Cards identifying the readers appear to be required by all the libraries save Westminster. These vary—those of the Boston Athenaeum, Medical Society of County of Kings, apparently taking the form of a subscription entry while the St. Louis Mercantile Library issues one as an identification card, which is seldom called into use.
Libraries using borrowers' cards in a file at the library to indicate what the reader has out, are:
- Oberlin.
- Syracuse—call numbers of books are written on students' cards.
- University of Kansas.
- Virginia.
- Wesleyan.
- Tulane.
Those using a borrower's card which remains in the possession of the borrower, while he has books from the library, to indicate number of books out, date either of issue or when due, and a date of return are those employing the Newark system:
- Carnegie Library of Atlanta.
- East Orange Library.
- New York Public Library.
- Pratt Institute Free Library.
- St. Louis Public Library.
Syracuse uses the Newark system but retains cards in borrower's file (under borrower's number) at library.
As regards the discharge of books, the use of the Browne system presupposes a complete discharge of the book, in case of a borrower taking another at the time of its return.
Libraries retaining borrowers' cards at the library discharge at their leisure.
Where the Newark system is used (with the exception of the New York public library) an incomplete discharge is made at the time of the book's return—consisting of the stamping of the date of return on reader's card. It is obviously impossible to delay a reader while book is checked off. Checking off is then done at leisure either at charging desk by desk assistant or special assistant appointed for that work.
Counting of Issue