Photographs for business purposes may be filed geographically or by subjects, according to the use which is to be made of them. An engineering firm building structures in different parts of the country file their construction photographs under the name of the state and city in which the work is done; all the cities of a single state are arranged in alphabetical order under the state name. The individual photograph boards are numbered in accession order which makes the photograph of latest date the highest number under each city.
Form of entry on the index card to a photograph file
In order to avoid writing the name of the state and the name of the town on the corner of each photograph, this particular library uses on each board the Dewey Decimal Classification history number for each state with the first letter of the name of the city below this decimal number, to which is added the accession number of the photograph. This combined number is used on the corner of the index card on which is also entered the name of the city followed by the accession number of each board and the title of the photograph with the date on which the photograph was taken.
Each photograph may be cataloged on a separate card if desired and subject cards can also be made to any photographs and filed alphabetically with the geographical index cards.
When subject filing of photographs is desired the Dewey Decimal Classification subject number, or a modification of that system, or the name of the subject written out in full or the Cutter symbol for it (which is described in Chapter VI), can be substituted in place of the geographical classification number.
Lantern Slides
There are two methods of filing slides. One is to file slides in a cabinet containing drawers similar to a card catalog case, the slides being filed horizontally rather than vertically. The other method is to use a specially designed filing cabinet containing sliding file leaves which pull out at right angles to the cabinet, which is designed on the sectional unit plan for growth; the leaves have each a capacity of about fifty or sixty slides which are held in place by means of channel grooves which provide for examination of the slides without handling, and also permit of quick removal of each slide as needed. Complete descriptions of such cabinets may be obtained from the Multiplex Display Fixture Company, St. Louis, Missouri, and from G. S. Moler, 408 University avenue, Ithaca, New York. Both makes have been satisfactorily used by a number of business organizations.
The Moler lantern slide cabinet