Manual of Library Economy / Third and Memorial Edition

by James Duff Brown; W. C. Berwick Sayers

416. Accessories.—Every means of comfort and every reasonable aid to study should be given to readers. We have dealt with reading tables. The chairs deserve almost equal consideration. They should be comfortable; an arm-chair is better than other forms. The view at one time expressed that seats without backs in some way induced to mental alertness was that of some stupid theorist; as a matter of fact ease of body is essential to elasticity of mind. Chairs should have rubber tips or silent castors to prevent the nerve-racking scritching which moving chairs too frequently make, but when metal castors are used they should not be of the slippery variety that slides readers unexpectedly on to the floor. Reading stands with clips for holding books open should be on every table, or provided in sufficient numbers to meet all probable needs. At certain tables the use of ink should be permitted, and blotting pads, ink, pens, etc., should be provided. Tracing may be permitted from most illustrated books, prints, etc., but as a protection a sheet of xylonite should be available and the reader be required to interpose it between the copy and his tracing paper. Sheets in several sizes should be kept for use with books of different sizes. Rulers, T squares, a map measurer, a reading glass, compasses, etc., may all reasonably form part of the equipment and be lent on request. Scrap paper for notes, both at the catalogues and at the tables, is another reasonable provision, as is a small stock of foolscap which readers may purchase at cost price. Some libraries have the rule that letters must not be written in the room, and it has its uses, as cases are not unknown where nomadic business men, election agents, etc., have monopolized tables for hours or days for the distinctly non-literary and non-library purpose of addressing circulars; but the writing of occasional correspondence, if it does not exclude other readers from the writing tables, may safely be winked at. Other libraries do not allow the reading of other books than those from the shelves in the department, but the absurdity of such a rule, if carried to its logical conclusion, is patent. It may not be superfluous to add that every reference library should be equipped with a stand for hats, coats and umbrellas, but readers may be warned by notice that the library does not accept responsibility for their safety.

All the forces of the library stock in all departments should be at the disposal of the reference reader; thus any book in the lending libraries, except perhaps current novels of the popular kind, which may be on the shelves, should be allowed to be requisitioned, as also should any newspaper, periodical or other material in files which may not form part of the department. A good plan in open access libraries is to give the reference reader a pass admitting him to consult the lending library catalogues or shelves, but after he has selected books from them to have them brought from the lending library by the staff. Such uses of lending library books should count as reference consultations.

417. The Lending of Reference Books.

417. The Lending of Reference Books.—Whether or not reference library books should ever be lent away from the building is a question upon which librarians are sharply divided. It is argued that a reference library is a place where a reader has a right to expect every book in stock to be available at all times, and this is a reasonable theory. That reader, however, is a hypothetical person as a rule, and too rigid a policy of refusal has some disadvantages. Experience tells every librarian what books ought not to be lent in ordinary circumstances, if in any; and these are quick-reference books of all kinds, and any book the loss of or damage to which would be irreparable. Occasionally, however, a real student really requires the home use of a reference book which is not in everyday demand, and the library would suffer little and might gain much by lending it. If the ordinary loan periods are thought to be inadmissible, much can be said for lending over week-ends or at hours when the library is inaccessible to readers. It is a question which every librarian must settle for himself. In one successful reference library which lends, when a reasonable cause is shown, every book not excluded by the exceptions just named, and has done so for twenty years without the least inconvenience, a form of application, which is also a charging form, is used. This is a card 6 inches × 5 inches, which folds in the middle and files as a standard-sized catalogue card (3 inches × 5 inches):

Purpose wanted for ......................................................................................

Why Book cannot be studied in Library ..................................................

(Do not write below this line.) (See inside.)

Allowed to be returned within ............ days.

(Signed) .................................................... Chief Librarian.

If application is not signed request is disallowed, in which case explanation is enclosed.