Fig. 176.—Voucher for Children ([Section 486]).
The back is the ordinary guarantee, as [Fig. 135].
2. Children should be permitted to borrow books on the application of the head of their household. In this case the householder may be expected to assume the responsibilities of any ordinary guarantor.
3. In ordinary circumstances a child should be permitted to borrow one book only at a time, and should not be permitted to change it for another more frequently than once a week.
We desire to avoid controversial matter in this Manual, and this provision, we expect, is open to criticism; indeed, when it was suggested elsewhere an American librarian remarked that it “seemed unnecessary.” British librarians, however, have actually been requested by teachers to make these restrictions on the arguments that few children do any comparative reading, and that still fewer can read more than one book in a week and at the same time do their home lessons and spend as much time in outdoor recreation as is needful for their health. Another less satisfactory reason is that some librarians have found the child population, when not so restricted, crowding the lending library to such an extent that their staffs have been unable to maintain the discipline without which effective work is impossible, or to meet the demands of the children. Such librarians have divided their register of children alphabetically, and children whose names begin with certain letters are admitted to the lending library only on certain days.
4. The rules should embody simple provisions governing the duration of loan (usually fourteen days are allowed, but circumstances may warrant an extension of this time), cleanliness, care of books, and the disposal of books in cases where the child or any member of the household is in contact with infection.
A difficult matter is what, if any, penalties should be inflicted upon children in the case of undue detention of books or for other offences. Fines are sometimes imposed, as in the adult library, but often they cannot be recovered without great trouble, and they should usually be remitted when any reasonable excuse can be offered. Many children cannot obtain the necessary pence, except from their parents, and to press for fines frequently means that the child will be forbidden the use of the library by the parents. In this matter the librarian should have the fullest discretion. Persistent offenders are effectively dealt with by the suspending of their tickets for a time; but we do not wish to insist upon this method, as the librarian naturally desires to have books used rather than to prevent their use. Lost books must be replaced by parents as a matter of course whenever it is possible to get at them; and the teacher will often lend his powerful assistance in securing the return or replacing of missing volumes, and, indeed, in seeing that the library rules generally are observed by his pupils. Co-operation and sympathy between librarian and teacher are first essentials of successful work.
487. Furniture and Fittings.
487. Furniture and Fittings.—The furnishing of the children’s room is governed by the considerations explained in [Division V.], but again with adaptations dictated by the fact that the furniture is for children and not for adults. Desks, tables, chairs, reading slopes, etc., should be of such heights that they can be used with comfort. In regard to tables and chairs, 251⁄4 inches is a suitable height for the former and 141⁄4 inches for the latter. Book-cases should be approximately 61⁄2 feet in height as against 7 feet for adults. Such rigid furnishing as that which provides long narrow desks resembling school forms for the children, so arranged that the children all face one way, is to be deprecated. Tables which provide the maximum of space, comfort and seclusion are as desirable for this room as for any other. Each periodical and reader requires three feet of lateral space, and there should be three feet between each table, or four where the space is a gangway. Screens of some soft wood, covered with baize, should be placed on the walls, at intervals; and a blackboard and an optical lantern are valuable parts of the equipment. Any space that may remain on the walls may be devoted to pictures, which need not be many, but should be large, deal with definite subjects, and be good of their kind. These are the more obvious differences between the children’s and the adult departments, except that in some libraries lavatory accommodation is provided in order that children may wash their hands before entering the library proper. Such accommodation has distinct advantages, as many children come into the department straight from playing in the street, and it is rather hard to refuse them admission because their hands are not in a suitable state for the using of books. On the other hand, strict supervision of such accommodation is necessary, and this is difficult to provide on account of the increased cost involved.