FILING AND INDEXING
=300. General.=--Although the library invented the card index, it may be
confessed that in this country the library has not yet realized the
possibilities of its own invention, even if it is convinced of its
complete desirability. We make no question, however, of the fact that
such methods as card-indexing and its derivative, vertical filing,
become more necessary every day if the librarian is to handle with any
degree of success the multiplicity of documents, prints, papers and
other disparate matter which form so important a part of the stock of a
really living library. Since the publication of the second edition of
this MANUAL the whole matter has made such advances that a complete
reversal of many of the statements and recommendations made in it is
necessary. The general indexing and filing problems before the librarian
are these:
1. Borrowers’ register.
2. Stationery and supplies register.
3. Correspondence filing and indexing.
4. Indexing of minutes.
5. The filing of clippings.
6. The filing of broadsides, prints, photographs, maps, lantern
slides, negatives.
7. The filing of deeds.
8. The filing of pamphlets.
As the index is the key to the filing system, we will treat of filing
methods first.
[Illustration: FIG. 114.--Folder for Vertical File.]
=301. Vertical, and Loose=, _versus_ =Other Methods.=--Any rigid method
of filing becomes confused and time-wasting. For example, the old method
for correspondence sent out was to copy it in a letter-book which was
equipped with a thumb-index. As all letters so copied were placed in
the book in chronological order, it necessarily happened that
correspondence with a given person or on a given subject was found in
several separate places in the book; and, although the letters received
which occasioned the correspondence could be pasted into the letter-book
against the replies, no connected view of the correspondence could be
gained without several references. The letter-book method served its
purpose for a long time, and has been preserved owing to the
conservatism which is a British characteristic and to fear of loss,
misplacement, or inaccurate record being made. Experience proves,
however, that loss and misplacement can easily be prevented, and
accurate record of letters is equally possible, when filing by flexible
methods is used. Moreover, the principle of classification--alphabetical
or subject--is the foundation of successful filing which admits of rapid
reference and completeness; for it is beyond question desirable that all
correspondence, documents, etc., relating to any given matter, should be
kept in one place only. For example, the bookbinding transactions of a
library involve correspondence with several bookbinders, specifications,
instructions, orders, incidental correspondence respecting defects,
errors, etc.--and all this material should come together for the simple
reason that it is used together. To ensure this the material must be
filed individually as a general rule; that is to say, in such a way that
additional material can be inserted. There are various methods: the
Stolzenberg file, for instance, and other files which resemble it. These
are generally folders of stout manilla, having two flexible prongs
inside at the fold which penetrate and fold over the margins of the
papers and so hold them in place; and when an insertion is made the
prongs are lifted and the new paper fitted into position. More recent is
loose filing in folders in which the material is not secured in any way,
and insertions are therefore possible without obstruction of any kind.
All folders are filed in drawers, in cabinets as a rule, and the average
office desk is now equipped with drawers for vertical filing. An
illustration of a folder and filing cabinet will show better than much
description what we have in mind (Figs. 114, 115).
[Illustration: FIG. 115.--A Drawer of a Correspondence Filing Cabinet.]
In these folders correspondence and other documents are filed together
with the carbon copies of replies. The carbon copy of a letter is, of
course, an exact facsimile of it made at the one original operation of
writing or typing the letter; it is thus an exact record, and additions
or corrections are easily visible.
=302.= The arrangement of correspondence, etc., is a matter upon which
opinion differs, but except for general correspondence, which may be
filed alphabetically in folders--one or more folders as required being
devoted to each letter of the alphabet--it is generally found that a
classified arrangement is to be preferred. Even in the alphabetical
folders an expansible number should be given to each folder in order
that it may be indexed briefly and clearly. For the classification of
correspondence several schemes have been devised; that, for example, in
the latest edition of Dewey’s _Decimal Classification_ is full, flexible
and practical; and perhaps that which is most used is L. Stanley Jast’s
_Decimal Classification of Library Economy and Office Papers_, 1906
(revised 1907). The main divisions, a subdivision, and a section of the
complete tables will enable us to illustrate its use (see p. 284).
_Main Divisions._
0 General.
01 Librarian. Personal.
1 Legislation. Founding. Classes of Libraries.
2 Extension work.
3 Building.
4 Government and Service.
5 Executive.
6 Accession. Description. Conservation.
7 Departments.
8 Publications.
9 Other.
_Main Sub-Divisions._
4 GOVERNMENT AND SERVICE.
41 Council.
42-3 Committee.
44-5 Staff.
46 Rules and regulations for readers.
47
48 Relations with other Corporation Committees.
49 Relations with other Corporation Departments.
5 EXECUTIVE.
51-2 Finance.
53 Stationery. Supplies.
54
55 Communication. Correspondence.
56-8 Office.
59
_Section of Complete Tables._
42 COMMITTEE. TRUSTEES.
421 Election. Co-opted Members.
422 Powers.
423 Standing Orders.
424 Chairman.
4243 Matters to be submitted to Chairman.
4245 Vice-Chairman.
425 Clerk.
426 Minutes.
427 Notices of Meeting.
428 Agenda. Notices of Motion.
4285 Attendances.
429 Next Meeting.
4291 Reports. Returns.
4292 Periodical (fortnightly, monthly, or quarterly).
4294 Annual.
4295 Next Annual.
4296 Special.
43 SUB-COMMITTEES.
431 Finance.
432 Officers.
433 Books.
etc. etc.
FIG. 115A.--A Specimen of the Jast Classification of Library Economy
(Sections 302-03).
=303.= Everything that comes into the library or goes out of it, except
the actual books, will fit into such a classification, and may be
numbered and indexed by it. All correspondence is marked boldly with the
number of the division to which it belongs, and is filed in the folders
which bear the number. The folders are numbered on the projecting edge
of the broader flap, as shown in Fig. 114, and are arranged numerically
according to the notation order. It may be objected that this method
separates letters from one correspondent who may write at various times
or on various subjects; but experience proves that except in few cases,
such as are provided for under 55, where general correspondence is
arranged alphabetically under the names of the writers, the questions
the file is required to answer are not answered in terms of names of
correspondents; moreover, the alphabetical name index, which is an
indispensable accompaniment of the method, brings together all
references to letters from any given correspondent. The index should be
on cards, and should give the name and address of the correspondent, the
classification number of the subject, and the dates of the letters
received or dispatched (see Fig. 116).
Not only does this index serve as a key to the correspondence file
(Section 302); it may contain, without prejudice to its value, all
addresses which the librarian deems it expedient to keep, with telephone
numbers, telegraphic addresses, and cable codes where necessary.
It will be obvious that a classified file of this kind will accommodate
all other documents and lists--book-lists, reports made on subjects or
departments, minutes, and in fact any miscellaneous papers whatsoever.
=304.= The effectiveness, and indeed safety, of any individual indexing
or filing system depends upon the care with which it is manipulated in
order that misplacements of papers or cards may not occur. The fear of
carelessness or ignorance on the part of assistants has caused some
librarians to prefer an alphabetical system of filing. When this is so
it should be alphabetical by subjects, except in the case of general
correspondence which deals with no particular subjects. Library
communications are frequently of this general nature, but the vital
letters are upon subjects; for example,
Exhibitions,
Lectures,
Readings,
Story Hours,
are headings taken at random for which folders would be included. In
arranging courses of lectures, for example, a librarian may write and
receive any number of letters; and he wants them together as
a rule and not in the alphabetical order of correspondents. This
alphabetical-subject system requires an index to such folders as do not
come under general correspondence; folders coming under the latter would
be most useful in a sequence separate from the subject folders, but such
separation is not essential.
+----------------------------------------------+
| |
| SMITH, H. J., & SONS, LTD. |
| 147A PATERNOSTER ROW, |
| LONDON, E.C.2. |
| |
| _’Phone_--London Wall 6692. |
| _Code_--A.B.C. |
| |
| 1919. |
| 623--14 My. |
| 623--9 Je. |
| 631--18 Jy. |
| etc. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------+
FIG. 116.--Address, and Correspondence, Index-Card.
=305.= If either of the two methods outlined is deemed too
complex--neither is so really--the old theory that “the only natural
arrangement for letters is an alphabetical one” will rule the choice of
method. This simply means arrangement alphabetically by the name of the
correspondent, and in this method the file is self-indexing to the
extent of the names. If it is made the rule to place letters from
institutions under the names of such institutions, and to insert, where
necessary, in strict alphabetical order slips of paper to hold all
cross-references from the names of officers, there will be no need for
further indexing. If topical indexes are required they can be compiled
on 8vo slips, the subject word being written boldly on the top of the
sheet, and the names of the writers on the topic in alphabetical order
below. These slips can take their place in alphabetical order among the
letters.
=306.= All working correspondence files should be weeded out at
intervals to remove matter of transient interest and to relieve
congestion. The librarian should at the first mark such papers as are to
be filed--much correspondence is merely formal, and has no information
value, and need not be filed even temporarily; but it is better to file
everything and to weed frequently than to lose any important document by
initial carelessness. When weeding out, the matter of merely temporary
interest may be destroyed; and that which it is desired to keep may be
transferred in strict order to filing boxes, or another storage filing
cabinet, thus leaving the current files free from any but current
matter.
[Illustration: FIG. 117.--Storage Box for Pamphlets, Letters, etc.
(Section 306).]
=307. Prints, Photographs and Maps.=--Unframed, unmounted “illustration”
material, in which are included prints, illustrations, photographs,
maps, and broadsides, requires separate and careful filing. In the first
place it should be, so far as possible, mounted on “nature,” “sultan
mecca,” or similar mounts of uniform size. This applies particularly to
prints and photographs, and is the best means of ensuring their
preservation and ease in handling and consulting them. They then need
close classification by one of the existing systematic schemes to line
on so far as may be with the classification of the books; and it is
often necessary to expand a classification considerably to differentiate
the almost innumerable sub-topics which may form the subjects of
pictures. Such expansion is skilled work and should be done only by an
expert classifier. An examination of the classification proposed for
local photographic surveys in Gower, Jast and Topley’s _The Camera as
Historian_, 1916 (Sampson, Low), will show how minute a classification
photographs demand. Each mount should bear a label, in the top left
corner preferably, giving the class-number, the subject, and other
particulars (see the sections on Photographic Surveys, =433=, etc.). The
filing may be in classification order in boxes which will lie flat on
the shelves; and the most economical boxes are those made of the
stoutest material compatible with lightness, such as cardboard covered
with rexine, pegamoid cloth, etc.; heavy boxes of wood are awkward to
handle and should be avoided. Better than boxes, because of the ease of
consultation and insertion permitted, is a vertical file in drawers. In
this the prints are inserted loosely like cards in a card-index, and no
lifting and little handling are necessary to find any given print. For
vertical filing the mounts should be the stoutest available, and a
further protection is to use folders to hold groups of prints--one to a
topic as a rule. The projecting edge of the folder may bear the topic
number.
=308.= Maps do not fit readily into the vertical system, and are
troublesome material as a rule. Several solutions of the map-filing
problem have been suggested--rolling them and inserting them in tubes in
a cabinet on the principle of the umbrella stand; mounting them on
spring rollers and fixing them over bookcases where they can be drawn
down to be consulted exactly as a blind is drawn; and an ingenious
method devised by Mr G. T. Shaw, and described in _Public Libraries:
their Organization, etc._, 1918 (Library Association), is worth
examination. For the many small maps that all libraries possess, flat
filing in such boxes as Fig. 118 depicts is probably the best. Single
sheets of the Ordnance Survey, or other similar maps which are much
handled, should be mounted on linen or some similar material, and an
additional protection from tearing is to bind them with tape, which may
be done by folding the tape over the edges and running them round with
an ordinary sewing machine.
[Illustration: FIG. 118.--Box for Filing Prints and Maps (Section 308).]
=309. Newspaper Clippings.=--The vertical file is an excellent
instrument for dealing with newspaper clippings. These, in the case of
matters of temporary interest, may be dropped into classified folders.
For clippings which it is desired to keep, it is better to provide a
mount, which may be of paper of sufficient substance to bear them, and
paste them down, writing in the top left corner the class-number,
subject, source and date of the clipping. The older methods of filing
clippings in newspaper-cuttings books, or in any form of guard book,
have the disadvantage of inflexibility, want of rational means of
indexing the contents, and occasion reference in course of time to
several volumes for matter on any subject.
=310. General.=--For most filing purposes quarto folders, to accommodate
quarto papers, which file in standard-sized drawers, are sufficient; but
both drawers and folders can be obtained in foolscap and other sizes.
And notwithstanding our advocacy of the loose method of filing, there is
much to be said for such files as the Stolzenberg for papers which have
an invariable chronological appearing and are valuable in that order;
because the file, having the apparatus already described for securing
and binding the papers, has the never-to-be-discounted virtue of book
form. Such papers are minutes, periodical reports on special
departments, financial analyses, book-lists, etc. Moreover, although the
standard Stolzenberg cabinet accommodates its folders in horizontal
fashion, the latter are also suitable for filing vertically in the
drawers recommended for general purposes.
=311. Lantern Slides and Negatives.=--Modern libraries collect and
preserve, occasionally even make for their own use, lantern slides and
negatives. The method recommended for storing these is precisely
similar to that for prints; that is to say, in drawers in cabinets of
suitable dimensions. Such cabinets are made by several firms
specializing in photographic apparatus; and drawers can be obtained of a
size to accommodate either slides or negatives. Without being dogmatical
upon the point, it may safely be said that the best arrangement of
slides is a classified one in drawers, the classification number being
written on a label on the mount of the slide and on the top edge of the
binding. If the slide is made from a negative in the possession of the
library the number of the negative should also appear on the mount.
=312.= Negatives require more careful treatment, as the film is subject
to damage if unprotected. They are also generally larger than lantern
slides; and separate cabinets, or separate drawers, are desirable to
hold them. A useful method is to insert each in a small manilla folder
bearing the number on its edge, which number should also be written in
ink (white is best) on the corner of the negative. Negatives may be
arranged by accession numbers, as they are rarely wanted more than one
at a time; and the slide catalogue will refer from slide to negative, as
well as be a direct reference to the latter.
=313.= The index or catalogue of slides may be on cards arranged as a
rule by titles or subjects, as the photographer or slide-maker’s name is
rarely wanted. The following example of a card shows the title, source,
location, and classification number of a slide and the number of its
negative:
+------------------------------------------------------+
| 656 LOCOMOTIVES. |
| Ble |
| Blenkinsop’s Engine, with Rack-Rail, 1811. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Print-- Lantern Slide-- |
| Process Coloured. |
| Size 3 in. × 3 in. |
| Negative 18. Lecture--Railways. |
| 66675 P. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------+
FIG. 119.--Lantern-slide Index Card (Section 313).
Slides which form lecture sets and are invariably used together, may be
filed as sets, in spite of the fact that the others may be classified.
After all, the rule of classification itself is that things used
together must be placed together.
=314. Indexes.=--Probably no work demands the use of indexes so
imperatively as library work. The catalogue is merely an extension of an
index, and the borrowers’ register (which is dealt with in Section 366,
etc.) is in its most convenient form merely an index. We have already
dealt with the indexes for correspondence, lantern slides, etc., and it
will be more convenient to deal with the indexes to prints and maps in
Sections 438, etc. Here we can mention only one or two administrative
indexes, with the general remark that the methods described are not to
be regarded as stereotyped, but are merely suggestions which librarians
may adapt to their special needs.
THE CARD DIARY.--A useful little card index is one which may go on a
desk, and is guided with the days of the week, and has such other guides
as “This Week,” “To-day,” “Next Week,” “Miscellaneous matters,” etc.,
which serves as a reminder to its user. Behind the appropriate guide are
filed cards referring to the matters which are to be dealt with at the
time indicated. These card-diaries are commonly known as “ticklers,” and
can be a most effective aid to methodical administration.
STATIONERY AND SUPPLIES INDEX.--It is an important matter, especially in
large libraries, to be able to put hands immediately upon any article of
stationery or other supplies. The old, haphazard plan of thrusting
supplies in cupboards with wooden doors, and trusting to luck or memory
for finding them again, is too leisurely a method for the busy modern
librarian. All storage cupboards or presses should have glazed doors.
This simple precaution has the effect of inducing tidiness on the part
of the staff, and the prospect of slovenly arrangement is reduced to a
minimum. The next process is to decide upon a method of indexing which
will offer the greatest facilities for rapidly finding any given
article. In the _Library World_ for July, 1899, Mr Jast describes a
graphic method of achieving this end. He provides a series of cards of
uniform size, one or more for each article indexed, according to the
need for indexing them more than once in the alphabet. On these cards he
draws a rough diagrammatic elevation of the cupboard or other place of
storage, as illustrated (Fig. 120).
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Fine Receipt Books. Office Desk. |
| +------+------+---------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +------+------+---------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ |
| | | | | X | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
+--+------+------+---------+---------------+---------------+--+
FIG. 120.--Supplies Location Card (Section 314).
On this is indicated at the top left-hand corner the class-number, and
name or nature of the supply, and at the opposite corner its location.
When a supply is stored away in this receptacle one of the blank cards
representing it is headed as described, and the exact place where the
articles are stored is indicated by a cross marked on the diagram, as
shown above.
Of course, every separate receptacle must have its own series of
specially drawn cards. The index is made by arranging these cards in the
alphabetical order of the names of the various articles. Any one wanting
a new fine receipt book, and not knowing where to find it, would look up
this index under the word “Fine” and there he would find the card which
indicates not only the receptacle where these books were stored, but
also the exact position. This card may be combined with the inventory
card described in the next chapter (Section 327).
Another plan would be to mark every cupboard or other receptacle with a
letter or number. As these places would have glass doors, if they had
any at all, there would be no necessity to mark separate shelves or
pigeon-holes further. It is not always possible, or even desirable, to
fix the location of supplies beyond the main receptacle. A reference to
a cupboard is quite near enough for any one having eyes in his head. To
these various receptacles an index on cards or slip books as before can
readily be made. The card should bear the name of the article at one of
its top corners, and on the opposite corner the number or letter of the
place where it is to be found. If necessary the remainder of the card or
slip can be used for setting out the dates and quantities of successive
orders of the article. This will be found a very useful form of
inventory.
=315.= The indexes of minute books are usually kept in the books
themselves and not separately. If a thumb index has not been provided, a
few pages, say, twenty-six, may be reserved at the beginning or end of
the book, in which an alphabetical sequence can be spaced out in pencil.
It is equally clear, for all the reasons given in favour of the
individual entries, that cards permit, that these indexes may be made on
cards.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| F |DICKENS, CHARLES |
+-------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| | _David Copperfield_ |
+-------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| | Macmillan, 4 : 6n. |
+-------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Accession No. 7,420 Date withdrawn, 10 : 6 : 18. |
| Incomplete Out of date |
| ✓ Dirty New ed. Bad |
| ✓ Worn out No. of copies in Lib., 20 |
| ✓ To be replaced Transferred |
| Not to be replaced Marked in Acc. Bk. |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
FIG. 121.--Withdrawals Card (Section 316).
=316. Withdrawn Books.=--The card is a useful medium for recording
withdrawals, and furnishes ample room for particulars (see Fig. 121).
=317. Stock-taking Results.=--Books missing at stock-taking are
conveniently indexed on cards (see Fig. 122).
The back of the card indicates the dates at which examinations were
made of the various places where the missing book might be traced (see
Fig. 123).
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| MISSING. |
| |
| 355 Legion of Frontierswomen. Pocock, Roger (ED.) |
| Frontierswoman’s Pocket Book. |
| |
| Missing on _Oct. 1912_. Stock No. 19843. |
| |
| Found on _28th Jan. 1919_. |
| |
| Where found--_In a Newton pillar box. Returned by Postal |
| Authorities._ --E. L. M. |
| |
| Condition Replaced |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
FIG. 122.--Card for Missing Books Index (Section 317).
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Shelves | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Repairs | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Recasing | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Binding | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Withdrawals | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|Reference | | | | |
+------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
FIG. 123.--Card for Missing Books Index, Back (Section 317).
=318. Other.=--Other indexes which have been found of value are a
general administrative index, with sections allotted to suggestions for
activities; information given from the libraries, and not given (a most
important matter as revealing deficiencies needing remedy); the location
and distribution of keys when the latter are in the hands of several
people; classification decisions; and, indeed, there is no limit to the
use of the card index as an administrative tool. One simple and
invaluable index in libraries where lectures are given is a Lecturers’
Index, with guides for Offers, Next Series, Current Lectures, Past
Lectures, behind which are placed cards bearing the names and addresses
of lecturers, the titles and other particulars of their lectures, dates
of delivery, etc. The mere indexing of such materials affords many
suggestions and reduces lecture-organization to a very simple process.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
=319. Literary Indexing:=
Clarke, A. L. Manual of Practical Indexing, 1905. Grafton. New York
State Library. Wheeler and Bascom, E. L. Indexing: Principles, Rules
and Examples, 1905. Bulletin, 94, Library School, 19. Ed. 2; revised,
1913. Bulletin, 354, Library School, 33.
Petherbridge, Mary. Technique of Indexing, 1904. Secretarial Bureau.
Wheatley, H. B. How to Make an Index, 1902. Eliot Stock.
---- What is an Index: Notes on Indexes and Indexers, 1878. Index
Society Publications.
=320. Commercial and Library Indexing:=
Byles, R. B. The Card Index System. Pitman.
Kaiser, J. The Card System at the Office, 1908. Vacher.
---- Systematic Indexing, 1911. Pitman.
Sayers and Stewart. The Card Catalogue, 1913. Grafton.
=321. Filing:=
Cope, E. A. Filing Systems: Their Principles and their Application to
Modern Office Requirements. Pitman.
Dana, J. C. American Library Economy [Various Sections, particularly
v. i., pt. 5, sec. 3, Picture Collection; pt. 6, Art Department; v.
ii., pt. 1, Colour and Position Filing; pt. 18, sec. 1, The Vertical
File (revised ed. entitled the Information File); etc.], 1909.
Woodstock, Vermont: Elm Tree Press.
Jast, L. S. A Classification of Library Economy and Office Papers,
1907. Grafton.
For articles, consult Index of Cannons under Indexing and Filing.
DIVISION IX
MAINTENANCE AND ROUTINE WORK