358. Enforcement of Rules.
358. Enforcement of Rules.—There is nothing in the original English or Irish Acts which gives power to enforce rules and bye-laws, but in the Act of 1901 such may be obtained provided the rules are approved by the Local Government Board. In the Scotch Act very full provisions are made for the confirmation and enforcement of bye-laws. Clause 22 of the Act of 1887 reads: “It shall be lawful for the committee to make bye-laws for regulating all or any matters and things whatsoever connected with the control, management, protection and use of any property, articles or things under their control for the purposes of this Act, and to impose such penalties for breaches of such bye-laws, not exceeding £5 for each offence, as may be considered expedient; and from time to time, as they shall think fit, to repeal, alter, vary or re-enact any such bye-laws, provided always that such bye-laws and alterations thereof shall not be repugnant to the law of Scotland, and before being acted on shall be signed by a quorum of the committee, and, except in so far as they relate solely to the officers or servants of the committee, such bye-laws shall be approved of by the magistrates and council, or the board, as the case may be, and shall be approved of and confirmed by the sheriff of the county in which the burgh or parish, or the greater part of the area thereof, is situated.” Provision is also made for advertising and giving due notice of intention to adopt the bye-laws.
359.
359. It should be stated, however, that there are quite a number of cases in which magistrates’ decisions in England have upheld the rules of Public Library Committees with regard to recovery of fines for overdue books, the value of books lost and guaranteed, and on other points. In some of these cases it has not been held or suggested that guarantee or voucher forms should be stamped as agreements, or that any limit under £5 should be placed on the amount of the guarantor’s liability. Nevertheless, a value limit of £1 or £2 might be placed upon a guarantor’s liability, and that will dispose of the awkward point as to the agreement being stamped.
360. Draft Rules and Regulations.
360. Draft Rules and Regulations.—These draft rules are based upon a careful examination of the principal bye-laws adopted by many of the principal libraries in Britain and the United States, with certain modifications to harmonize them with certain leading principles advocated throughout this book. No two places are exactly alike in all their circumstances and local conditions, so that no library is likely to adopt these rules exactly as they stand. But they contain suggestions which may be found useful in drawing up and adopting a series of suitable rules, and enabling most vital points to be met. Some libraries have an enormous number of rules, amounting in some cases to fifty or sixty items, but many of these are quite unnecessary and need not be considered. The draft rules drawn up by the Local Government Board may be obtained if thought needful; but they are printed separately in the Library Association Record, 1903, p. 28. The fewer and simpler the rules the more likely are the people to read and observe them.
LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Rules and Regulations
GENERAL
1. The Liberton Public Library is a society established for purposes of literature and science exclusively. The librarian shall have the general charge of the library, and shall be responsible for the safe keeping of the books and for all the property belonging thereto.