36. Only one book per week will be allowed to each borrower.
37. Application for tickets admitting to the reading room must be made at the library.
There are certain admonitory rules which are best displayed in frames in placard form, such as: SILENCE IS REQUESTED; NO CONVERSATION ALLOWED; NO DOGS ADMITTED; CYCLISTS ARE REQUESTED TO KEEP THEIR MACHINES OUTSIDE THE BUILDING; PLEASE WIPE YOUR BOOTS; NO ADMISSION THIS WAY; NO SMOKING ALLOWED; and so on. Some of the general rules would be much more effective if displayed in this form.
361. Notes on Rules.
361. Notes on Rules.—[1] and [2]. These rules are included for the purpose of qualifying for the certificate of exemption from income-tax and local rates, as described in [Sections 37]-[40].
[15]. In some libraries the guarantee of responsible heads of large government and other departments is accepted for all the employees, and secretaries of associations and school teachers have also been accepted. In the first case the association has become responsible for all its eligible members, and signs through its secretary. In the second case the teacher assumes responsibility for all his eligible pupils. It should be understood that a teacher’s guarantee does not involve the teacher in financial responsibility, but is an indication of his opinion that the applicant may benefit by the use of the library, and usually includes the assumption that he will use his moral influence to secure the due care and return of books. Some libraries have abolished the guarantee for non-ratepayers.
[16]. Depositors should be treated as ordinary borrowers, and their tickets and numbering should go through the same routine. The money received from deposits may either be paid into the bank and repaid as wanted by depositors from petty cash, or held by the librarian and repaid when called up. Deposit money of this kind when paid into the bank tends somewhat to complicate and falsify the accounts by recording receipts which do not belong to the library, and inflating the petty cash expenditures, but borough accountants regard it as orthodox book-keeping as a rule. The practice differs in all places as regards this point, and the librarian may keep a separate account of these moneys, whether paid into the bank or not.
[18]. Under the powers conferred by the 1892 Act, many public libraries now permit persons residing outside the district who are not otherwise qualified to become borrowers on payment of an annual subscription, ranging from 5s. to 10s. The money received from this source should be paid into the subscriptions account at the bank, and a proper receipt given to the subscriber, showing how long the subscription is current.
[21]. The RENEWAL OF BOOKS is generally allowed without question, if no inquiries for them in the interval have been recorded. In other cases, such renewals must, of course, be refused, unless the books are not returned, in which case nothing can be done. Here again the eternal fiction question arises, and there are reasonable doubts if the right of renewal should be allowed in the case of recent popular novels. With classic fiction and other books it is quite another matter, and students should be allowed to renew within all reasonable limits, and by any reasonable means—post-card, telephone, message or other—providing that readers give the necessary particulars. A form of renewal slip is used at some libraries which may be useful. Copies are taken away by any borrower who thinks he may require them, and if he desires to renew a book, he simply fills up a slip and sends it by hand or post to the library. The assistant then picks out the charge from the charging system, inserts the renewal slip in the pocket, and re-issues it under the current date. The renewals may be picked out and sorted in one sequence behind a special guide, so that when a book is returned which has not been re-dated, it is easy to find it; or a “dummy” book card may be inserted in order under the original date of issue bearing a reference to the date of renewal—this is perhaps the more effective method. Renewals should count as re-issues, and a record should be made of the issue of all books which are thus renewed.
| Book No. |
| Issued |
| Renewed |
| Fine |
| This Ticket should be returned when renewing the Book. |
| LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. |