Manual of Library Economy / Third and Memorial Edition

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.

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.