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MANUAL OF LIBRARY ECONOMY

JAMES DUFF BROWN

MANUAL OF
LIBRARY ECONOMY

BY THE LATE
JAMES DUFF BROWN
CHIEF LIBRARIAN, ISLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES
AUTHOR OF
‘SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION,’ ‘LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGUING,’
‘A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF MUSICIANS,’ ETC.

THIRD AND MEMORIAL EDITION
REVISED AND REWRITTEN BY
W. C. BERWICK SAYERS
CHIEF LIBRARIAN, CROYDON PUBLIC LIBRARIES
LECTURER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON SCHOOL OF LIBRARIANSHIP
AUTHOR OF
‘CANONS OF CLASSIFICATION,’ ‘AN INTRODUCTION TO CLASSIFICATION,’
‘THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY,’ ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, FORMS, AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES

GRAFTON & CO.
COPTIC HOUSE, LONDON, W.C.1
1920

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY
OF
JAMES DUFF BROWN
1862-1914

He lived and died, content to view
His labours making knowledge free;
He opened every book he knew
For other men to see.

PREFACE

This work was published by the late author in 1903, and a second, and largely remodelled, edition appeared in 1907. For some years past it has been out of print, to the loss of more recent students. The delay, however, has not been without its compensations, as librarianship has made several advances which have been generally accepted, and has made many experiments, the issue of which is not yet decided, in the twelve years since the publication of the second edition. The work has been regarded with much justice as the most comprehensive complete treatise on library economy, and is the standard to which most British libraries conform in general; indeed, it is not too much to say that the whole modern school of librarians here has been moulded by the work. When, therefore, I was asked to prepare a new edition I was faced with the question of how best to preserve its comprehensive character. I might have revised it conservatively, merely touching up the statistics, adding to the bibliographies, and correcting statements which have been modified by later experience; but that would have left the book partial and incomplete. Rightly or wrongly, I have rewritten almost every chapter, have added sections on questions touched upon only lightly or not at all in previous editions, and have omitted several statements in which strong personal views were expressed; in fact, I have tried to preserve everything that seemed to be of permanent value, to excise everything merely controversial, and to avoid obtruding any idiosyncrasies of my own. I cannot hope to have succeeded completely, and any suggestions for the improvement of future editions will be welcomed.

Both of the earlier editions retain their value for students, but the criticism which may fairly be levelled at them is that Brown rarely contemplated the needs of a library of more than 40,000 volumes, and, therefore, omitted much that is necessary in the administration of such libraries. I have tried to balance this. It is perhaps desirable to set out the particulars in which the third edition differs from the second. The following chapters have been rewritten in their entirety: IV., V., VI., XV., XVIII., XX. and XXVII. The following are new: all Divisions I., XIII. and XIV.; and Chapters VII., XXVII., XXVIII., XXIX. and XXX. Everything else has been retouched, except the chapter on museums and art galleries; that I have left, because although the librarian ought to have a knowledge of curatorship, that knowledge is not library economy; and, within its limits, the chapter is good common sense. I have dealt drastically with the bibliographies, which consisted in the main of lists of articles in library periodicals. Every library student knows that textbooks and treatises are supplemented by periodical literature, and a reference to the indexes of library journals should be an obvious thing for him to make on any subject; and seeing that we have Cannons’s Bibliography of Library Economy, 1876-1909, for the years covered by the title, and that the best articles are now indexed in the Library Association Index, it seemed sufficient to make a general reference to Cannons and otherwise restrict the lists with few exceptions to separate publications. Appendix II, “The Librarian’s Library,” has been revised by Mr Richard Wright, M.C., to whom my thanks are due. An important omission is the Appendix of “Factors and Percentages,” which gave figures for calculating the size, cost, output, etc., of libraries. This has been deliberate; the conditions created by the War are so fluid that factors which are likely to have a permanent value are impossible to compile. Brown’s Guide to Librarianship gives the pre-war factors, and it is unnecessary to reprint them here.

The Memoir is based upon the obituary notices and appreciations which were collected and edited by Mr L. Stanley Jast for The Library Association Record, the biographical facts in particular being drawn from the memoir by Brown’s nephew, Mr James Douglas Stewart, which is included in those notices. Others will share my regret that his preoccupation with his new work at Manchester prevented Mr Jast from revising this Manual. I cannot but perceive, now that my work is finished, how much better it would have been had he filled my place. A few notes, prepared by Mr Jast for Chapters I.-II., have been included.

Usually, when one has written a book, one has to acknowledge much help from other librarians, but, owing to the extraordinary circumstances in which this revision has been made, I felt that I ought not to call for help from others already overburdened. My own task has been completed under great pressure, most of the work being done between 6.30 and 8.30 a.m. My wife has saved me from many blunders, and her experience as a former member of Mr Brown’s staff has been most valuable to me.

W. C. BERWICK SAYERS

Postscript.—As the final proofs are leaving my hands I learn that the long-expected Government Bill to remove the penny rate limitation was introduced into the House of Commons by Mr Herbert Lewis and read a first time on the 28th of November. The second reading occurred on the 2nd of December, and the Bill became law on the 23rd of December 1919.

It is now practically certain that the powers in regard to Public Libraries which were held by the Local Government Board now accrue to the Ministry of Education, and, consequently, wherever the Local Government Board is mentioned in the Manual, the Ministry of Education should be understood.—W. C. B. S.

Croydon, 1919

The Publishers desire to thank those who have kindly allowed them the use of illustrations and have lent blocks, or have offered other facilities for reproduction; especially the following:

The Librarians of Bristol, Bromley, Cardiff, Chelsea, Coventry, Croydon, Fulham, Glasgow, Lambeth, Liverpool, Montrose, St Pancras, and Southend; The Library Association; Messrs Cedric Chivers Ltd., Messrs Fordham & Co., Messrs Kenrick & Jefferson, Mr Arthur W. Lambert of Croydon, Messrs Libraco Ltd., and Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, FORMS, ETC.

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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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.)

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 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 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, 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. 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; 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 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, 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.

DIVISION II
FOUNDATION, COMMITTEES AND FINANCE

CHAPTER I
LEGISLATION

1. Municipal Libraries: Acts of Parliament.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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, 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Bibliography

12. English Legislation:

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

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.

CHAPTER II
ADOPTION OF ACTS, FOUNDATION AND COMMITTEES

14. Methods of Adopting the Public Libraries Acts.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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, 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

Bibliography

25. Adoption of Acts

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

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.

CHAPTER III
FINANCE, LOANS AND ACCOUNTS

27. The Library Rate.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Fig. 1.—Form for Annual Estimates.

31.

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.

Classified Percentages of Library Expenditure

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

32.

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

33. Loans.

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.

34.

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:

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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, 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 donations in kind as annual voluntary contributions, it is only necessary to value these to make up a respectable sum.

39.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

48. Suggestions on Management.

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:—

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 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.

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.

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:

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

51. Audit.

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:

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.

Bibliography

52. Rating

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

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

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.

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

55. Statistical Methods.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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:

Income and Expenditure:

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.

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

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

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.

DIVISION III
STAFF

CHAPTER V
THE LIBRARIAN

65. General.

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.

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 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.

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.

68. The professional attainments of a librarian should be judged mainly by their suitability for the duties to be performed. 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 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.

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.
  • [76]
  • 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.

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.

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

[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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

75.

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.

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.

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.

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.

CHAPTER VI
ASSISTANTS

78. General.

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.

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 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.

80. Superintendent of Branches.—This librarian acts as a 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.

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, and the exploiting of the department to the utmost in the interest of the public.

82. Library Councils.

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.

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 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.

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 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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

88. Senior Assistant.

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.

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. 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.

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 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.

Fig. 7.—Staff Work Book ([Section 89]).

91. Salaries.

91. Salaries.—Salaries are the most difficult question the 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:—

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.

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

(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.

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.

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 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.

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 libraries should endeavour to become possessed of the majority of them.

95. Women Librarians and Assistants.

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.

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. 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.

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.

98. Staff Accommodation.—In libraries of every size private rooms of suitable dimensions should be provided for the librarian 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.

CHAPTER VII
LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS

99.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

102. The Library Assistants’ Association.—This is a purely sectional association for assistants in municipal and institutional (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.

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 does not seek to add to its membership except by the nomination of existing members.

104.

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.

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 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.

DIVISION IV
BUILDINGS

CHAPTER VIII
THEORY AND GENERAL REMARKS

107. Theory.

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.

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 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.

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.

110. The chief danger with most library authorities is the tendency to erect a library building having no relation to the 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.

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 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.

CHAPTER IX
SITES AND PLANS

112.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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. 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.

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.

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; 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

[Fig. 9 enlarged]

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 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 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.

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.

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 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, 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.

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. [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.

123. The [plan] on [p. 129] shows a case in which the arrangements are designed as a compromise between whole and partial 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.

124. Building Specification and Contracts.—The specification for the building on which builders are required to tender will 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.

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, 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.

126. A clerk of works must be appointed to watch over the building operations on behalf of the library authority and the 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

DIVISION V
FITTINGS AND FURNITURE

CHAPTER X
MISCELLANEOUS FIXTURES AND FITTINGS

130.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

135. Sometimes a simple barrier is required in some kinds of reference libraries to separate bookcases from reading rooms. 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.

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.

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 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 by enabling messages and small articles to be rapidly transferred from place to place.

138. Speaking Tubes and Telephones.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

CHAPTER XI
SHELVING AND ACCESSORIES

143.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 ([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.

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 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]).

CHAPTER XII
FURNITURE

159.

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.

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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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]).

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

167. Chairs.—There is such an immense variety of library 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.

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 ([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 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.

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.

170.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

DIVISION VI
BOOK SELECTION AND ACCESSION

CHAPTER XIII
BOOK SELECTION