Cleaning. Here is a good central place for the paraphernalia of these operations, brushes, pails, cloths, and the like, not forgetting closets for the clothes of the scrubwoman.
See Bostwick on Cleaning.[242]
Binding and Printing
Bindery. Every library has to have a lot of repairing and binding done. Is it better to have your own plant on the premises or to contract to have it done elsewhere? E. R. N. Matthews[243] says that out of forty-seven English libraries he inquired of, twelve had binderies. He endorses the idea, having installed one at a new branch for his own system, in a separate building, with plant he enumerates, bought second hand for £50.
In small libraries it is easy to decide; nothing except simple repairing by the janitor can be done at home. Whatever has to be done from time to time can be sent out on contract. In view of the space taken up, the bulky and noisy machinery, the cost and trouble of selecting and storing stock, the danger of labor troubles and fires, and the bad odors of glues, the ownership of a bindery would naturally be put off until it can be proved to be a great economy in time and money. Champneys,[244] following Duff-Brown,[245] says that “Binderies are not required except in very large libraries.” I say from considerable business experience, save yourself cost, risk and trouble, by not trying the experiment.
If you must have a bindery, a good place for it is the basement, in or next to the packing room, where books are being handled. Some authorities suggest the attic, but it seems to me that the quiet and top light of the upper floor make it too valuable for finer purposes, to be spared for such “base mechanical use.”
Every sizable library ought to have at least a bindery repair-room or nook for repair work in the janitor’s or packing room, where one or two skilled workmen or girls of your own staff can do light repairs, pasting and the like. But this is the limit of work in the building wisdom requires you to provide for.
See M. W. Straight, “Repairing Books.”[246]