Fig. 126.—Back of Inventory Slip.
This inventory does not prevent supplies from running out suddenly, and thereby producing undesirable misunderstandings. There are many ways of effecting this check, all more or less satisfactory, but none, perhaps, is quite so certain as an actual material check upon the running-out of supplies. In addition to the inventory it is necessary to establish an “emergency-supply” cupboard, safely locked up, and in it to place a small stock of everything which is liable to run out. Thus, if two reams of foolscap arrive, a five-quire packet must be taken from it, separately parcelled up, and deposited in the emergency-supply receptacle. Attached to this emergency bundle should be a luggage label, or other conspicuous tag, bearing the words “Foolscap, ruled faint, order No. 69, Stock exhausted. . . .” The blank space is for the date when the emergency supply is transferred to the ordinary stock cupboard. In course of time the accessible stock is used up, and the person who removes the last sheet, or the one who next goes, discovers the shortage, and is forced to ask the key-keeper of the emergency cupboard for the reserved stock. This is produced, the label is dated and handed to the person responsible for ordering a fresh supply.
328.
328. All general library KEYS may be assembled on a special key-board. This should consist of a large board fitted with the necessary number of hooks, one for each key or group of keys, and a proper descriptive label and number should be pasted under each hook. The keys should be numbered and labelled to correspond, with ivory labels attached by rings to every key. In addition an alphabetical list should be fixed to the door of the key-board, so as to facilitate finding. In some libraries the departmental heads and assistants are provided with a master-key to all internal doors which concern them; but keys which give access to the building as a whole should be limited to the chief librarian and the chief caretaker. A large building requires many keys, and a card-index, entering of the name of each key and the person who holds it or its location, is a useful method of checking the safety of keys. When keys are removed from the building, they should be insured with one of the key insurance or registry offices.
There are several minor matters of routine or arrangement not dealt with in other places. Dusting is usually underdone in British libraries. For one thing there is rarely a sufficient supply of cloth dusters; often a dirty one, stowed away in a drawer, is all the provision for a large library. Clean dusters should be attached by means of rings or clips to every bookcase and cupboard throughout a library, and the staff should be required to use them on every possible occasion. Certainly a book should never be handed to a reader in a dusty condition, as not only may the reader be offended, but he must inevitably transfer the dust from the outside to the inside of the book in handling it. There would be much less dust among book-shelves if a liberal supply of dusters were allowed and constantly used. When books are being dusted systematically a large tray or box of wet sawdust should be provided. Into this the books should be dusted by means of a brush.
It is also a good plan, whenever possible, to take very dusty books out to the open air, and smartly beat them together, two at a time. This drives the dust out more effectually than anything else. Vacuum cleaners which work by means of suction are sometimes useful in cases where large accumulations of dust require to be removed, and not simply redistributed, but a powerful variety is necessary as the smaller vacuum cleaners remove the top layer of dust as a rule, and leave a solid substratum. Wood block and linoleum covered floors when treated with wax polish do not require to be scrubbed, and the surface remains smooth, and cleaning is reduced to a minimum. There are various floor preparations which are said to be effectual in keeping down dust, but most of them produce discoloration in the course of time, and periodical scrubbings should be arranged to restore the original colour of the flooring.