of to-day in continual use is at best only a few months. Before the European War publishers were gradually introducing reinforced and other strong bindings for children’s books, and it is to be hoped that this desirable practice will in due course be resumed.

490. Recent events have so affected the book-market that any rigid estimate of the average cost of books would be futile, as being subject to probable immense fluctuations. Five years ago 3s. 6d. was a fair average price for a lending library book for young readers; at the time of writing 5s. would be nearer the sum that would have to be paid. It can only be assumed that a considerable time will elapse before books will return to their original prices. Any other assumption would be unwise.

491. Administration.—Primary factors in successful work are freedom of access, the maintenance of proper but not oppressive discipline, and the administration of the department by a specially trained and qualified staff. Ruskin’s theory that a child should be let loose in a good library to choose or reject as he wills has proved to be satisfactory in practice, and to promote that sense of personal proprietorship in the library which it is desirable[449] that he should possess. Other reasons for the open access system are the opportunities it gives for close contact between the child and the librarian, of the opportunities it gives the child of learning what treasures are at his disposal, in addition to every other advantage which may be said to accrue to the system when used for adult readers. The hours of opening should be governed by the school hours; that is to say, it is hardly ever necessary to open during school hours; and the library should close at a reasonable hour in order that children may not be induced to remain there at times when they ought to be in their homes. These hours differ in different localities. At holiday times, however, the library should be accessible during the greater part of the daytime.

492. Discipline, it has been well remarked, is the problem of the children’s department. While the dragooning methods of the parish beadle would be deplorably out of place, it is impossible to agree with the American librarian who declares that “children usually do not mind noise and crowding,” because, even if in theory they do not, it is impossible to carry on effective work in conditions of congestion and noise. Too precise a method would defeat its object, but it would seem wise to limit the admissions at any time to such numbers as may be controlled easily by the librarian. Mr L. Stanley Jast has gone so far as to affirm that the children should not be more than can easily be “contacted by the librarian,” on the ground that more efficient work can thus be done. It is a matter upon which a decision can only be made from a knowledge of the conditions and the character of the child population. Clearly, however, a qualification in a successful children’s librarian is the power to keep order, to prevent practical joking, loud conversation and laughter in the reading room. Firmness displayed with kindness, but with decision, and the excluding of unrepentant offenders have been found to be effective.

493. The training of the children’s librarian is special and necessary. In England it has not been developed in any degree commensurate with the need, and our ideals in this matter must be drawn from our American cousins. They require a sound preliminary education in the candidate, a knowledge of the broader lines of general library administration, and, added to[450] these, a study of the child mind, practical social service work, the study of the bibliography of juvenile literature, and practice—usually gained by actual work in children’s rooms—in story-telling, subject-hunting, bulletin-making, and similar matters. Cataloguing, classification, the preparing of attractive lists, etc., for children are all somewhat modified from the forms in use in the grown people’s departments, and all are treated specially. All these studies premise that the librarian has the requisite “personality,” and this is a matter of natural inheritance rather than of training. In Europe this special training can only be gained in the children’s room, and, as a matter of fact, is not always gained. Too often librarians have perforce been obliged to hand the conduct of the department to any member of the staff who might be available at the time. This state of affairs must receive attention if the children’s department is to accomplish its purpose. Probably the ordinary training of the Froebel system superadded to general library training is the best preparation that can be given to the British children’s librarian at present.

494. Activities of the Department.—To bring the child into contact with the proper book is the aim of the department. Free choice amongst books will suffice in a number of instances; but such passive methods will not always secure good results. The assistant in charge must win the confidence of the children and guide them in the most unobtrusive manner possible to the books likely to be of interest and use. Various active methods are in use to gain this end. The most popular of these is the Story Hour.

495. It has been premised that children from six to fourteen years of age will frequent the department, and there is a vast range of ability and taste in children in the various years between these ages. Little children require simple large-print books with plenty of illustrations, and may be drawn to them if story-telling forms part of the librarian’s activities. Story hours, indeed, are most attractive to children of all ages. They are given informally, the children usually being grouped round the librarian in a half-circle while she tells them a fairy story, or stories drawn from the greater writers, from history, poetry, or what not. The connexion between the story hour and the[451] after reading of the books which contain the stories is clear. Such story-telling requires special and intelligent study, good elocution, fluency and the sense of the dramatic. The objection frequently offered to the work is that it is harmful to children for them to hear a story by a great writer delivered in inferior language and brokenly by an indifferent librarian. This, however, is purely a matter of experience and training, and there are admirable manuals of story-telling method by Miss Marie Shedlock, Miss L. M. Olcott, and others which may help in this matter. Otherwise the value of the work is undoubted. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh sets the standard which has general approval. There it is found that groups of thirty children are convenient in size, although it is often necessary to have larger groups. “To the younger children miscellaneous stories are told, selected chiefly from the folk-tales of various countries, legends, myths, fables, modern realistic stories and Bible stories. Two stories are usually told to each group, and whenever possible variety is given by the selection of stories of different types. Poems and nursery rhymes are occasionally included in these programmes. Special days are celebrated if stories can be found which express the spirit of the holiday and are sufficiently dramatic in form. The same stories are sometimes repeated during the year because of the deeper impression made through repetition, and the value to children of an intimate acquaintance with a few of the best things in literature appropriate for them. If something new is given each time, the impressions are confused and dissipated, and material which is either beyond a child’s appreciation or unsuitable for story-telling must finally be used. When an additional story is told, and the children are allowed a choice, the story requested is almost without exception a very old and well-known one. To the older children some of the great cycle stories are presented by telling one story each week. High adventure and romance, as depicted in these hero tales, have a special appeal to the boy and girl from ten to fifteen, and at this age interest is easily sustained.”[17]

[17] Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Stories to Tell to Children. See List at end of this division.

496. More formal lectures prove entirely successful with[452] children, the difficulty as a rule being to find accommodation for the numbers who desire to attend them. They differ from lectures given to adults principally in the fact that they are simpler, but not always even in this particular. Lecturing to children demands a freedom of manner and from mannerisms, decision and fluency; and it will be found that the audience is one of the most critical a lecturer can encounter. All the conditions of definite, clear and accurate subject-matter, refined humour, etc., which are required in books are also required in the lecture. Such subjects as the history of inventions and historical episodes appeal strongly to boys, but perhaps not so greatly to girls, who find nature, literary and similar lectures more to their taste—although dogmatic statement on this point is entirely unwise. The judicious use of lantern slides, pictures and exhibits enhances these lectures, but many subjects are better treated without them. Pictures of characters in works of imagination, for example, often destroy the child’s own, and therefore more valuable, conception of the characters. Good discipline is essential to successful lectures, and this depends upon the lecturer; uneasiness in the audience usually means that it is bored, and the lecturer is wise to consider it thus.

497. Reading clubs and circles often form part of the activities of the department. In these the members, who are admitted to them formally, undertake to read through some special book under the guidance of a leader who, of course, may be a member of the library staff, although an older child may be induced to become leader. Usually the children read the prescribed portion of the book privately, and at the circle they go over it, talk about it, ask questions, and look at pictures, maps and other books that may throw more light on their reading or increase its interest.

498. A valuable auxiliary of story hours, lectures and reading circles is a collection of illustrations. Such collections are becoming a feature of some British, and have long been used in American, libraries. The collection is made up of illustrations abstracted from all suitable sources, worn-out books, periodicals, catalogues, advertisements, etc., in addition to pictures separately published. Each picture is mounted individually upon a mount of standard size—12¹⁄₂ inches by 10¹⁄₂ inches for the greater number, and 17 inches by 13¹⁄₂ inches for larger pictures have[453] been proved to be quite suitable—of manila, art paper, or some similar stiff material; and the pictures are minutely classified, and may be filed in closed pamphlet boxes, or, better, vertically in a filing cabinet. Systematic abstracting of such illustrations for the available sources of an ordinary library will soon produce a large collection. The rule to be observed is that the pictures must illustrate some fact, scene or object. Pictures from the average modern novel, views of scenes which may be found in any country, “pretty” pictures, etc., have practically no value. An exception may be made in favour of illustrations of classic works by distinguished artists, but for the reasons advanced against lantern slides in illustrating such works even this is doubtful. The collection should be available not only in the department, they should also be lent to teachers for use in class work in school and to reading circles and other people who may desire to use them. Such pictures may form the basis of what is called bulletin work. On suitable occasions, holidays, birthdays of great men, anniversaries of all kinds, and as illustrating current events, pictures should be displayed on screens in the room in conjunction with brief lists of illustrative books. Sometimes bulletins are specially made for such occasions if an assistant with the necessary artistic ability is available; attractive borders, small appropriate sketches and similar embellishments are added to the pictures and lists. It is possible, however, that the bulletin may exercise too great a fascination over its maker and too much time be spent upon it; but within limits the bulletin is an excellent device for drawing the attention of children.

499. At all seasonable times additional activities recommend themselves, but extravagance should be avoided. Exhibits of many kinds, wild flowers in their seasons, and the common objects and fauna of the district, are frequently displayed with satisfactory results; and, indeed, on every opportunity the librarian should make the room of current living interest to the children.

500. In almost all these activities voluntary help from interested people may be had and should be welcomed. Large picture collections have in some places been provided almost entirely by this means, and every town has people in it who would help as lecturers, leaders of circles, collectors and arrangers[454] of exhibits. The wider the lay interest taken in the department, provided it is directed judiciously, the greater its success is likely to be.

501. Library Lessons.—Library lessons may form a useful part of the activities of the department. Teachers may bring their classes to the libraries in school hours and give lessons on subjects in connexion with the ordinary school lessons. Such lessons are frequently given in the Cardiff children’s rooms, and in giving them the teachers use the books, illustrations, maps and other material in the rooms, and are able to reinforce these with books or materials from the adult departments. There is a novelty in lessons given in such conditions which removes them in the child’s mind from ordinary lessons and gives them emphasis. A pleasure is added to them if the children are allowed a space at their conclusion in which they may indulge in individual reading according to their own choice from the shelves.

502. The library is perhaps more directly concerned with lessons in which the library itself is the subject taught, and these lessons fall to the staff. A preliminary lesson may consist of a simple demonstration of the purpose and means of access to the library—its divisions, cataloguing and classification, and an exercise in finding books; and this may be followed by other lessons on the making, use and care of books; and other lessons may follow on reference work, subject-hunting, the use of periodical indexes, bibliographical aids, dictionaries, maps, etc. They must be purely objective to succeed, and everything described should be placed before the children. These lessons are also given as a rule in school hours, and inspectors have shown themselves willing to regard them as part of the school curriculum. Their value both to the children and to the libraries is very great.

503. Classification and Cataloguing.—The classification and catalogue methods of the department should be preliminary to those of the adult departments; but they may be simpler with advantage. Young children would probably find the decimal classification in its orthodox form too intricate. At the same time the system that they use should be in its essentials the main classification of the library. The following simplified form of the decimal system may be suggestive; it is not meant to be more than that:

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0	General Works
01	Bibliographies. Aids to Reading, Catalogues, etc.
03	Encyclopædias
05	Children’s magazines
07	Newspapers
1	Philosophy
10	General
17	Temperance
19	Conduct
2	Religion
20	General
22	The Bible and Bible Stories
29	Mythology. Stories involving the Gods
3	Sociology
30	General
32	Government
35	Army
36	Navy
37	Schools and Colleges
39	Etiquette, Customs
395	Legends, Folk-lore
	Fairy Tales go in 833
4	Language
40	General
42	Grammars and Readers
45	Composition, Essay-writing, Précis-writing
5	Science (Mathematical and Natural)
50	General
51	Mathematics, Arithmetic, Geometry
52	Astronomy
53	Physics, Electricity
54	Chemistry
55	Earth, Sea, Air (Geology, Oceanography, and Meteorology)
56	Fossils
57	General natural history; Outdoor books
58	Trees; Flowers
59	Man; Races; Origin and Development
6	Useful Arts
60	General
61	Ambulance
615	Gymnastics
62	Engineering (Steam, Gas, Electrical)
629	Aerial Engineering
63	Farming
64	Domestic Economy, Cooking
65	Railways, Shipping
66	Fishing and Fisheries
	Angling is 79
67	Trades and Industries, alphabetically
69	Building
7	Fine Arts
70	General
71	Gardens
72	Buildings (Architecture)
73	Sculpture
74	Drawing
75	Painting
77	Photography
78	Music
79	Games
8	Literature
80	General
81	Poetry
82	Drama
83	Stories and Tales
833	Fairy Tales
835	Animal and Other Natural History Fables
84	Essays
9	Travel
	(Including Geography and Descriptions of Countries)
90	General
91	Atlases and Geographies
912	Travels in Great Britain
914	Travels in Europe[456]
915	Travels in Asia
916	Travels in Africa
917	Travels in N. America
918	Travels in Central and South America
919	Travels in Australasia; The Polar Regions; Isolated Islands
92	Lives of Famous People: Collective
921	Lives: Individual
	Alphabetically by persons written about
93	History
930	Ancient History
940	History (Modern) of Europe
942	History of Great Britain and Ireland
95	History of Asia
96	History of Africa
97	History of N. America
98	History of Central and S. America
99	History of Australasia and Isolated Islands

This outline can be expanded as desired without difficulty or dislocation.

504. Similar principles may well govern the cataloguing of the children’s library. It is well that youngsters should become familiar with the arrangement and use of sheaf and card as well as of printed catalogues. Moreover, the Anglo-American code is here the best basis upon which to do the cataloguing. It should be remembered that the children use the catalogue, or ought to use it, and not adults. All recondite bibliographical terms, and abbreviations except the simplest, should be avoided; and explanatory notes should be written in language such as the children may be expected to understand. Indeed, a rule that all cataloguing should be expressed in such language—we mean all that is added to the title—would be a safe one to follow. Some extended rules, with examples, which may prove helpful in this matter are given in Berwick Sayers’s The Children’s Library, chapter iii. It will be seen that no particular form of catalogue is recommended; librarians differ widely upon this question. Perhaps the best printed catalogue is that issued for schools by the Pittsburgh Library: a catalogue in divisions corresponding to the grades in the schools, in which each division contains books which are thought to make appeal to the children in the grade it represents.

505. Reading lists follow the same rules. These, to make any useful appeal, should be presented simply, attractively, and be rigidly selective. A few titles, well presented, are likely to have more effect than lists so long that they frighten the child.

[457]

CHAPTER XXXIII
THE LIBRARY AND THE SCHOOL

506. If libraries are an integral part of the educational system, it is clear that their relations with schools and with the teachers must be close. This is perhaps more cordially recognized in America than here, but there are few librarians who do not endeavour to establish a connexion between their libraries and the official teaching system of their towns. In the simplest instance special privileges are offered to teachers enabling them to borrow from five to twelve or more books at a time for class work. In some towns meetings of teachers and library staffs are held in order that mutual work may be discussed and arranged. In a few places there are special libraries for teachers; and in some American libraries not only are there these special libraries, but the teachers are provided with keys which give them access when other parts of the libraries are closed. One of the privileges of the public library is to encourage teachers to make the fullest use of books.

507. It is gradually becoming recognized that a school without a library lacks an important part of its equipment. In colleges and high schools this has been recognized practically for some years past, but in few but the largest schools have separate rooms been assigned for library purposes, in the care of an assistant trained in the work. A teacher whose principal business is teaching has usually been thought to be a person sufficiently qualified for the work, with the result that rarely have the libraries been exploited to anything like the full measure of their possibilities. They are places where books are read or from which books are lent, not places where readers are created, information disseminated, or the practical use of books taught. In fact, one of the absurd gaps in our higher school curriculum is the want of teaching in the book, in the elements of bibliography; and until this is filled our school system must be pronounced[458] to be incomplete. American methods deserve study, with a view to their adaptability to British conditions; and such works as Gilbert O. Ward’s The High School Library, in the A. L. A. Manual of Library Economy (as showing the field and its possibilities), and Florence M. Hopkins’s Reference Guides that Should be Known, and How to Use Them (as showing a practical method in one part of library teaching), will repay such study.

508. In council and similar elementary schools the municipal library has one of its best fields of work. Under the present restricted financial conditions of libraries, however, it is necessary to say that the provision of reading matter in the schools should be a charge against educational funds and not against those of the library, which are already altogether insufficient for ordinary work. It is at the same time probable that this work, in so far as book-selection and purchase, cataloguing and classification, binding, and other details of organization and administration are concerned, can be done better and more economically by the librarian than by the teacher, and should accordingly be directed by the library committee. The theory of the work is that while the librarian is the best person to organize the school library, the teacher is the best person to bring books and children together. Some education authorities make special grants for this work, varying from a few to several hundreds of pounds yearly; but before we describe the methods most generally approved, we may make mention of the various unaided efforts that librarians have made to meet the needs of schools. One is to invite the teacher to obtain, upon his own signature, a ticket for every child whom he considers to be of reading age; to permit him to borrow the number of books represented by such tickets; and to retain them so long as he thinks necessary for their due circulation. Three months is an average loan period. A second is to waive the ticket-taking preliminary and to lend the teacher a number of books for a few weeks or months for lending as he thinks good amongst the scholars. There have been many variations of these two methods, but they are obviously one in principle; and, useful as they no doubt are, they are also obviously limited, as few British libraries have a large enough stock of books of the right[459] kind to lend in this way to all the schools in the town which might require the privilege. School libraries to be lastingly effective require a separate stock with many duplicates, and these no ordinary public library can, in present circumstances, provide.

509. Co-operation between library and education committees seems to be the best method of achieving satisfactory school libraries. By this method the education committee provides the funds, the libraries the administration, and the teachers the actual service amongst the children. Wherever there is a children’s department at the public library it ought to be the centre from which all the libraries in the town should be organized, supplied and co-ordinated. Again, to secure any success, the closest co-operation is necessary between teachers and librarians. This is generally forthcoming, but frequently is not, for reasons made clear to the editor of this Manual by a prominent teacher, who writes: “I do not like the circulating of libraries from school to school—it is most unsatisfactory. I know the need of the children in my school more exactly than anyone else, and I do not want books dumped on me that my children will not read.” Moreover, it was affirmed that the books chosen by librarians were unsuitable as being “too adult.” It is clear, however, that the only real difficulty raised here is that to the exchange of the collections between the schools. All the other difficulties can be, and are, overcome by the co-operation which is postulated for the work.

510. The control of such school libraries takes several forms. In the simplest the education authority grants a certain sum yearly to the library committee for children’s work, making only the condition that library service on their behalf shall be efficient. In other cases the education authority desires to take a more definite part in the work, and it has been found that a sub-committee, consisting of members of the library and education committees and of representatives of the head teachers, with the librarian as executive officer, will work satisfactorily. Such a sub-committee should be free from the limitations imposed upon subordinate bodies, and although it should report its activities, it should not be expected to submit them to the respective committees. Friction is soon generated if the sub-committe[460]e’s book-selection, or indeed any other feature of its work, is liable to amendment by another body, and we have known really good library schemes to come to grief through such interference.

511. A grant for school libraries should consist of an initial capital sum for equipment and stock, and an annual sum for additions and maintenance. Grants vary from about £500 to £25 per annum, and the amounts, of course, are conditioned by the size of the town and the number of schools to be served, as also by the current cost of furniture, books and service, all of which are at present in a state of great fluctuation. A good arrangement is that in operation at Cardiff, where the Education Committee grants £2, 10s. yearly for every hundred children permanently on the school registers. The work of preparing, cataloguing and classifying the books is carried out by the library staff as a whole in small libraries, or by the children’s library staff where one exists, or by a special school libraries assistant. In providing the commencing stock, a few decisions must be made upon which the future usefulness of the libraries will largely depend: (1) the period for which books are to remain at each school; (2) the desirability of an unchanging deposit collection at each school; (3) the method of charging at the schools; (4) the methods of recording the whereabouts of each book. And there are other matters.

512. The period of loan to each school varies from three to twelve months, and the smaller the available stocks of books, the more frequent should be the changing of them. Frequent changes, however, involve much labour, and it is well that the collections should be as large as possible at the outset in order that they may serve efficiently for longer periods than three months. They should not remain longer than a year, as by that time the interest of the collection will be much reduced and the books themselves will probably be in need of overhauling. It is a good thing to have a basic, unchanging collection at each school, consisting of the books which by common consent are children’s classics. These will naturally be duplicated in most of the schools, as the list of such books is by no means a long one. Their existence gives assurance that every child has access to the best of children’s books during his school career. The ultimate aim should be to increase the school collections so that periodical[461] interchange between the schools becomes unnecessary, except in so far as additions of new books are concerned.

513. Cataloguing.—The accession and cataloguing methods may resemble those described for Rural Libraries (Sections 546-47). One suggestions-slip may serve for any number of copies, the accession numbers being added to the card; this forms an inventory of the stock. For each copy another catalogue card, in very brief form, should be written, which may be placed behind a guide card bearing the name of the school at which the copy is located. A printed catalogue of the whole of the school library system is a very useful thing, but is difficult to maintain. In any case a list of the books sent to the school should accompany each dispatch.

514. Charging.—The head teacher usually appoints a school librarian, who may be a teacher, but is more often a senior scholar, and to the school librarian is entrusted the issuing of books and the keeping of the necessary records. The charging system will be some simplified form of that in use at the public library. A card-charging system has been found to be satisfactory. Trays, pockets, and properly-written book-cards are provided by the library staff, and a supply of readers’ tickets which are made out by the school librarian as required. Another method is that described in Section 547, which can be adapted readily to school libraries. Scholars are usually allowed to change books once a week, during a special “library hour,” which is recognized officially as part of school time; but this is a matter of local arrangement.

515. Usually the work of book-selection is performed by the School Libraries Committee. It has a drawback in the fact that teachers do not always receive the exact books that they wish to have for their schools, and a better method, at least in theory, is for the librarian to submit a list of the books available for purchase to the teachers, and to invite them to requisition those which they think suitable. This would forestall a very frequent criticism made by teachers; nor would the librarian experience any great difficulty in meeting the demands so made.

516. The period for which a collection should remain at a school is conveniently governed by the school holidays. The summer vacation presents the best opportunity for overhauling[462] the whole system, and where there is accommodation at the central library, and other circumstances permit, it is well to have all the collections returned there, where they may be weeded of defective and dirty books, repairs may be executed, binding arranged for, stock may be taken, and the new location of the collections determined, so that every school may recommence with a new library. But in the intervals between holidays periodical visits to the schools should be made by the schools[463] librarian to see that the books are in order, to advise where necessary, and in other ways to maintain relations between the school and the public library. Sometimes the librarian addresses the children in the schools, upon reading or other library subjects. This visiting work should be done with tact and unobtrusively. Frequently teachers prefer to be allowed to work without the intervention of the librarian, and such preferences must be respected. The business of the librarian is to supply[464] books, and not necessarily to exploit them—so far, at least, as schools are concerned.


Supplies Wanted:—		PENNY STAMP
Book Pockets....................... Borrowers’ Tickets.............. Tags................ Voucher Cards.....................
	CHIEF LIBRARIAN, Central Public Library, NEWTON.
Repairs dealt with.............vols. Repairs put aside..............vols.
Signed,
.............................................
School Librarian.

Fig. 177a.—School Libraries Return—front (Section 517).

.................................................SCHOOL LIBRARY.
Issues for the month of............................................................19.....................
	00	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	Fiction.	Totals.
1st week.
2nd week.
3rd week.
4th week.
5th week.
Number of Borrowers...............................................................

Fig. 177b.—School Libraries Return—back (Section 517).

517. Returns of the circulation are regarded as necessary by most librarians, and have a variety of uses, as every librarian recognizes. These are usually made monthly to the librarian. The card shown has proved satisfactory in practice.

Teachers, it must be added, do not always see the values of these returns, and may consider them an irritating and unnecessary superfluity. If they could be made in the form of an estimate once a year the purpose might be served.

518. The head teacher should not be held responsible in a financial sense for lost books, nor should he be expected or permitted to replace them. He would, however, be expected to take reasonable steps to recover them, and in case of loss, a penalty of some kind, however small, is generally inflicted upon the loser. Books which have been in contact with infectious disease are sent from the home to the Public Health Department, where they are disinfected, or, in some places, destroyed, at the discretion of the Medical Officer of Health. Some sanitary authorities themselves replace the books which are destroyed.

519. At what time in the history of school libraries the collections should cease to circulate between the schools and become permanent libraries in individual schools is a matter upon which opinion differs. At Cardiff this stage was reached when there were 600 volumes in the large school, and no school with less than 200. Allowing the average time in which a child will use the library, to be four years, the lesser of these figures provides that each child may read at least one volume a week throughout that time; but it is impossible to allow the child a choice of books in these circumstances, and this is a very grave defect. It can only be affirmed that there should be at least one book for every child of reading age, and that this minimum should be increased as rapidly as possible.

520. Other fields for the public library presented by the schools may be indicated briefly. They may be used as deposit stations for adult readers in anticipation of the establishment of permanent branch libraries; and this method has met with success. The head teacher, too, should be allowed the right of requisitioning temporarily any books in the public lending libraries[465] which may be desirable for the use of the scholars in connexion with their class studies; and a generous policy in lending works from the reference library for use in the school building is a natural corollary of this.

521. Sunday School Libraries have not received much attention from British public librarians. They present a useful field of work, in which the municipal library may suggest books and methods and offer simple training in library practice to the teachers. As is the case with all other teachers, the stores of the public library should be made available for their use in the widest sense.

522. Finally, the teachers themselves are entitled to the most careful attention. At training schools there should be special libraries of pedagogy; and at the public library an effort should be made to place a catholic and fully representative collection of works on all branches of teaching, theory and practice at the disposal of teachers.

523. All these matters lead up to the ultimate object of the librarian, which is to establish a natural pathway from the schools to the public library. Vouchers of admission should be placed at the disposal of the schools, and the recommendation of the head teacher may procure readers’ tickets for all children leaving school. Fortunately most teachers see the importance of the matter, and a properly systematized connexion is therefore made for the child between the school library and the much larger and more permanently useful stores of the municipal library.

Bibliography (Chapters XXXII.-XXXIII.)

524. The Children’s Department, and School Libraries:

Ballinger, John. Children and Public Libraries. In British Library Year Book, 1900-01.

—— Work with Children. In Library Association. Public Libraries: Their Development and Future Organization, 1917, p. 15.

Bostwick, A. E. (Ed.). The Relationship between the Library and the Public Schools, 1914.

Cleveland Public Library. Work with Children and the Means used to Reach Them, 1912.

[466]

Dana, J. C. (Ed.). Modern American Library Economy, 1912-. Pt. 5: (1) School Department Room, (2) Course of Study for Normal School Pupils, (3) Picture Collection (revised); Pt. 7: (2) High School Branch; Pt. 19, Pictures and Objects.

Emery, J. W. The Library, the School, and the Child, 1917.

Fay, L. E., and Eaton, A. T. Instruction in the Use of Books and Libraries: for Normal Schools and Colleges, 1915.

Field, Mrs E. M. The Child and His Book, 1895.

Field, W. T. Fingerposts to Children’s Reading, 1911.

Jast, L. S. The Relation of Libraries to Education. In Library Association. Public Libraries, etc., 1917, p. 15.

Miller, E. M. Libraries and Education, 1912.

Olcott, F. J. Library Work with Children. In A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter xxix., 1914.

—— Children’s Reading, 1912.

Sayers, W. C. Berwick. The Children’s Library, 1911.

Stevenson, Lilian. A Child’s Bookshelf, 1918.

Ward, G. O. The High School Library. In A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter vii., 1915.

—— Practical Use of Books and Libraries (with Teaching Outline, in separate vol.), 2 vols., 1911.

For articles see Cannons.

525. The Story Hour:

Bryant, S. C. How to Tell Stories to Children, 1911.

—— Stories to Tell to Children, 1911.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Stories to Tell to Children; by Edna Whiteman, 1918.

Shedlock, M. L. Art of Story-Telling, 1915.

Partridge, E. N., and G. E. Story-Telling in School and Home, 1913.

For articles see Cannons, under headings Child and Children, in the Index (many references).

Note.—Work with children has been more written, and, probably, overwritten, than any library subject. The Library Journal and Public Libraries issue special Children’s Library numbers at intervals, and hardly a month passes without an article appearing upon some phase of the subject. Students new to the subject should be made aware that much of the writing upon it is too sentimental, and too concerned with bypaths, to be of great value; but this criticism does not apply to any of the works in the list given above.

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DIVISION XIV
LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER XXXIV
THE LECTURE ROOM

526. Lecture Room and Platform.—Library development is a somewhat elastic term covering the various active measures taken by librarians to attract readers. It is now a commonplace that while the prime purpose of the library is to supply and circulate literature—that is to say, everything in literary form from books to news-cuttings—modern librarians increasingly adopt the point of view that it is part of their duty and privilege to create readers. Of the various ways in which this is done lecture and similar work stands prominent. In the design of libraries provision should always be made for a lecture room with adequate accommodation for an audience, chaired comfortably, equipped with lantern and screen, a platform, and blackboard and similar accessories. The platform deserves care in its design; it should have an electric lantern signal communicating with the lanternist, and for scientific and technical demonstrations, water, gas, and a movable electric light should be brought to it. The platform is better for being large enough to accommodate a number of persons for dramatic readings, musical parties, etc.; should be approached by a door from the back; and curtain arrangements for it are desirable. The construction should be solid, and the platform floor should be covered with a thick cork or other matting to deaden the distracting sound of shuffling feet.

527. Lectures and Lecture Societies.—Lectures of two kinds may be given—those provided by societies who merely use the library, and those arranged by the library itself. Of the former kind many can be arranged by placing the lecture-room at the[468] disposal of local scientific societies, branches of University Extension, the Workers’ Educational Association, and similar bodies, non-sectarian and non-political, which have an educational or partly educational purpose. These should not involve the staff in much labour, or the library in much expense, although there are cases where the librarian or a member of his staff acts as organizing secretary to such societies. Every effort to centre these activities in the library can be justified; the object is to make the library the intellectual centre of the town; but it should be understood that the staff cannot develop into mere lecture agents, or conduct such work at the expense of the main purpose of the library. Where the staff is sufficient this objection does not apply, although it is perhaps well to say that the library should not duplicate work of this kind which other institutions in the town are doing efficiently. A discriminating use of voluntary workers, who are frequently forthcoming, is a solution of many difficulties.

528. It is doubtful whether it is legal for library committees to arrange lectures; certainly expenditure upon them has been questioned at times of audit; but various ways of overcoming this difficulty have been discovered. One is to form a lecture society which is a separate organization using the lecture-room, and this raises subscriptions, sells programmes, etc., and so defrays expenses; this has been done at Walthamstow and Newark-upon-Trent. The more frequent way is to obtain voluntary lecturers and to keep the running expenses at a negligible figure; most towns have acceptable lecturers who are willing to serve the public in this way. In some towns, not subject to Government audit, as in Liverpool, great miscellaneous series of lectures are arranged by the libraries, not because they are regarded as a library activity, but because the Libraries Committee is regarded as the most convenient committee for doing this desirable public work.

529. Librarians differ as to the value of courses of lectures as compared with individual miscellaneous lectures. The course certainly provides information more or less exhaustive, and is of more benefit to the fewer people who attend it; but they are few; and on the other hand it is argued that it is no part of the function of the library to teach in the manner implied in a set[469] course, but rather to stimulate interest in various subjects with direct reference to books. This latter object should influence all such activities as those we are considering; there seems to be little justification for lectures or exhibitions organized by the library which do not definitely lead to the use of libraries. Random lectures have a value of their own, but they are not our province. When, therefore, a syllabus of lectures is drawn up, it should be accompanied by brief reading lists on the subjects chosen. In this way lectures on topography (there are usually too many of these, however), art, science, literature, or indeed any subject, may be a direct incentive to reading, and in some places this is emphasized by the use of lantern slides and “privilege” issues.

530. Organization.—Much labour can be saved by the use of a few simple methods in organizing lectures. Invitations to lecturers should never be on stereotyped circular forms, but should be individual personal letters, especially where the lecturer is not to receive a fee, but he may be asked to reply on a definite memorandum (see Fig. 178, p. 470).

A circular of information should also be enclosed describing the conditions of the lectures, the library at which they are held, the way to reach it, and, in particular, drawing attention to their purpose of calling notice to books, and inviting suggestions as to the best books on the subjects. A stamped addressed envelope for reply, which the librarian may apologize for enclosing on the ground that it will save the lecturer’s time, should not be forgotten. The memoranda, when returned, can be filed for reference, and their use enables the needs of the lecturers to be met completely.

531. The syllabus should give the list of lectures, conditions of admission, the hour and place of their delivery, and contain the reading lists. These last, as indicated already, should be brief; a long list of references defeats its own object, because readers are frightened by it. Half a dozen carefully-selected titles are usually enough. Syllabuses should be distributed free to readers in the library; and little other advertisement is necessary. A small poster giving the programme, of such size that tradesmen will place it in their shops, clergy and ministers in church porches, and may be displayed in other places, has its[470] uses; and sometimes an advertisement in the local papers has a good effect. For special lectures, for which an attendance larger than the lecture-room will hold is expected, tickets of admission may be used, which can be distributed free. The back of these tickets can be used for reading lists.

LECTURER’S MEMORANDUM.

Name (as you desire it to be printed)................................................................

................................................................................................................................

Title of lecture......................................................................................................

Library...................................................................................................................

Date..........................................

Hour.........................................

* I shall use
Lantern slides.
Blackboard.

* I wish to see the Catalogue of Lantern Slides.

Any other instructions.......................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................

* Please cross out words which do not apply.

Fig. 178.—Lecturer’s Memorandum (Section 530).

532. Lantern Slides.—The lantern is used at many lectures, and is a valuable auxiliary. All lists of books should be transferred to lantern slides, and displayed at the beginning or end of the lecture, and—this is the important point—the lecturer should be persuaded to comment upon them. Clear glass-slides with a surface prepared to take pen writing in india or even ordinary ink can be obtained at any photographic chemist; but if expense is a consideration, a simple method is to obtain lantern slide cover-glasses, which cost a few pence the dozen, make a solution with one per cent. of Nelson’s photographic gelatine in warm water, apply this to the cover-glasses with a[471] sponge or soft cloth, and in a few minutes they will be dry and will take pen-writing admirably. The cover-glasses can be cleaned after use, re-coated, and used again as often as necessary. For general illustrative lantern slides it is very useful to take out a subscription with one of the circulating collections of lantern slides, as E. G. Wood’s in Cheapside. These issue catalogues which may be lent to prospective lecturers, who may then draw upon these collections. The accessibility of slides often secures a lecturer. Librarians can use slides in a number of ways, to illustrate contents of books, the differing character and scope of works of reference, and bring home the use of books in a way that no other method can be made to do. So far we do not know of a library that has a cinematograph installation; but some libraries already collect films, and the uses of the cinematograph will one day be recognized. The most valuable projection apparatus of all is the epidiascope, which projects illustrations, pages of books, and solid objects from these actual things, and does not require lantern slides. It is, however, rather expensive, and requires skill in manipulation, but it would be an excellent investment for any large library.

533. Privilege Issues.—In order to bring readers to the books on any subject while it is fresh in mind Mr Jast initiated a method of privilege issue. The books on the subject of the lecture are displayed on tables in the lecture-room, so that the audience may examine them before the lecture. On the tables is the following announcement:

PRIVILEGE ISSUE.

Any one of these books may be Borrowed without a Ticket by any resident whose name appears in the local directory.

To obtain a book, all that is necessary is that the borrower shall sign his (or her) name and address on the slip provided. Such signing will be taken as indicating that the book will be returned to the library within 15 days, and that payment will be made for undue detention, damage, or loss, as provided for in the Library Rules.

Fig. 179.—Privilege Issue Notice (Section 533).

[472]

The issues are made at the conclusion of the lecture. The slip mentioned is of ordinary paper of a size suitable to be used in orthodox card-charging, and plays the same part in the charge as a borrower’s permanent ticket. The book is stamped and issued to the applicant in the usual way, and a long narrow slip bearing the following text is inserted:

PRIVILEGE ISSUE.

This book is issued on the distinct understanding that it is returned to one of the Lending Libraries within 15 days. Or, if kept longer, the Library fine of 1d. per week (or portion of a week) for such detention will be paid, together with any cost of notification; also that any damage or loss will be made good.

This being a “privilege” issue, it does not entitle the reader to another book in exchange. If, however, the reader is not a member of the Lending Libraries, he should return the accompanying Application Form, properly filled up, along with this book, when he will be allowed to take another book at the time of return, and thenceforth exercise the privileges of membership.

Fig. 180.—Privilege Issue Information Slip
(Section 533).

A voucher of application for membership goes with this, and borrowers frequently return it filled and become regular readers. The charges when made are inserted into the ordinary sequence of the day’s issues, and there is no distinction between them and the card charges made for regular borrowers’ books. This privilege service was extended to accredited societies in the town, who undertook to issue and to secure the due return of the books. So far we know of only two libraries that have adopted the system of privilege issues; but it has been successful, and has not, so far, entailed any loss of books.

534. General.—Lecturers should be reminded of their engagement a few days before each lecture. Nothing should be taken for granted. The lecturer’s instructions should be gone over[473] carefully, and the state of the lantern screen, lantern, platform, signals and other accessories examined in time for any fault to be corrected. Attention to such details makes for success, while nothing is more annoying to lecturer and audience than a fault in such things.

535. Library Readings.—Library readings revive, in a manner, the once famous popular penny readings; but in their new form such readings are free and are of subjects chosen because of their value and not primarily because they entertain. It is found that audiences are not only ready to listen to lectures about books, they are also ready to listen to readings from the books themselves. For some years at Southwark Mr R. W. Mould read The Christmas Carol and other famous works aloud to large audiences of library people. There is scarcely any limit to books that may be read aloud in this way—nearly all the novelists, poets, letter-writers, essayists, humorists, diarists can be used; and these are fairly easy for a good reader to deal with. But the reader must be a good one; poor reading is worse than none. It is usual for the reader to give a brief introductory sketch of his author, and to link the readings by connecting remarks. It is really remarkable to note the willingness of audiences to listen to readings of books which “everybody has read”; perhaps because they revive pleasant memories; probably, too, because the reading reveals unsuspected qualities in the book read. A more difficult, but even more interesting, type of reading may be made upon a subject, which is explained and illustrated from various authors; for example, on “Volcanoes, the genesis and development of scientific theory regarding them.” In this case an extract was read from Judd’s Volcanoes defining a volcano and presenting the ideas of the Greeks upon the subject; then extracts from the two Plinys; then the mediæval views were drawn from Pietro Toledo; Sir William Hamilton afforded an account of Vesuvius in eruption in 1767; and later matter was drawn from Elié de Beaumont, Scrope, Dana, Judd, Bonney, Anderson and Flint, and Heilprintz. Such a reading has proved most successful. These, too, can be illustrated with lantern slides, and the obvious value of slides showing titles, extracts, maps, etc., from books from which the readings are drawn need not be emphasized.[474] The programme of a reading, given with slides, may be subjoined to show another treatment of a subject:

The Englishman in the Alps.

Early Views.

1. A Letter from the St Bernard Pass, February, 1188.

2. Seventeenth Century Dragons: Notes from Gribble’s “Story of Alpine Climbing.”

3. Over the Simplon Pass; from John Evelyn’s “Diary.”

4. Windham’s Climb to the Montanvert; from Matthew’s “Annals of Mont Blanc.”

5. Horace Walpole on Mont Cenis; from his “Letters.”

The Alps and the Poets.

6. Shelley and Mont Blanc; from his “Six Weeks’ Tour.”

7. Mont Blanc. Byron.

8. Chillon. Byron.

Modern Alpine Story.

9. A Winter Storm; from Leslie Stephen’s “Playground of Europe.”

10. The Conquest of the Matterhorn; from Whymper’s “Scrambles in the Alps.”

11. June on the St Bernard Pass; from Sayers’s “Over Some Alpine Passes.”

12. The Riffelhorn; from Kynnersley’s “A Snail’s Wooing.”

13. The Rewards of the Climber; from Mummery’s “My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus.”

14. Why Climb the Mountains? from Blackie’s “Lays of the Highlands and Islands.”

536. Another form is the dramatic reading, and this is the most acceptable of all when it is well done, and its value is undeniable from the library point of view. In it a party of readers, each taking a character, read a play without scenery, costume, or action other than is necessary to make clear a movement which the scene requires and the text does not convey. Such plays as Hardy’s Dynasts, most of Shakespeare’s plays, etc., have been dealt with in this manner; but the peculiar value of the dramatic reading is to draw attention to great plays, which are seldom read or performed, such as the miracle plays, the Elizabethans other than Shakespeare, and Browning’s various plays (for example); and series by well-known writers who in individual manner deal with the same subject, such as was done[475] in a sequence of Cleopatra plays—Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Dryden’s All for Love and Bernard Shaw’s Cæsar and Cleopatra—which were given in three successive weeks with great success. All that has been said of the necessity of focussing the work on the actual authors, plays, and works about them by means of lists, applies as strongly here as elsewhere.

537. Exhibitions.—-A few simple arrangements make the lecture-room convenient for exhibitions of books, prints or other matter which it is desirable to bring particularly to public notice. Stands on the model of the standard newspaper slope illustrated in Fig. 166, but lighter, and made in parts or collapsible, with a projecting bottom edge to support books or prints, and a wire stretched near the top to keep them in position, have been used; and the walls can have run along them a narrow moulding grooved to take the prints, with a taut wire, which can be made adjustable to any height, above them as on the slopes. With such an arrangement a modest but effective exhibition can be made in a very short time. It is thought by some that an open access library is itself a book exhibition, but even with this system, and certainly with the indicator system, there are many things that can be exhibited with advantage. Such works as Williams’s History of the Art of Writing, the facsimiles published by the British Museum, and other large treasure houses; photographic surveys; connected series of rare or interesting books; books on subjects of immediate interest, and so on, can all be exhibited to good result. Simple but careful guiding is desirable, and every method of connecting the exhibition with the reading facilities of the library must be brought into play. Usually the exhibitions can be arranged from material in the library’s stock, but they may often be borrowed from national institutions, other libraries, and private collectors. Whenever material is borrowed an insurance policy should be arranged covering loss or damage.

538. The warning is perhaps not unnecessary that the library is neither museum nor art gallery; and exhibitions which trespass upon the field of these institutions should only be arranged in towns where they do not exist; and even then a certain restraint should be observed; but circumstances will determine this question. If the exhibition leads to the use of[476] books, it is justified; if not, the library is doing work which is not properly in its province.

539. Reading Circles, etc.—Reading circles in connexion with the National Home Reading Union and similar bodies, or arranged locally, present special opportunities for libraries, and are to be encouraged. Good leaders can be obtained in most towns; books on the subjects discussed can be made available in the room where the circle meets, and in various ways the library can help effectively. One or two libraries have literary societies of the debating kind; but these are more difficult to arrange.

540. General.—The statement made in the last edition that all the work described in this chapter is secondary to the main purpose of the library is repeated. Its value has been proved and is indisputable, but it is easy for the enthusiastic librarian to involve himself and the library in more of these activities than his own time, his staff, or his means justify. Only local circumstances and common sense can fix the limits beyond which they ought not to be carried. Voluntary assistance, if it is forthcoming of sufficient and satisfactory quality, should be encouraged; but even here discretion is required. Moreover, certain good standards for lectures, readings, etc., should be fixed; bad lectures and readings may do more harm than good, and only towns with many good readers amongst the people should attempt work so full of chance as dramatic readings. Excellent and much to be desired in their right measure and kind, all extension activities should be pursued with considered moderation.

541. Bibliography

No monograph. For articles see Cannons: F 96, Lectures; F 20-95, Exhibitions; E 115, Privilege Issues; F 12, Reading Circles.

[477]

CHAPTER XXXV
RURAL LIBRARIES

542. The Need, and Earlier Schemes.—Until recently a rural dweller in Canada, the United States, and some parts of Australia was better provided with literature than the villager in the United Kingdom. It is true that private generosity had established village libraries and circulating collections of books in several counties; and honourable mention may be made of the schemes of the Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes, 1847; the Yorkshire Union of Educational Institutes, 1854; the Central Circulating Library, 1888; the Bishop of Hereford, 1906; the Dorset Book-Lending Association, 1908; and the extensive scheme for the Highlands and Hebrides of Mr James Coats of Paisley; as also Sir Charles Seeley’s scheme for the Isle of Wight, and the Westmorland scheme, which are both, however, public ventures worked through the County Council in the first case, and, in the second, through the Kendal Public Library. All of these (except the Coats scheme) work on the sound method of dispatching to selected (and, in some of the private instances, subscribing) centres boxes of books which are changed twice or thrice yearly.

543. The private schemes, effective as they are, are unable to supply that co-ordinated service which may be expected from a state, or rate, maintained service; and as a whole the rural population is unprovided as yet. Although the need for general library provision has been abundantly recognized, the imagination of British legislators seems to have been unable to compass anything practical towards meeting it. The reasons for lack of village libraries turn upon the small product of the penny rate, which in an average population of 400—a frequent population figure for a village—rarely exceeds £10 yearly, a sum manifestly inadequate to provide or maintain a library. Ignorance of even this possibility and the traditional apathy or actual hostility of[478] squire and parson, at least until lately, to any scheme of rural enlightenment may also have been factors; but, however that may be, in 1915 only seventy-six out of all the parishes of the kingdom had libraries working under the Acts. Co-operation alone can produce for these scattered populations the benefits of a sound service; but although the Libraries Acts (1892, Sections 9-10; 1893, Section 4) permit the co-operation of neighbouring urban districts or parishes for the provision of libraries, the method has been resorted to only occasionally, as at Workington and Harrington in Cumberland, where some such combination exists.

544. The County Council as Library Authority.—The obvious authority to establish and administer rural libraries is the County Council; but there is no explicit legislative instruction, or even permission, for them to do so. The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust has given careful and sympathetic attention to this problem, and to this body the recent rapid development of rural libraries is due. Acting on a recommendation of Professor W. G. S. Adams, in his valuable Report on Library Provision and Policy, 1915, that experimental library systems should be established in five selected areas in different parts of the kingdom, the Trustees invited certain County Councils through their education committees, and certain towns well placed in regard to surrounding rural districts, to accept grants for such work. Professor Adams advised the provision of (1) a central library, from which the books could be distributed at regular intervals, and from which also there should be supervision of the whole area; (2) village libraries, usually placed in a school, with the schoolmaster as librarian, and consisting of a permanent collection of important reference and standard works, and a circulating library which would be exchanged at three-monthly or other suitable intervals. The first areas chosen were Staffordshire as a county; Worksop, Nottinghamshire, as a town centred amongst villages; and the Trustees themselves established at the public library of their own centre, Dunfermline, a system to deal with the Orkneys, Shetland and the island of Lewis, and to reinforce by circulating collections the Coats libraries in other districts. The scheme has developed rapidly, and at the time of writing the counties of Dorset, Gloucester, Lincoln, Nottingham,[479] Somerset, Stafford, Warwick, Westmorland, Wilts, York, Montgomery, Brecon, Buckingham, Cardigan, Carnarvon, Forfar, Lewis, Orkney and Shetland, Perth, Kerry and Limerick are all administering, or have accepted, grants for rural libraries. The grants range in amount from about £3000 to £7000 each, and are initial and experimental; that is to say, the sum provided is intended to establish and maintain the library system for a space of five years, after which it is expected that they will be administered entirely from county funds.

545. The Methods of Carnegie Rural Libraries.—It is too early yet to assess the results of these schemes or to expatiate with any certainty upon their methods; but an account of the administration of the Trust’s own scheme for the North of Scotland may be taken as typical, because, with the necessary variations imposed, or considered desirable, in the various county schemes, it is the standard for them all.

546. The Central Repository.—At the central repository the books are collected, classified, catalogued, dispatched and received; and accommodation sufficient for these purposes is provided. The extent of the initial stock, which is intended later to be fully representative of English and translated foreign literature, literature in Gaelic, local industries, science, history and topography, is such as to provide a collection of about seventy-five books for each centre to be served; and the travelling collections consist in equal proportions of general works, fiction for adult readers, and literature for children. Later, however, the selection will be influenced largely by the demands made by the local librarians. In the first case collections were exchanged twice yearly. Certain current periodicals, not returnable, were also sent out in boxes.

Accession.—A slip suggestions record is used, one slip being written for each title; and from this the order list is compiled. Both order and slips are stamped with the date of the order, and when the books are received and found to be correct the slips are stamped with the date of receipt. The slips are then filed to form a continuous catalogue of accessions. Accessioning is done the ordinary way; all books are stamped throughout with a rubber-stamp impression of the name of the Trust; and the board label reads thus:

[480]

RURAL LIBRARIES.

Readers are requested to take great care of the books while in their possession, and to point out any defect they may notice in them to the librarian.

All books should be returned to the Library within 14 days from date of issue; but an extension of the period of loan will be granted when desired.

Fig. 181.—Rural Library Board Label
(Section 546).

Classification.—The Decimal classification is used, to two places for general works, and to four places for works on specific subjects; this enables a fairly minute arrangement. The common adjustments are made of removing Fiction and Biography from 900, and arranging the former in alphabetical-author order, and the latter alphabetically by persons biographed.

Cataloguing.—A simple form of classified catalogue, with author and subject indexes, is used; and the date of publication is omitted from the bibliographical particulars, as the latest editions are always to be presumed. Complete catalogues in this form are eventually to be sent to all centres, but meanwhile separate typed lists, covering each collection, are sent out with the collection.

Central Charging.—The method of charging books to the various centres is simple. A card index in the usual form is drawn upon, the cards for each consignment of books being abstracted and placed behind a guide bearing the name of the centre. A date guide is inserted when the dispatch is made, and the “deliveries index” thus made forms a convenient guide to the books at any given centre, and, of course, is a means by which returned books are checked.

Dispatches.—Books are dispatched in boxes, specially constructed in deal, 18 × 12 × 12 inches inside measurements, which hold about forty-five volumes. They are banded with hoop iron, which is secured by screw-in iron bolts, and iron bars,[481] screwing with nuts to the bolts, secure the lid. The interior is lined with waterproof paper; and flush handles are fitted to each box. The design is intended to meet the very rough usage probable in transit to remote districts. In ordinary rural service a much lighter box, of three-ply wood, has been found to be quite suitable. It is probably better, too, to have smaller boxes, as the handling of heavy boxes of books is a difficulty for both carrier and librarian.

547. The Village Centres.—Local Administration.—The local administration of the libraries is in the hands of central committees formed of members of secondary education and library committees, and other interested people, with the librarians of the towns in the area as secretaries. These committees cover each a number of parishes, and for the immediate supervision of the parishes local sub-committees of members of school boards, teachers, etc., have been formed, and of these the schoolmaster is generally the secretary and local custodian of the books. These committees advise on book requirements and on such matters as shelving, etc.; central committees are also expected to raise the small funds for the conveyance of the books. The average library finds accommodation in the schools, and permanent collections, which include the more expensive and general reference books, are deposited in village institutes and existing Carnegie public libraries. Schools requiring shelves are supplied with deal cases, having five adjustable shelves, and a book-capacity of 150 volumes.

Charging.—The record of stock in use at the centres is on cards which are sent out in their card-case from the central repository. These card-cases are of cloth over strawboard, hold approximately 150 cards, are 8 × 5¹⁄₂ inches in size, and are made in the shape of an ordinary square-backed book-cover, with eyelet holes below the hinge through which cords are laced on which the cards are secured. Inside these cases the cards for each consignment of books are arranged in classified order. The card used is as shown on page 482 (Figs. 182 and 183).

When books are received at the local centre the librarian checks them with the cards and arranges them in the order of the cards on the shelves. The charging method is obvious. The charge is made under the name of the author, particulars of readers and date of issue and return being entered in the appropriate columns, the word “adult” being written in the age column for readers obviously over twenty-one. The charges are returned to the repository at the exchange periods, and these enable statistics to be made.

[482]

Library...................................................................				Book No. ......................
Author .................................................................				Card No. ..............
Title ......................................................................
Name of Reader.	Age.	Occupation.	Date Borrowed.			Date Returned.
Name of Reader.	Age.	Occupation.	Day.	Mth.	Yr.	Day.	Mth.	Yr.


Continue on other side

Fig. 182.—Front of Charging Card—Carnegie Rural Library Scheme.
The size is 7³⁄₄ × 4³⁄₄ inches.

Continued
Name of Reader.	Age.	Occupation.	Date Borrowed.			Date Returned.
Name of Reader.	Age.	Occupation.	Day.	Mth.	Yr.	Day.	Mth.	Yr.

Don’t write below this line.

Fig. 183.—Back of Carnegie Charging Card.

[483]

548. Museum of Rural Library Appliances.—The above are, in brief, the chief features of the North of Scotland scheme, which seems to be serving its purpose admirably; and in connexion with it the Trust is building up at Dunfermline a small museum of rural library appliances, to include different types of boxes, forms, and other machinery tried in the various centres. This valuable work will in time furnish librarians with a considerable amount of important and useful data.

549. Other Schemes.—As the North of Scotland scheme is continuing in the control of the Carnegie Trust, it is on a rather different footing from the county schemes, which are in the control of the county education committee. In general, however, the methods are the same. There is a central repository where books are selected, catalogued, dispatched, and overhauled on return, and where reading courses, special catalogues, etc., may be prepared; indeed, whence skilled advice and assistance may be drawn by all the village centres. And, as recommended by Professor Adams, local village schools are the deposit centres, with schoolmasters as a rule for librarians. The smaller towns have in some places made arrangements by which they amalgamate or co-operate with county schemes, but the larger towns usually work independently.

A rough estimate of the cost of an actual rural library scheme founded on a Carnegie grant may be given:

Capital expenditure:
Repository, building	£800
Books	2100
Boxes	140
Accessories	100
Initial clerical labour	100
		£3240
Annual expenditure:[484]
Salary of librarian	£180
Clerical assistance	50
Heating, lighting, cleaning	50
Rates and taxes	25
Carriage of books	100
Repairs, etc.	25
		£430
Ultimate additional annual cost:
Repairs and renewals	160
		160
		£590

Thus the annual cost of the scheme after the initial expenses have been met is reckoned at £590, but the salary allowed here is inadequate. It is at this point that the legal powers of the County Councils may be tested. It is difficult to imagine the Local Government Board auditor ruling that they cannot provide such library maintenance out of education funds because the Education Act of 1918 does not mention it (although the Scottish Act of 1918 does, and permits it), but the matter has not been questioned yet.

550. General Considerations.—Every librarian will see the potentialities of this work, as completing in a large measure the public library system of the country; moreover, its rapid and successful development is an earnest of the immense future of libraries as a whole. By co-ordinating this village work with such educational agencies as University Extension, and the Workers’ Educational Association, it will be possible to give to rural life many of the intellectual advantages hitherto exclusively the possession, for the non-wealthy classes, of town life, and this at a time when settlement on the land is proceeding apace. Meanwhile the supervising rural librarian may make regular visits throughout his area, in which he will give advice on reading, demonstrations in the use and care of books, and exercise the undoubted opportunities he will have of bringing people of like intellectual pursuits, but in different villages, into touch with one another. All this presupposes the existence of a professional[485] librarian in control of the entire scheme. An initial mistake has been made in some counties in appointing teachers to this position, on the theory, no doubt, that the training of teachers is a very suitable basis for work with libraries which are locally administered by teachers. It may be so—the evidence is not yet forthcoming—but we do not think so. Library organization, especially at the outset, demands the specialist, and the librarian differs radically in training and mental attitude from the teacher. Further, the salaries hitherto offered have ranged from £150 to £300 per annum—have in only one case reached the higher figure—and these sums must be augmented considerably if the rural libraries are to attract and retain the librarians they really need.

551. Bibliography

Adams, W. G. S. Report on Library Provision and Policy, 1915.

Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Annual Report, 1915 to date.

Farr, Harry. Libraries in the Rural Districts, 1909. Library Assistants’ Association Series, 2.

Hetherington, A. L. Rural Libraries, 1916.

Ministry of Reconstruction. Third Interim Report of the Adult Education Committee: Libraries and Museums, 1919, p. 7.

Wynkoop, Asa. Commissions, State Aid and Agencies. In A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter xxvii., 1913.

For articles see Cannons: F 3, Village Libraries; F 4, Travelling Libraries.

[486]

DIVISION XV
MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES

CHAPTER XXXVI
MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES

552. There are museums of all kinds in existence, some of them of world-wide importance, and they may be roughly classified into the following groups:

General Museums.—These are collections of a miscellaneous kind, comprising art, science, archæological and other objects, and aiming more or less at universality. The British Museum was at one time a universal collection, but since it was divided into art, ethnological, natural history and industrial departments, it no longer forms a general collection under one roof. Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, is a general museum, and there are many others in the provinces.

National Museums.—Collections illustrative of the arts, manufactures, antiquities, literature and history of a nation. These range in extent from the great German, Hungarian and French museums, down to museums of national antiquities, like those of the Societies of Antiquaries of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Science Museums.—Comprising Anatomical, Botanical, Geological, Chemical, Physical, General Natural History, Astronomical, Ethnological and other varieties. Typical examples are the Hunterian Museum of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons, London; the Herbarium at Kew; the Museum of Practical Geology; the Pharmaceutical Society; the Natural History Museum at South Kensington; the United Service Museum (Naval and Military) at Whitehall; and the historical collections of the British Museum which include Ethnology.

Local Museums.—These are to be found in all parts of the country, and they usually serve to illustrate and preserve the[487] natural history and antiquities of a particular district; and they differ from national museums, in being restricted to a particular locality.

Special Museums.—Of these there is practically no end. They have been formed to illustrate certain restricted departments of science, art or history, such as Hygiene, Numismatics, Watch-making, Heraldry, Costume, etc., and they resemble exhibitions of a special kind, save that they are permanent.

553. Generally speaking, a museum is a collection of the objects which go towards the formation of a subject, just as a library is a collection of the literature connected with a subject or subjects. The museum is necessary to the material conception of a subject, just as literature is essential as the permanent record of the subject. For example, in tracing the evolution of the printed book from its manuscript forms, one can form an idea of the appearance of such books by reading up the relative literature, and examining a few facsimiles, and so on; but, in order to realize in a perfect way the aspect, atmosphere and details of early writing and printing, one must go to the great exhibitions or museums of such books at the British Museum or John Rylands Library, Manchester. It is the same with machinery. While a diagram of a machine as it appears in a book may be comprehensible to a few specially educated minds, it would be a mere puzzle to an ordinary human being unless he could go to a museum like that at South Kensington and see a working model of the machine in operation. He could then realize in a practical and concrete way the merely graphic or theoretical view afforded by the book.

554. All the great State museums in the country have been established under the provisions of special Acts of Parliament. Some of these, like the various acts establishing the British Museum, date from the eighteenth century, while others are much more recent. It is not proposed to deal with the legislation and history of the State museums, nor is it necessary to do more than describe, later on, their relations with the municipal museums which may now be considered.

555. In 1845 was passed the first Museums Act (8 & 9 Vict., c. 43) “for encouraging the establishment of museums in large towns,” under which the local authorities of towns over 10,000[488] of population were permitted to erect museums and levy a halfpenny rate. No specimens could be bought, but an entrance fee of 1d. could be charged. This Act was practically inoperative, as only Canterbury, Warrington, Leicester, Dover, Salford and a few other places adopted it, and in 1850 it was incorporated in the first Public Libraries Act, 1850 (13 & 14 Vict., c. 65), which repealed it and added the permissive clauses which existed till 1893. This Act in its turn was repealed by that of 1855, and again this was repealed by the Public Library Act of 1892 and subsequent amendments, which remain the leading Acts under which libraries may be established, with such subsidiary departments as museums and art galleries. A digest of the powers conferred on local authorities by those various Acts appears in Section 4 of this Manual. The authorities seem to have become aware of the difficulty of supporting so many institutions out of one restricted rate, because in 1891 was passed “An Act to enable Urban Authorities to provide and maintain Museums and Gymnasiums.” Under this Act, which did not apply to Scotland or the County of London, but only to England and Ireland, local authorities were enabled to levy a special rate of ¹⁄₂d. per pound for museum purposes, and a rate of ¹⁄₂d. per pound for gymnasium purposes, and to make regulations for the purposes of both kinds of institutions. In 1901 this Act was extended to the County of London by the “Public Libraries Act, 1901.” A resolution of the local authority is sufficient for the purpose of adopting this Act, and the regulations for adoption are similar to those prescribed for the Public Libraries Acts. The principal clauses of the Act are as follows:

Clause 4.—“An urban authority may provide and maintain museums for the reception of local antiquities or other objects of interest, and gymnasiums with all the apparatus ordinarily used therewith, and may erect any buildings, and generally do all things necessary for the provision and maintenance of such museums and gymnasiums.”

Clause 5.—“A museum provided under this Act shall be open to the public not less than three days in every week free of charge, but subject thereto an urban authority may admit any person or class of persons thereto as they think fit, and may charge fees for such admission, or may grant the use of[489] the same or of any room therein, either gratuitously or for payment, to any person for any lecture or exhibition or for any purpose of education or instruction. . . .”

Full power is given by other clauses to make all necessary regulations as to hours, staff, order, etc., in both museums and gymnasiums, and for borrowing money for buildings or other purposes.

Separate accounts are to be kept, and “The amount expended by an urban authority under this Act shall not in any year exceed the amount produced by a rate of a halfpenny in the pound for a museum, and the like amount for a gymnasium established under this Act.”

556. A new provision in legislation of this kind is contained in Clause 12, which empowers an urban authority to sell a museum or gymnasium after seven years’ trial, if it is deemed unnecessary or too expensive, but only with the consent of the Local Government Board. Any moneys received from such sale are to be applied, in the first instance, to the repayment of loans, and if not all required for such a purpose, may, with the approval of the Local Government Board, “be applied to any purpose to which capital moneys are properly applicable.”

557. It is further provided (Clause 13) that the powers given to urban authorities under the Act “shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in derogation of any other powers conferred by Act of Parliament, law, or custom, and such other powers may be exercised in the same manner as if this Act had not been passed.” In other words, the powers conferred by the “Public Libraries Acts,” for example, with regard to museums, still hold good, and the new powers created by the “Museums and Gymnasiums Act” can be exercised as an addition to them. It should be noted that, in addition to the general legislation contained in the Public Libraries and Museums Acts, many private or local Acts have been passed, under which different localities have obtained power to spend money on the provision of museums and art galleries, greatly in excess of the limits imposed by the general Acts.

558. This represents practically the whole of the legislation connected with municipal museums, and it may be inferred, from the financial provision allowed by Parliament, that no museum[490] which depends entirely upon the halfpenny rate can be in a very flourishing condition. The deficiencies of the rate-income are in many cases made up by the donations and bequests of private donors; occasionally public bodies render valuable aid; not infrequently the closely restricted library rate is nibbled at and diverted from its real purpose; and very often the State, represented by the Victoria and Albert Museums at South Kensington, circulates useful and valuable loan collections. In these various ways museums are helped, and within the past few years, or since the Museums Association was established in 1890, the organization, scientific value and equipment of museums have improved in a very marked degree. No doubt in some localities can still be seen the old-fashioned hotch-potch collection of miscellaneous lumber styled a museum, wherein a stuffed walrus jostles a suit of armour, and local fossils and meteorites are beautifully mixed up with birds’ eggs, flint implements and coins. Such collections only require an alligator, and a canoe from Fiji on the walls, to be perfect specimens of the Wardour Street kind of museum. Happily this kind of omnium-gatherum museum is rapidly dying out before the advance of rational classification, and in some cases where collections are small and contained in one room, yet by means of intelligent arrangement incongruous objects are kept apart, and the little museum is made an instructive nucleus, instead of a high-class marine-store.

559. This leads to such questions as the elements of museum classification and description, which are the most important points in the relations between libraries and schools and museums. Without classification a general or even special museum is comparatively useless. Without effective arrangement and descriptive labelling the specimens remain uninstructive and misleading. On these two points museums resemble libraries, and it is only when they agree in the essentials of classification and description that the institutions become mutually beneficial. A well-classified and arranged cabinet of minerals, with a full set of descriptive labels, is simply invaluable to the student of mineralogy and geology. When, therefore, a student is referred from the literature to the objects described in the text-books, he is educated to the extent of being able to appreciate the fact that objects are grouped together in respect of certain resemblances,[491] and that classification into related groups is the basis of the science he is studying. On going to a museum of specimens, such a student, if he were an entomologist, would naturally expect to find together all the butterflies, bees, beetles, flies and other objects properly classified according to order, genera and species. If he found all the moths, bugs, flies and beetles mingled in one huge jumble, and labelled Insects, the collection would be uninstructive and would throw no light on his previous reading.

560. Whatever set of concrete objects a student sets out to examine in a museum, after being referred from his books, he expects to find some relationship between the literature he has studied and the objects he means to compare and examine. On this principle all the large museums of the world are arranged, and the result is that no student who has previously acquired an elementary knowledge of an art or science from text-books should experience any difficulty in finding his way about a museum. It is true that, for purposes of popular display and to tickle up juvenile interest in natural history, some museums exhibit fine specimens of birds or mammals out of their order, where they will attract notice, but the bulk of the collection will be found in strictly classified order. In many important museums it has been found useful to illustrate animal structure and comparative anatomy by means of key or type collections, which are kept apart from the genera classification, yet serve to illustrate important points in comparative zoology, which it would be difficult to do on a very extensive scale. There are many text-books written exactly on the same principle. One author takes a rabbit, another a crayfish, and from these bases teach the main facts of animal structure which apply all round. So in a museum. While it would be absolutely impossible to repeat at every centre such a fine collection of minerals as has been gathered together at the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, yet it is possible to illustrate the main facts and classification of mineralogy by means of a selection of actual specimens or models. Similarly at the British Museum, the student of early printing does not find himself confronted with a complete chronological sequence of all the books printed in the fifteenth century to illustrate the incunabula, but he finds[492] a selection, or type collection, which in the most effectual way traces the development and evolution of the printed book. The more these type collections are adopted and utilized, the greater will become the value of museums for elementary science teaching, and as most museums are unable to collect and display specimens of everything in the world, it is obvious that they must do as libraries have to do—select only what is best, most typical and instructive, and leave indiscriminate collecting to the great universal museums supported by the State.

561. A well-arranged and classified museum, whether of a general character, or which is confined to local botany, zoology, geology and archæology, has great bearing on the educational work of public libraries. It enables a reader to realize the material side of his studies, and by showing him related objects in a definite order, broadens his outlook on the subject, and brings home to him the reality of the matter. As object-lessons are to school-children, so are museums to library readers.

562. Art galleries are divisible into three classes—1. Those maintained or assisted by the State=the National Gallery; Scottish National Art Gallery, etc. 2. Those endowed by private munificence or by public bodies=the Wallace Collection; Tate Gallery; the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, the Harris Art Gallery, Preston, etc. 3. Those maintained from local rates levied under special Acts of Parliament; or, under the Public Libraries Acts, which empower local authorities to support art galleries out of the penny rate. There is no special Act for the establishment of art galleries similar to the Museums Act already described, and apart from special Acts, the Public Libraries Acts are the only ones which empower the establishment of art galleries. Needless to say, such powers are rarely exercised unless other sources of endowment or income are forthcoming. So many single pictures cost more than the produce of a penny rate in most towns, that it is, on the face of it, absurd to think of art galleries only as departments of public libraries. In some cases part of the library rate is no doubt used to defray part of the expenses of art galleries, particularly buildings, but it is very unusual to purchase pictures from such a meagre fund. Art galleries are greatly assisted by loan exhibitions contributed to by artists, picture owners, both public[493] and private, and the national art authorities acting through the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington. Annually the South Kensington authorities lend to over 400 museums, exhibitions, schools of art and science, etc., no fewer than 47,000 objects, of which 46,000 are works of art, including pictures, embroideries, photographs, metal-work, pottery, etc. But for these circulating collections, comparatively few of the smaller art galleries of the country could keep alive interest simply by means of their own permanent collections. It is only in large towns, like London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, etc., where great and representative collections are kept illustrating the leading schools of art, that any direct educational value can be said to attach to art galleries. So far as educational value is concerned, an art gallery cannot for a moment be compared to a museum or a library. Its appeal on the educational side is to a very small section of the public, and even to this section such appeal is limited by the size and character of the collection. The student of early Italian or Flemish painting can learn nothing in a little provincial art gallery, containing fifty or sixty modern landscapes and figure subjects; and the student of Impressionist painting will not find much to help him in a gallery composed of examples of old Dutch and French masters. The value of an art gallery depends, therefore, on its size and representative nature so far as art students are concerned, and on the appeal which fine paintings make to the higher feelings and perceptions of mankind for its influence as a creator of taste and stimulator of a love of the beautiful. When an art collection takes the form of a special exhibition illustrative of a subject, rather than a particular school of painting, its value and interest are enormously increased. Suppose, for example, that an art gallery is devoted to an exhibition illustrative of some great historical subject, like the career of Napoleon I. The value of the pictorial side of the subject at once stands forth with great prominence, and one can realize the educational value of art in the exposition of history. But in a mere random collection of pictures, on all kinds of subjects, by all kinds of painters, there is no kind of consecutive teaching or definite connexion with the art literature contained in a library, and, therefore, such a miscellaneous selection of pictures[494] is chiefly valuable as a kind of vague appeal to the æsthetic feelings of the casual observer. Only great collections like those of the National Gallery in London, and the Louvre at Paris, can be said to illustrate the literature of art, and it is chiefly in regard to such art galleries that some direct connexion can be traced between art collections and libraries.

Bibliography

563. Museums and Art Galleries:

Chambers and Fovargue. Law relating to . . . Museums.

Flower, Sir W. H. Essays on Museums, 1898.

Greenwood, T. Museums and Art Galleries, 1888.

Jackson, M. T. The Museum: A Manual of the Housing and Care of Art Collections, 1917.

Murray, David. Museums: Their History and Use, 1904, 3 vols. [Vols. 2-3 are a most extensive bibliography.]

Museums Journal.

For articles see Cannons: F 17-18, Museums; F 19, Art Galleries.

[495]

APPENDIX I
THE NOMENCLATURE OF LIBRARY POSITIONS [18]

[18] A report contributed by L. Stanley Jast and W. C. Berwick Sayers to the Congrès International des Archivistes et des Bibliothécaires, Bruxelles, 1910.

564. It will be difficult but it is desirable to attempt to resolve some order out of the terminological chaos at present existing.

The British Government has many library positions in its control, but the term librarian is only sparingly recognized. There are “librarians” of the two Houses of Parliament, the British Museum, the Board of Education, Admiralty, Patent Office and other Government departments, but only in the Houses of Parliament are there any assistant-librarians so-named. The heads of departments in the British Museum are called “keepers,” a traditional term, and the assistant librarians “Assistants in the Department of Printed Books” or “Manuscripts,” as the case may be, which as a term in no way connects them with librarianship. In the Patent Office the term “Custodian” was formerly employed, but was dropped some eight years ago for “Assistant in the Library.” In the other Government or Civil Service libraries the assistant librarian is usually rated and named as a first- or second-class clerk, as the case may be. It would be greatly to the advantage of librarianship if a proper Government recognition of the term librarian as representing a specially trained type of man rather than the occupant of a certain position could be obtained. At present it seems that clerks in any Government office possessing a library can be moved from the office proper to the library, and vice versa.

565. In municipal and similar public libraries the chaos is even more pronounced. The principal officer calls himself Chief, Principal, Head, Borough or City Librarian, or merely Librarian. Often the term Chief Librarian is adopted where the owner of the name is the only librarian on the staff, and the term “Chief” in these circumstances is meaningless.

567. In the nomenclature of assistant librarians the confusion is worse still. The principal assistant to the librarian is called the Deputy, Chief Assistant, Assistant- or Sub-Librarian in large libraries; but the terminology is imitated by the smaller libraries, and it is no uncommon matter to hear of an assistant with a salary of £30 per annum called a “sub-librarian,” and “chief assistant” and similar terms are used very loosely to the bewilderment of library authorities, who find that the Deputy Librarian of a great library[496] like Birmingham holds apparently the same position as the untrained lad in a village library.

568. It is undoubtedly desirable to formulate a series of definitions which should govern the application of names to library positions. The resulting nomenclature if generally adopted would prevent the anomalies referred to. No librarian should call himself a chief librarian unless he directs the work of librarians; the adjective is distinctly a relative term. Similarly a deputy- or a sub-librarian should be clearly a librarian of some technical equipment and training though he does not happen to hold an independent position. To apply this name to a young or boy assistant is undignified and is bound to cause confusion.

569. The following definitions are therefore tentatively recommended for general adoption as solving the difficulties under consideration. At the same time, human nature being what it is, we shall probably never do away altogether with a meaningless and inflated use of official terms in small libraries, and anything like a general adoption of our proposed definitions in the larger libraries is perhaps unlikely. Even so, the adoption of these or other definitions for all general statistical purposes would be of great advantage.

Suggested Nomenclature and Definitions of Library Positions

Chief Librarian.—The head librarian of a number of libraries, or a library system, under the charge of “librarians.” In the case of a single large library (e.g. the British Museum), where the departmental chiefs may fitly be styled librarians, the term Chief Librarian may be used to designate the head; with such exception the term should never be employed for the head of a single library.

Deputy Librarian.—The principal assistant to a Chief Librarian, whose work belongs strictly to the general administration of a system. Not to be confused with Sub-Librarian.

Librarian.—The head of a library. Not to be confused with Chief Librarian, the head of a system of libraries.

Sub-Librarian.—The principal assistant to a librarian, whose work is independent of departments, but not independent of a building. Not to be confused with Deputy Librarian.

Librarian-in-Charge.—The officer in charge of a district or branch library, or one of the departments of a central library, in a system under the control of a Chief Librarian. Not to be confused with Librarian.

Branch Librarian.—Term not to be used. See Librarian-in-Charge.

Chief Assistant.—An officer in charge of a department, subordinate to a Sub-Librarian. If subordinate to a Deputy Librarian the corresponding office would be Librarian-in-Charge.

Senior Assistant.—A higher grade of library assistant.

[497]

Junior Assistant.—A lower grade of library assistant.

Attendant.—A person who carries books, and performs other mechanical unskilled routine. If a youth, the term “page” may be used.

Janitor.—An officer (generally in uniform) whose principal duty is to maintain order in the building.

Clerk.—A person employed in general clerking work, not a part of the professional library staff.

Probationer.—An assistant “on trial,” or not permanently appointed, who may or may not be paid.

[498]

APPENDIX II
THE LIBRARIAN’S LIBRARY

570. The following is a classified list of the principal books which a librarian will require as the chief tools of his profession. It does not claim to be a complete bibliography, many valuable pamphlets and publications of institutions being omitted owing to limited space.

The majority of the works mentioned should be available for the benefit of the staff of the larger libraries, while two suggestive selections are indicated by asterisks as follows:

** selection for a small library, income less than £1500.

* selection for a medium library, income less than £3000.

Richard Wright.

571. Library Science: Bibliographies

**Brown, J. D. Guide to Librarianship: reading lists, methods of study, and tables of factors and percentages, required in connexion with library economy. 93 pp. 1909.(Grafton.)

**Cannons, H. G. T. Bibliography of Library Economy: a classified index to the professional periodical literature relating to library economy, printing, methods of publishing, copyright, bibliography, etc. [1876-1909]. 1910.(Stanley Russell.)

**Library Association and Library Assistants’ Association. Union Class-List of the Libraries of the Library and Library Assistants’ Associations. 1913.(Library Association.)

Library Work: cumulated, 1905-11: a bibliography and digest of library literature. Ed. A. L. Guthrie. 1912.(Minneapolis: Wilson.)

572. Policy and Utility of Libraries

**Bostock, A. E. The American Public Library. 1910.(N. York: Appleton.)

—— (Ed.). Relationship between the Library and the Public Schools: reprints of papers and addresses.(N. York: Wilson.)

Dana, J. C. Libraries: addresses and essays. 1916.(N. York: Wilson.)

*Edwards, Edward. Free Town Libraries: their formation, management and history. 1869.(Trübner.)

[499]

Fay, L. E., and Eaton, A. T. Instruction in the Use of Books and Libraries: a text-book for normal schools and colleges. 1915. Useful Reference Ser.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

Graesel, Arnim. Handbuch der Bibliothekslehre: zweite, voellig umgearbeitete Auflage der “Grundzüge der Bibliothekslehre.” 1902.(Leipzig: Weber.)

Green, S. S. Public Library Movement in the United States, 1853-93. 1913.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

*Hardy, E. A. The Public Library: its place in our educational system. 1912.(Toronto: Briggs.)

Ladewig, Dr Paul. Politik der Bücherei. 1912.(Leipzig: Wiengandt.)

Library Association. Committee on Public Education and Public Libraries. Report, 1905. 12 pp. 1906.(Library Association.)

**Lowe, J. A. Books and Libraries: a manual of instruction in their use: for colleges. 1916.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

Miller, F. M. Libraries and Education. 1912.(Melbourne: Robertson.)

*Morel, Eugène. Bibliothèques: essai sur le développement des bibliothèques publiques et de la libraire dans les deux mondes. 2 vols. 1908-09.(Paris: Mercure de France.)

Pellisson, Maurice. Les Bibliothèques Populaires à l’Étranger et en France. 1906.

Plummer, M. W. Hints to Small Libraries.(Chicago: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

Public Libraries, Select Committee on. Report: with proceedings, minutes of evidence and appendix. 1849.

**Reconstruction, Ministry of. Third Interim Report of the Adult Education Committee: libraries and museums. 1919.(H.M. Stationery Office.)

Reyer, Ed. Entwicklung und Organisation der Volksbibliotheken. 1893. (Leipzig: Engelmann.)

—— Fortschritte der Volkstumlichen Bibliotheken. 1903.(Leipzig: Engelmann.)

Richou, Gabriel. Traité de l’Administration des Bibliothèques Publiques: historique, organization, legislation. 1885.(Paris: Dupont.)

Spofford, A. R. Books for all Readers: an aid to the collection, use and preservation of books, and the formation of public and private libraries. 1909.(N. York: Putnam.)

*Stewart, J. D. How to Use a Library. 1910.(Stock.)

*Ward, G. O. The Practical Use of Books and Libraries. 2 vols. 1911.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

Wire, G. E. How to Start a Public Library. 1902.(Washington: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

573. Practical Manuals. Handbooks

**American Library Association. Manual of Library Economy. 1911-15. In progress.(Chicago: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

[500]

Brown, J. D. Manual of Library Economy. 1909.(Grafton.)

Cousin, Jules. De l’Organisation et de l’Administration des Bibliothèques. 1882.

Dana, J. C. A Library Primer. 1910.(Chicago: Library Bureau.)

*—— (Ed.). Modern American Library Economy: as illustrated by the Newark, N.J., Free Public Library. 1908.(Minneapolis: Wilson.)

Fletcher, W. J. Public Libraries in America. 1894.(Chicago: Sampson Low.)

Greenwood, Thomas. Public Libraries: a history of the movement, and a manual for the organization and management of rate-supported libraries. 4th ed., revised. 1891.(Cassell.)

Greve, H. E. Openbare Leesmusea en Volksbibliotheken. 1906.(Amsterdam: Maas.)

*Koch, T. W. Library Assistants’ Manual. 1913.(Lansing: Michigan Library Commission.)

Macfarlane, John. Library Administration. 1898.(Allen.)

Maire, Albert. Manuel Pratique du Bibliothécaire: bibliothèques publiques, universitaires, privées. 1896.

*Moth, Axel. Glossary of Library Terms: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish. 58 pp. 1915. Useful Reference Ser.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

*Rae, W. S. C. Public Library Administration. 1913.(Routledge.)

**Roebuck, G. E., and Thorne, W. B. A Primer of Library Practice for Junior Assistants. 1914.(Grafton.)

*Stearns, L. E. (Ed.). Essentials in Library Administration. 1905.(Washington: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

Wheatley, H. B. How to Form a Library. 1902.(Stock.)

574. Special Departments

Brown, J. D. The Small Library: a guide to the collection and care of books. 1907.(Routledge.)

*Emery, J. W. The Library, the School, and the Child. [1917.](Macmillan.)

*Gower, H. D., Jast, L. S., and Topley, W. W. The Camera as Historian.(Sampson Low.)

Greenwood, Thomas. Sunday School and Village Libraries. 1892.(Clarke.)

*Kaiser, J. B. Law, Legislative and Municipal Reference Libraries. 1914.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

**Sayers, W. C. B. The Children’s Library: a practical manual for public, school and home libraries.(Routledge.)

575. Periodicals and Associations

American Library Association. Bulletin. 1907 to date.

Association des Bibliothécaires Français. Bulletin. 1909 (?) to date.

Baroda Library Miscellany. 1912 to date.

[501]

La Bibliothécaire. 1910 to date.(St Petersburg.)

Blätter für Volksbibliotheken und Lesehallen. 1901 to date.(Leipzig.)

Het Boek. 1912 to date.(The Hague.)

Bogsamlingsbladet. 1905 (?) to date.(Copenhagen.)

Boletin del Archiva Nacional. 1901 (?) to date.

Bollettino delle Biblioteche Popolari. 1908 to date.(Milan.)

Centralblatt für Bibliothekswesen. 1884 to date.(Leipzig.)

La Coltura Popolare. 1911 to date.(Milan.)

For Folke- og Barneboksamlinger. 1907 to date.(Kristiania.)

An Leabharlann. 1905 to date.(Dublin.)

*Librarian and Book World. 1910 to date.(S. Paul.)

*Library: a magazine of bibliography and library literature. Ed. J. Y. M. MacAlister. 1889 to date.(Moring.)

**Library Assistants’ Association. Library Assistant. 1898 to date.(L.A.A.)

**Library Association. Library Association Record. 1899 to date.(Library Association.)

**—— Library Association Year Book. 1893 to date.(Library Association.)

—— Monthly Notes. 1880-83.(Library Association.)

—— Transactions and Proceedings of Annual Meetings. 1878-94.(Chiswick Press.)

Library Chronicle. 5 vols. 1884-88.(Library Association.)

**Library Journal. 1876 to date.(N. York: Bowker.)

Library Record of Australia. 1901 to date.

**Library World. 1898 to date.(Grafton.)

Maandblad voor Bibliotheekwezen. 1913 to date.(The Hague.)

Museums Journal.(Dulau.)

Oesterr. Verein für Bibliothekswesen. Mittheilungen. 1897 (?) to date.

*Ontario. Dept. of Education. Public Libraries Branch. Ontario Library Review.(Ontario Dept. of Education.)

*Public Libraries. 1896 to date.(Chicago: Library Bureau.)

Revista de Archivos. Bibliotecas y museos. 1905 to date.(Madrid.)

Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional. 1909 to date.(Habana.)

Revista delle Biblioteche e Degli Archivi.(Florence.)

Revue des Bibliothèques.(Paris.)

Revue des Bibliothèques et Archives de Belgique. 1903 to date.

*Special Libraries. 1910 to date.(Indianapolis: Special Libraries Association.)

Tijdschrift voor Boek- en Bibliotheekwezen. 1903 to date.(Antwerp.)

Wisconsin Library Bulletin.(Wisconsin Free Library Commission.)

576. Legislation

**Chambers, G. F., and Fovargue, H. W. Law Relating to Public Libraries and Museums and Scientific Institutions. 1899.(Knight.)

*Fovargue, H. W. Summary of Library Law. 1910.(Stanley Russell.)

[502]

—— Adoption of the Public Libraries Acts in England and Wales. 1896. L.A. Series, 7.(Simpkin.)

Fovargue, H. W., and Ogle, J. J. Public Library Legislation. 1893. L.A. Series, 2.(Simpkin.)

577. Architecture, Building, Fittings

*Brown, J. D., and Others. Open Access Libraries: their planning, equipment and organization. 1915.(Grafton.)

*Burgoyne, F. J. Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings and Furniture. 1897.(Allen.)

**Champneys, A. L. Public Libraries: their design, construction and fittings. 1907.(Batsford.)

*Clark, J. W. Care of Books: the development of libraries and their fittings to the end of the eighteenth century. 1909.(Cambridge Univ. Press.)

Cotgreave, Alfred. Views and Memoranda of Public Libraries. 1901.

League of Library Commissions. Small Library Buildings. 1908.(Boston: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

N. York State Library. Eastman, W. R. Library Building Plans. 55 pp. 1906.

*Soule, C. C. How to Plan a Library Building for Library Work. 1912. Useful Reference Ser.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

578. Staff

Bodleian Library. Staff Kalendar.(Annual.)

Cowell, Peter. Public Library Staffs. 1893. L.A. Series, 3.(Simpkin.)

**Library Assistants’ Association. Report on the Hours, Salaries, Training and Conditions of Service of Assistants in British Municipal Libraries. 1911.(Library Assistants’ Assoc.)

579. Cataloguing

Bibliography

Jahr, Torstein, and Strohm, A. J. Bibliography of Co-operative Cataloguing and the Printing of Catalogue Cards, 1850-1902. 1903.(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.)

Practical Manuals

*Bishop, W. W. Practical Handbook of Modern Library Cataloguing. 1914.(Grafton.)

Blackburn, C. F. Hints on Catalogue Titles and on Index Entries.

Clarke, A. L. Manual of Practical Indexing. 1905.(Grafton.)

*Crawford, Esther. Cataloguing: suggestions for the small library. 1906.(Boston: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

Delisle, Leopold. Instructions pour la Mise et le Maintien en Ordre des Livres d’une Bibliothèque. 94 pp. 1910.(Paris: Champion.)

[503]

Hitchler, Theresa. Cataloguing for Small Libraries. 1915.(Boston: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

**Quinn, J. H. Manual of Library Cataloguing. 1913.(Grafton.)

Walter, F. K. Abbreviations and Technical Terms used in Book Catalogs and in Bibliographies. 1912. Useful Reference Ser.(Boston: Boston Book Co.)

Wheatley, H. B. How to Catalogue a Library. 1889.(Stock.)

Codes

*American Library Association. Condensed Rules for an Author and Title Catalog. 1904.(American Library Assoc.)

**American Library Association and Library Association. Cataloguing Rules: author and title entries. 1908.(Library Association.)

*British Museum. Rules for Compiling the Catalogues. 1900.(British Museum.)

**Cutter, C. A. Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue.(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.)

*Dewey, Melvil. Library School Card Catalog Rules: with fifty-two facsimiles of sample cards. 1892.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

Dziatzko, C. Instruction für die Ordnung der Titel im Alphabetischen Zettelkatalog der Königl. und Universitäts-Bibliothek zu Breslau. 1886.

**Linderfelt, K. A. Eclectic Card Catalog Rules: author and title. 1890.(Boston: Cutter.)

N. York State Library. Fellows, J. D. Cataloguing Rules. 1914.(Albany: N. York University.)

Perkins, F. B. San Francisco Cataloguing for Public Libraries. 1884.(San Francisco.)

Subject Headings

*American Library Association. List of Subject Headings for Use in Dictionary Catalogs. Ed. 3; by M. J. Briggs; revised. 1911.(Washington: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

* Mann, Margaret. Subject Headings for Use in Dictionary Catalogues of Juvenile Books. 1916.(Grafton.)

Annotation

**Sayers, W. C. Berwick. First Steps in Annotation in Catalogues. 1918. L.A.A. Ser., 9.(Library Assistants’ Assoc.)

**Savage, E. A. Manual of Descriptive Annotation for Library Catalogues. 1906.(Grafton.)

Forms and Production of Catalogues

**Philip, A. J. The Production of the Printed Catalogue. 1910.(Atkinson.)

**Sayers, W. C. Berwick, and Stewart, J. D. The Card Catalogue: a practical manual for public and private libraries. 1913.(Grafton.)

[504]

—— Catalogues for Children. 1905.(Aberdeen Univ. Press.)

**Stewart, J. D. The Sheaf Catalogue: the compilation of manuscript catalogues for public and private libraries. 1909.(Grafton.)

580. Classification

Theoretical and Practical

**Brown, J. D. Library Classification and Cataloguing. 1912.(Grafton.)

**Richardson, E. C. Classification: theoretical and practical. 1912.(N. York: Scribner’s.)

**Sayers, W. C. Berwick. Canons of Classification Applied to the Subject, Expensive, Decimal, and Library of Congress Classifications. 1915.(Grafton.)

**—— An Introduction to Library Classification: with readings, questions and examination papers. 1918.(Grafton.)

**—— A Short Course in Practical Classification.(Library Association.)

Schemes

Belgium. Institut International de Bibliographie. Classification Bibliographique Décimale: tables générals refondues établies en vue de la publication du répertoire bibliographique universel: édition Française publiée avec le concours du Bureau Bibliographique de Paris. 1899-1905. In progress.(Brussels: Inst. Internat. de Bibliographie.)

—— Manuel du Répertoire Bibliographique Universel: organisation, état de travaux, règles, classification.(Library Bureau.)

**Brown, J. D. Subject Classification. 1914.(Grafton.)

California University. Classification of Books in the Library. Ed. 2; revised. 1916. Library Bulletin, 12.(Univ. of California.)

*Cutter, C. A. Expansive Classification. In progress.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

**Dewey, Melvil. Decimal Classification and Relative Index: for library clippings, notes, etc. Ed. 9. 1915.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

Fletcher, W. I. Library Classification. 1894.(Boston: Roberts.)

Jast, L. S. Classification of Library Economy and Office Papers. 1907.(Grafton.)

Perkins, F. B. Rational Classification of Literature for Shelving and Cataloguing Books in a Library. 1882.(San Francisco: Valentine.)

United States. Library of Congress. Classification. 22 pts. 1904-16.(Washington: Government Printing Office.)

Author Marks

*Cutter, C. A. Three-Figure Decimal Alphabetic Order Table. 1901.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

*—— Explanation of the Alphabetic Order Marks: three-figure table. 1901.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

[505]

581. Bookbinding

American Library Association. Committee on Binding. Binding Specifications for Commercial Work. 1909.(Chicago: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

Bailey, A. L. Library Bookbinding. 1916.(N. York: Wilson.)

*Chivers, Cedric. The Paper of Lending Library Books: with remarks on their bindings. 1910.(Bath: Chivers.)

*Cockerell, Douglas. Bookbinding and the Care of Books. 1906.(Hogg.)

**Coutts, H. T., and Stephen, G. A. Manual of Library Bookbinding: practical and historical. 1911.(Grafton.)

*Dana, J. C. Notes on Bookbinding for Libraries. 1906.(Boston: Library Bureau.)

**Library Association. Sound Leather Committee. Leather for Libraries. 1905.(Library Association.)

*Philip, A. J. Business of Bookbinding. 1912.(Stanley Paul.)

*Society of Arts. Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. 1905.(Society of Arts.)

Stephen, G. A. Commercial Bookbinding: the processes and the machines used. 1910.(Stonhill.)

**Zaehnsdorf, J. H. Bookbinding. 1900.(Bell.)

Historical

*Horne, H. P. The Binding of Books. 1894. Books about Books.(Kegan Paul.)

*Prideaux, S. T. Historical Sketch of Bookbinding. 1893.(Laurence & Bullen.)

582. Ancient and Mediæval Libraries

Boyd, C. E. Public Libraries and Literary Culture in Ancient Rome. 1915.(Chicago: Univ. Press.)

*Edwards, Edward. Memoirs of Libraries. 2 vols. 1859.(Trübner.)

*Richardson, E. C. The Beginnings of Libraries. 1914.(Oxford Univ. Press.)

*—— Biblical Libraries: library history, 3400 B.C. to A.D. 150. 1914.(Oxford Univ. Press.)

*—— Some old Egyptian Libraries. 1911.(Oxford Univ. Press.)

*Savage, E. A. Old English Libraries: the making, collection and use of books during the middle ages. 1911. Antiquary’s Books.(Methuen.)

**—— Story of Libraries and Book Collecting.(Routledge.)

583. Modern Libraries: Directories and Statistics

*Brown, J. D. A British Library Itinerary. 30 pp. 1913.(Grafton.)

**Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Annual Report. 1914 to date.

[506]

—— Statistics relating to Public Libraries in the United Kingdom. 1916.

**—— Adams, Prof. W. G. S. Report on Library Provision and Policy. 1915.

Franklin, Alfred. Guide des Savants, des Littérateurs, et des Artistes dans les Bibliothèques de Paris. 1908.(Paris: Welter.)

Gibson, Strickland. Some Oxford Libraries. 1914.(Oxford Univ. Press.)

**Libraries, Museums, and Art Galleries Year Book. 1897 to date.(Stanley Paul.)

**Literary Year Book. (Annual.)(Heath, Cranton & Ouseley.)

**London University. Rye, A. R. The Libraries of London: a guide for students. 1910.(Univ. of London.)

Marcel, Henry, and Others. La Bibliothèque Nationale. 1907.(Paris: Renouard.)

Morel, Eugène. La Librairie Publique. 1910.(Paris: Colin.)

Nederlandsche Bibliotheekgids. Uitgave van de Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Bibliothecarissen en Bibliotheek-Ambtenaren, Gevestigd te Utrecht. 1913. 88 pp.(Utrecht: Oosthoek.)

Ogle, J. J. The Free Library: its history and present condition. 1897.(Allen.)

**Parliament. Return Showing the Names of all Places in England, Scotland and Ireland in which the Public Libraries Acts had been Adopted. 1912.(H.M. Stationery Office.)

*Peddie, R. A. The British Museum Reading Room: a handbook for students. 1912.(Grafton.)

*Rawlings, G. B. The British Museum Library. 1916.(Grafton.)

584. Bibliography: Historical and Practical

**Brown, J. D. Manual of Practical Bibliography. 1906.(Routledge.)

Bure, G. F. de. Bibliographie Instructive: ou, traité de la connaissance des livres rares et singuliers. 7 vols. 1764-68.(Paris: De Bure.)

*Campbell, F. Theory of National and International Bibliography. 1896.(Library Bureau.)

*Cim, Albert. Le Livre: historique, fabrication, achat, classement, usage, et entretien. 5 vols. 1905-08.(Paris: Flammarion.)

Feipel, L. N. Elements of Bibliography. 37 pp. 1916.(Cambridge Univ. Press.)

*Horne, T. H. Introduction to the Study of Bibliography. 2 vols. 1814.(Cadwell & Davies.)

Kleemeier, F. J. Handbuch der Bibliographie. 1903.

Rouveyre, E. Connaissances Nécessaires à un Bibliophile. Ed. 5.(Paris: Rouveyre.)

Typography: Historical

Ames, J. Typographical Antiquities. Ed. by Dibdin. 4 vols. 1810-19.

[507]

Blades, William. The Pentateuch of Printing. 1891.(Chicago: M’Clurg.)

Cotton, Henry. Typographical Gazetteer. 2 vols. 1831-66.(Oxford: Parker.)

Faulmann, K. Geschichte der Buchdruckerkunst. 1882.(Vienna.)

*Humphreys, H. N. History of Printing to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century. 1868.(Quaritch.)

**Plomer, H. R. Short History of English Printing. 1900.(Kegan Paul.)

Typography: Practical

**Collins, F. H. (Ed.). Author and Printer: a guide for authors, editors, printers, correctors of the press, compositors and typists. 1905.(Frowde.)

**Jacobi, C. T. Some Notes on Books and Printing. 1904.(Whittingham.)

*Legros, L. A., and Grant, J. C. Typographical Printing Surfaces: the technology and mechanism of their production. 1916.(Longmans.)

Book Production

*Bouchot, Henry. The Book: its printers, illustrators and binders: from Gutenberg to the present time. 1890.(Grevel.)

**Davenport, Cyril. The Book: its history and development. 1907.(Constable.)

Duff, E. G. Early Printed Books. 1893. Books about Books.(Kegan Paul.)

**Hitchcock, F. H. (Ed.). Building of a Book. 1907.(Laurie.)

Proctor, R. Index to the Early Printed Books in the British Museum: to 1500. 4 vols. 1898-99.(British Museum.)

Copyright

Copinger, W. A. Law of Copyright in Literature and Art. 1893.(Stevens & Haynes.)

**Oldfield, L. C. F. Law of Copyright. 1912.(Butterworth.)

585. Bibliography and Book Selection

Bibliographies of Bibliography

British Museum. List of Bibliographical Works in the Reading Room.(British Museum.)

**Courtney, W. P. Register of National Bibliography. 3 vols. 1905-12.(Constable.)

*Humphreys, A. L. Handbook to County Bibliography: a bibliography of bibliographies relating to the counties and towns of Great Britain and Ireland. 1917.

[508]

John Crerar Library. List of Bibliographies of Special Subjects. 1902.(Chicago: John Crerar Library.)

*Langlois, C. V. Manuel de Bibliographie Historique. 2 vols. 1896-1904.(Paris: Hachette.)

Petzholdt, Julius. Bibliotheca Bibliographica. 1866.(Leipzig: Engelmann.)

**Stein, Henri. Manuel de Bibliographie Générale. 1897.(Paris: Picard.)

Vallée, L. Bibliographie des Bibliographies. 2 vols. 1883-87.(Paris: Terquem.)

General Bibliographies

*Alibone, S. A. Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors. With supplement; by J. F. Kirk. 5 vols. 1859-91.(Philadelphia: Lippincott.)

American Catalogue of Books. Vol. 1, 1876 to date.(N. York: Publishers’ Weekly.)

American Library Association. Fletcher, W. T. (Ed.). A.L.A. Index. 1905.(Boston: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

Bibliographie de la France: journal général de l’imprimerie et de la librairie. (Annual.)(Paris: Au Cercle de la Librairie.)

British Museum. Printed Books, Department of. Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland and Ireland to 1640. 3 vols. 1884.

—— Catalogue of Printed Books. 55 vols. 1882-1905.

*—— Fortescue, G. K. (Ed.). Subject Index of the Modern Works Added to the Library. Vols. 1-5. 1881-1910.

*Brunet, J. C. Manuel du Libraire. With supplement. 8 vols. 1860-80.(Paris: Didot.)

**English Catalogue of Books. 1835 to date.(Publishers’ Circular.)

Graesse, J. G. T. Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux. 7 vols. 1859-69.(Dresden.)

Hain, L. Repertorium Bibliographicum. With supplement; by W. A. Copinger. 6 vols. 1826-98.

Koehler. Lager-Verzeichniss Gebundener Bücher, Atlanten, und Musikalien. (Annual.)(Leipzig.)

*London Library. Catalogue. Ed. C. T. H. Wright and C. J. Purnell. 2 vols. 1913-14.(London Library.)

*—— Subject Index of the L.L. Ed. C. T. H. Wright. 1909.(Williams & Norgate.)

Lorenz, Otto. Catalogue Générale de la Librairie Française, 1840-1905.(Paris: Librairie Nilsson.)

**Lowndes, W. T. Bibliographer’s Manual of English Literature. 6 vols. 1857-64.(Bell.)

Pagliaini, Attilo. Catalogo Generale della Libreria Italiana dell’anno 1847 a tutto il 1899. 3 vols. 1901-5.(Milan: Assoc. Tipografico Libreria Italiana.)

[509]

Panzer, G. W. Annales Typographici. 11 vols. 1793-1803.(Nurnberg.)

**Pittsburgh. Carnegie Library. Classified Catalogue. 8 vols. in 25. 1895-1914.

Reference Catalogue of Current Literature. 1874 to date.(Whitaker.)

Watt, Robert. Bibliotheca Britannica: a general index of British and foreign literature. 4 vols. 1824.(Constable.)

587. Guides to Book Selection

General

*American Library Association. A.L.A. Book-list: a guide to the best new books. Vol. 1, to date. 1905 to date.

—— A.L.A. Catalog. 2 vols. 1912.(Washington: U.S. Gov. Printing Office.)

**Robertson, J. M. Courses of Study. 1904.(Watts.)

*Sonnenschein, W. S. The Best Books: a reader’s guide to the choice of the best available books. 2 vols. 1910-12. In progress.(Routledge.)

**Standard Books: an annotated and classified guide to the best books in all departments of literature. 4 vols.(Nelson.)

Books for the Young

Bacon, Corinne (Ed.). Children’s Catalogue of Two Thousand Books: a guide to the best reading for boys and girls, based on fifty-four selected library lists and bulletins. 1916. Standard Catalogue Ser.(N. York: Wilson.)

**Field, W. T. Fingerposts to Children’s Reading. 1907.(Chicago: M’Clurg.)

Finsbury Public Libraries. Cannons, H. G. C. Descriptive Handbook to Juvenile Literature, 1906.

*Olcott, F. J. The Children’s Reading. 1912.(Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co.)

Potter, M. E., and Others. Children’s Catalog: a guide to the best reading for young people. 1909.(Minneapolis: Wilson.)

Pittsburgh. Carnegie Library. Graded and Annotated Catalogue of Books for the Use of the City School. 1900.

—— Catalogue of Books in the Children’s Department. 1909.

Works of Reference

British Museum. Printed Books, Department of. List of Books forming the Reference Library in the Reading Room of the B.M. 2 vols. 1910.(British Museum.)

*Hopkins, F. M. Reference Guides that Should be Known and How to Use Them. 1916.(Detroit: Willard.)

**Kroeger, A. B. Guide to the Study and Use of Reference Books. Ed. 3, by I. G. Mudge; revised and enlarged. 1917.(Chicago: A.L.A. Publ. Board.)

[510]

Historical Works

Adams, C. K. Manual of Historical Literature. 1888.(N. York: Harper.)

**Gross, C. Sources and Literature of English History: to 1485. Ed. 2; revised. 1915.(Longmans.)

Fiction

**Baker, E. A. Guide to the Best Fiction in English. 1913.(Routledge.)

**—— Guide to Historical Fiction. 1914.(Routledge.)

Nield, Jonathan. Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales. 1904.(Elkin Matthews.)

Anonyms and Pseudonyms

Barbier, A. A. Dictionnaire des Ouvrages Anonymes. Ed. 3. 4 vols. 1872-78.(Paris: Daffis.)

**Courtney, W. P. Secrets of Our National Literature. 1908.(Constable.)

**Cushing, William. Anonyms. 2 vols. 1890.(N. York: Sampson Low.)

*—— Initials and Pseudonyms. 1885.(N. York: Sampson Low.)

*Halkett, Samuel, and Laing, John. Dictionary of the Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature of Great Britain. 4 vols. 1882-88.(Edinburgh: Paterson.)

Quérard, J. M. Dictionnaire des Ouvrages Pseudonymes et Anonymes de la Littérature Française, 1700-1845. 3 vols. 1846.(Paris: Daffis.)

Weller, E. Lexicon Pseudonymorum. 2 vols. 1886.(Regenburg.)

Book Prices. Sale Records

American Book Prices Current. (Annual.) Vol. 1, 1895 to date.(N. York: Dodd.)

*Book Auction Records. (Quarterly.) Vol. 1, 1902 to date.(Karslake.)

**Book Prices Current. (Annual.) Vol. 1, 1886 to date.(Stock.)

*Clegg, James. International Directory of Booksellers’ and Bibliophiles’ Manual. 1899 to date.(Rochdale: Clegg).

Periodical Indexes

Annual Library Index. 1892 to date.(N. York: Publishers’ Weekly.)

**Library Association. “Subject” Index to Periodicals. Vol. 1. 1915 to date.

Poole, W. F., and Others. Index to Periodical Literature. (Quinquennially.) Vols. 1-2, 1802-81 to date. 1887 to date.(Kegan Paul.)

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. 1900 to date.(N. York: Wilson.)

		PAGE
Preface		v
List of Illustrations, Forms, etc.		xii
DIVISION I.—INTRODUCTORY
Memoir		1
Introduction		11
DIVISION II.—FOUNDATION, COMMITTEES AND FINANCE
CHAP.
I.	Legislation	19
II.	Adoption of Acts, Foundation and Committees	34
III.	Finance, Loans and Accounts	43
IV.	Statistics and Reports	60
DIVISION III.—STAFF
V.	The Librarian	71
VI.	Assistants	83
VII.	Library Associations	99
DIVISION IV.—BUILDINGS
VIII.	Theory and General Remarks	106
IX.	Sites and Plans	110
DIVISION V.—FITTINGS AND FURNITURE[x]
X.	Miscellaneous Fixtures and Fittings	132
XI.	Shelving and Accessories	141
XII.	Furniture	154
DIVISION VI.—BOOK SELECTION AND ACCESSION
XIII.	Book Selection	167
XIV.	Accession Methods	189
DIVISION VII.—CLASSIFICATION AND SHELF ARRANGEMENT
XV.	General Principles.	206
XVI.	Systematic Classification Schemes	209
XVII.	Practical Application	226
DIVISION VIII.—CATALOGUING, FILING AND INDEXING
XVIII.	Cataloguing Methods, Rules and Codes	241
XIX.	Mechanical Methods of Displaying Catalogues	259
XX.	Filing and Indexing	281
DIVISION IX.—MAINTENANCE AND ROUTINE WORK
XXI.	Stationery and Records	296
XXII.	Bookbinding and Repairing	303
DIVISION X.—RULES AND REGULATIONS
XXIII.	Rules and Regulations	322
DIVISION XI.—THE LENDING, OR HOME READING, DEPARTMENT[xi]
XXIV.	Registration of Borrowers	341
XXV.	Issue Methods	350
XXVI.	Book Distribution	366
DIVISION XII.—THE REFERENCE DEPARTMENT
XXVII.	General Reference Library Method	375
XXVIII.	Local Collections	399
XXIX.	Libraries of Municipal Reference	415
XXX.	The Commercial Library; The Technical Library	418
XXXI.	Reading Room Methods	424
DIVISION XIII.—LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN
XXXII.	The Children’s Department	439
XXXIII.	The Library and the School	457
DIVISION XIV.—LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
XXXIV.	Lectures, Readings and Exhibitions	467
XXXV.	Rural Libraries	477
DIVISION XV.—MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES
XXXVI.	Museums and Art Galleries	486
APPENDICES
I.	The Nomenclature of Library Positions	495
II.	The Librarian’s Library	498
	INDEX	511

FIG.			PAGE
	James Duff Brown	Frontispiece
1.	Form for Annual Estimates		46
2.	Returns of Library Expenditure		47
3.	Suggestion Slip		56
4.	Rulings for Issue Record Books		62
5.	Table of Librarians’ Salaries		77
6.	Staff Time Sheet		89
7.	Staff Work Book		92
8.	Salaries paid in 1911		93
9.	Sketch Plan for Small Town Library		116
10.	North Islington Library—Reading Room		117
11.	North Islington Library—Lending Department		118
12.	Lambeth (Herne Hill) Open Access Lending Department		119
13.	Montrose Lending Library		120
14.	Bromley Lending Library		121
15.	Islington Central Library—Ground Floor		122
16.	Islington Central Library—First Floor		123
17.	North Fulham Library		124
18.	St Pancras Central Library		125
19.	Glasgow (Woodside) Library		126
20.	Glasgow (Townhead) Library		127
21.	Wolverhampton Library		128
22.	Southend-on-Sea Library		129
23.	Back of Library Counter		133
24.	West Islington Library		133
25.	North Islington Barrier		134
26.	Lambeth (Herne Hill) Barrier		135
27.	Croydon Central Library		136
28.	Triple Open Access Barrier		137
29.	Treadle Latch for Wicket		138
30.	Barrier for Dividing Rooms		138
31.	Double Bay Standard Metal Book-Case		143
32.	Wood Wall-Case		144
33.	Tonks’ Fittings		145
34.	Details of Adjustable Metal Shelving[xiii]		146
35.	Metal Shelving (Patent Office)		147
36.	Rack for Bound Newspapers		148
37.	Case for Large Folio Books		149
38.	Lattice-work Steps		150
39.	Short Steps		150
40.	Continuous Wooden Step and Handles		151
41.	Spring Step		152
42.	Swinging Step, with Improved Handle		153
43.	Desk-Topped Table		154
44.	British Museum Reading Table		155
45.	Reference Room Table		156
46.	Table with Elevated Periodical Rack		157
47.	Periodical Rack on Table		158
48.	Reading Table with Partition for Titles		159
49.	Periodical Rack		160
50.	Rack for Odd Periodicals		161
51.	Railway Time-Table Rack		162
52.	Metal Reading Easel		163
53.	Wooden Reading Easel		163
54.	Chair with Anchorage		164
55.	Arm Chair with Hat Rail		165
56.	Chair with Folding Tray		165
57.	Donation Acknowledgment		190
58.	Donation Book Ruling		191
59.	Proposition Book Ruling		191
60.	Book-Order Sheet		193
61.	Book-Order Tray		194
62.	Accessions Number Book		195
62A.	Accessions Routine Book		196
63.	Manila Book Card		197
64.	Board Label		198
65.	Date Label		199
66.	Warning Label		200
67.	Map and Plate Label		200
68.	Process Stamp		201
69.	Stock Book—Left folio		202
70.	Stock Book—Right folio		202
71.	Abstract Sheet for Stock		203
72.	Withdrawals Book		204
73.	Lettering of Class Numbers[xiv]		226
74.	Colour Marking of Books		228
75.	Tier Marking of Books		229
76.	Shelf Front, with labels		230
77.	Tier Guide		230
78.	Tier Guide Lettering		231
79.	Class Guide		232
80.	Bookcase with Classification Guides		233
81.	Shelf-Check Register		234
82.	Shelf Dummy		235
83.	Millboard Dummy		236
84.	Xylonite Label-holder		237
85.	Tongued Metal Book-rest		237
86.	Flanged Metal Book-rest		237
87.	Combined Book-rest and Shelf Guide		238
88.	Yale Book-rest		238
89.	Book-carrier in front of Book-case		239
90.	Book-truck		239
91.	Hand-printing Models		256
92.	Catalogue Shelves, British Museum		260
93.	Adjustable Screw Binder		261
94.	Rudolph Indexer Book		262
95.	Card Catalogue Cabinet, with extension runners		263
96.	Cabinet of Card Trays		264
97.	Sideless Card Catalogue Tray		265
98.	Cards for Bonnange Catalogue Trays		267
99.	Bonnange Card Catalogue Trays		268
100.	Staderini Card Trays and Cards		269
101.	Duplex Card Catalogue		270
102.	Leyden Slip Holder		271
103.	Volume of Staderini Sheaf Catalogue		271
104.	Staderini Sheaf Catalogue		272
105.	Sacconi Sheaf Catalogue		273
106.	Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue		273
107.	Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue		274
108.	Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue, with Cradle and Key		274
109.	Front of Sheaf Catalogue Author Slip		275
110.	Reverse of Sheaf Author Slip		276
111.	Sheaf Title Slip		276
112.	Sheaf Subject Slip		277
113.	Adjustable Placard Catalogue[xv]		278
114.	Folder for Vertical File		282
115.	A Drawer of a Correspondence Filing Cabinet		283
115A.	Specimen of Jast Classification of Library Economy		284
116.	Address, and Correspondence, Index Card		286
117.	Pamphlet Box		287
118.	Prints Box		289
119.	Lantern-slide Index Card		290
120.	Supplies Location Card		292
121.	Withdrawals Card		293
122.	Missing Books Index Card—front		294
123.	Missing Books Index Card—back		294
124.	Inventory Book		299
125.	Inventory Slip—front		300
126.	Inventory Slip—back		300
127.	Class Lettering and Numbering		310-313
128.	Class Lettering and Numbering		314
129.	Binding Sheet		317
130.	Binding Order Book		318
131.	Binding Slip		319
132.	Renewal Slip		337
133.	Ratepayer’s Voucher		343
134.	Non-Ratepayer’s Voucher—front		344
135.	Non-Ratepayer’s Voucher—back		345
136.	Non-Resident’s Voucher		345
137.	Borrower’s Card		347
138.	Borrowers’ Number Register		348
139.	Book Issue Card		351
140.	Book and Borrower’s Cards in Pocket		353
141.	Book Pocket and Card		354
142.	Borrower’s Card with Pocket		355
143.	Borrower’s Card and Book Card conjoined		355
144.	Elevation Plan of Card Charging Tray		356
145.	Card-charging Trays in Position		357
146.	Diagram of Elliot Indicator		359
147.	A Library Indicator		360
148.	Diagram of Periodicals Indicator		363
149.	Quick Reference Collection, Glasgow		367
150.	Branch Library Return		369
151.	Mitchell Library, Glasgow		376
152.	Plan of Islington Reference Library[xvi]		377
153.	Islington Reference Library		379
154.	Reference Library Application Form		381
155.	Picton Reading Room, Liverpool		384
156.	Reading Room, Royal Society of Medicine		387
157.	Reading Room, Reading Table, Chair, etc.		389
158.	Clippings Index Slip		391
159.	Application for Loan of Reference Book		393
160.	Application for Loan of Reference Book—back		393
161.	Application for Loan of Reference Book—Refusal Form		394
162.	Application for Loan of Reference Book—Refusal Form, with reasons		394
163.	Label of Photographic Survey		411
164.	Print Index Slips		412
165.	Double Newspaper Stand, Chelsea		427
166.	Double Newspaper Stand		428
167.	Wall Newspaper Stand		428
168.	Simplex Newspaper Holder		430
169.	Revolving Newspaper Holder, with Clips		430
170.	Adjustable Periodicals List		433
171.	Periodicals Check Card, Monthlies		435
172.	Periodicals Check Card, Weeklies		435
173.	Periodicals Check Card, Dailies		436
174.	Periodicals File		437
175.	Cathays Children’s Hall, Cardiff		442
176.	Voucher for Children		444
177A.	School Libraries Return Card—front		462
177B.	School Libraries Return Card—back		463
178.	Lecturer’s Memorandum		470
179.	Privilege Issue Notice		471
180.	Privilege Issue Notice, Information Slip		472
181.	Rural Library Board Label		480
182.	Rural Library Board Label, Charging Card		482
183.	Rural Library Board Label, Charging Card—back		482