322. Forms and Blanks.—Most of the important forms and blanks have already been described and figured under the different departments to which they refer, and this section will, therefore, only deal with a few general forms. Notepaper of various kinds should be provided, some in the ordinary business size, some post quarto, and some foolscap folio. On each of these sizes the usual heading should be printed, with the arms and name of the town, librarian’s name, and any other information thought necessary. All ordinary correspondence can be carried on with the business size, but official and complimentary letters should be written on the larger sizes. Envelopes to suit the various sizes should also be procured, and it is a good plan to stock some large-sized manila envelopes for sending off large documents, reports, etc. These can be had in a variety of sizes, and some of them have clasps instead of gummed flaps, which make them very useful for temporary filing purposes. Gummed postal WRAPPERS should also be stocked in a fairly large size, and LABELS for sending off parcels, with the name of the library boldly printed on them, will be found very useful.

323. Writing Materials.

323. Writing Materials.—Inks are manufactured in such a variety of kinds and colours that choice is made difficult. A good black ink should be procured, and also a bright red colour. Copying ink is not necessary even where press letter-copying is employed, as ordinary blue-black ink, if not blotted but allowed to dry naturally, will make perfectly good press copies. Care should be taken not to dry the tissue-paper leaves of the letter book completely when making copies. Other colours of inks, such as green, violet, etc., can be obtained if wanted for special purposes. Ink-wells should be got in the modern reservoir form, with a constant level dipping place. Ink kept in such receptacles never gets thick or dirty, and the pen is never overcharged or underfed. These ink-wells with rubber tops can be obtained for about one shilling each, but for staff and committee use a better variety should be ordered as the rubber degenerates quickly under the chemical action of the ink. Ink-wells should preferably be associated with pen-racks rather than with pen-trays. A rack sorts the pens and pencils out automatically in a visible order, while a tray wastes a large amount of time annually, owing to the groping and examining and fruitless fumblings necessitated before the right pen or pencil is found among its fellows. One pen one place, is a good motto for any librarian. Of course the FOUNTAIN PEN removes a great deal of the waste of time and trouble inseparable from ink-pot filling, pen selecting, pen dipping, etc., and every librarian ought to have one as part of his ordinary equipment. There are various sorts in the market, but the higher priced ones are, as a rule, the only reliable ones, and the cost is an investment on which a return is soon made. Stylographic pens are very useful, but because of their tendency to spoil good handwriting, they are not so satisfactory as fountain pens, although they are much cheaper. For staff use in the numbering of book labels, charging, etc., stylographic pens would be found very useful, and every library of reasonable size should stock a few.

Pencils for public use should be the ordinary cedar ones at about 5s. a gross. For note-book copying purposes a Rowney “H” pencil, retailing at twopence, will be found of great value, as it does not “set off” like the ordinary “H-B.” A hard pencil lasts much longer than a soft one, it does not require pointing so often, and the fact just mentioned, that writing done by its means does not blur or “set off” is an advantage not to be despised. Red and blue crayon pencils should be kept for checking purposes. Ordinary pen-holders and hard and soft pen-points are occasionally stocked in public libraries, as well as pencils, to lend out to the readers. Where this is done a certain amount of loss will have to be faced, as pens and pencils both disappear in the most mysterious ways. It is, however, a very great convenience to provide pens, especially in reference libraries fitted with special reading-tables provided with sunk ink-wells.

Blotting paper, foolscap paper ruled faint, scribbling pads, and common white paper in sheets about 15 inches × 9 inches for mounting slips, should be provided among the writing materials of a library.

324. Library Stationery Cabinet.

324. Library Stationery Cabinet.—It is needless to set out in more detail the various desk accessories and miscellaneous stationery required in a library, and an enumeration of the minimum contents of a stationery cabinet, which ought to be had for every library will suffice. A cabinet of this sort could be made up in various sizes and prices, like medicine chests, and would be found much more useful than the random method of buying articles at present in vogue.

Stationery Cabinet

325.