CHAPTER XXVI
BOOK DISTRIBUTION
397. Branch Libraries.
397. Branch Libraries.—Branch libraries are included in this division, because as a general rule they are principally lending libraries with a reading-room attached, and rarely possess reference departments. Every large town extending over a wide area must sooner or later face the question of establishing branch libraries, not only as a convenience to the public, but as a relief to the central library. No rule can be laid down as to the distance which any reader should be from the nearest branch or other library. It is one thing to make a symmetrical plan on paper, showing a central library with a ring of branches situated at regular distances, and so placed as to bring every reader within one, half or quarter of a mile of the nearest library, but it is quite a different matter realizing this ideal. Topographical difficulties arise; the matter of density of population must be considered; and, to crown all, sites or suitable premises cannot always be obtained at, or near, the places selected, as the ideal spots. For these reasons regular spacing can rarely be achieved in the provision of branch libraries.
Fig. 149.—Quick-reference Collection, Glasgow.
398.
398. A branch library differs from a delivery station in being, to some extent, a miniature central library, carrying its own stock of books, and having its own reading-room accommodation and magazines. A delivery station need not necessarily have a stock of books, beyond those sent in response to applications, and it would have no reading-room whatsoever. Branches and deliveries are often confused, no doubt because both provide for book distribution, but beyond this common feature all resemblance ceases. The question of the amount and kind of accommodation which it is desirable to provide depends entirely upon funds, conditions and requirements. For most situations in which branches are necessary, such as the suburbs of large towns, the minimum provision should include a lending department, and general reading-room for periodicals. Very occasionally a reference department is provided, but few systems will bear the cost of providing more than one such department, and that at the central library; but every branch should have a collection of quick-reference books which answer everyday questions and afford such information as is needed in every library. Such a collection does not necessarily require a separate room, because that requires special oversight, but it is better to place it in a convenient recess of the reading-room or vestibule, where it is under the observation of the staff, and where it is not necessary for the reader to pass through the wickets or other barriers of the lending department in order to make use of it. All kinds of extra features can be added to these provisions, if necessary, but these will depend upon funds; but a lecture room is especially valuable in a branch, as it is usually in an area ill-provided with such accommodation and one in which lectures, exhibitions, etc., can be given most profitably. Modern experience also advocates children’s departments at branches, as the suburbs are the nursery districts of most towns, and therefore the most fruitful opportunities for work with children are afforded in them. Some of the branches at Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Croydon, Coventry, Edinburgh, Bristol, Islington, Lambeth, Sunderland and Fulham are models of what such establishments should be.