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

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

211.

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

212. Subscription Books.

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

213. Ordering.

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

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