RULES AND REGULATIONS
=348. General.=---A public library is an institution based upon broad
lines of mutual co-operation, in which every citizen has equal rights,
and in which the rules should be drafted to protect the common
proprietary rights, without penalizing any section of the community.
Hence the liberal attitude which recognizes that the whole purpose of
librarianship is to get books used must be brought to the drafting of
rules. Fortunately this attitude is becoming more common, if it is not
universal, and the whole tendency of modern public library work is to
break down all barriers between the readers and the freest use of books.
Indeed, it is better to lose a few books yearly than to protect them
from the very few dishonest people who may live in the community by
means which militate against the liberty of readers.
=349. Hours.=--The number of hours during which municipal libraries
should remain open to the public will vary according to the local
conditions, staff and funds of every town and district. In small places,
with scanty populations and little libraries with but one attendant, a
few hours open at night on several days in the week, according to
requirements, will serve every practical purpose. In towns of a fair
size, of say from 10,000 to 30,000 people, the reading rooms should be
open all day uninterruptedly from 10 to 9 or 10, but the lending library
need only be kept open from 10 to 2 and from 5 to 9. In large towns of
over 40,000 inhabitants, the libraries should remain open all day from
early morning till late at night--say from 8 A.M. till 10 P.M. for
newsrooms; 9 A.M. till 10 P.M. for reference libraries; 10 A.M. till 9
P.M. for lending libraries; and 4 till 8 P.M. for juvenile departments,
if any. There should be no interruptions, at any rate so far as
departments other than the lending library are concerned, to these
services, either in the way of half- or whole-day closing to suit the
staff, or any irregularity in hours. The public library is a bureau for
the supply of information, and should be found open at any time in a
working-day, during which people are likely to use its resources. In
large towns there is no necessary connexion between the public hours and
the staff, and in an important matter of this kind, which affects the
convenience of hundreds of people, the policy of employing extra
assistance, in order to keep the library open all day and every day
without overworking the staff, should not be questioned. It may be
argued that if one town of a certain size can keep its public libraries
open all day and every day (save Sundays and holidays, of course), every
similar town and all larger ones can easily do likewise. But, as may be
seen by reference to Greenwood’s _British Library Year Book_, 1900-1901,
this is not invariably the case. A careful and well-constructed
time-sheet will often get over difficulties which may seem to arise from
under-staffing or other conditions. There have been, and possibly still
may be, libraries in which, largely because of badly constructed
time-sheets, the assistants are given only one evening off weekly, and
work from eight to nine hours daily, although the library is closed for
a half-day every week, and thus both assistants and public are
incommoded.
At the same time, to dogmatize upon the question of hours is unwise, as
local circumstances condition the question so much. Moreover, the recent
movements in the industrial and commercial worlds are in the direction
of reducing working hours, and most people are now at liberty before 7
P.M., a fact which does away with the _necessity_, if not the
convenience, of keeping libraries open to the late hours until recently
in vogue. Again, a suburban library, with a population which returns
from a neighbouring city in the evenings, has need to be open later than
one, say, in the city itself. The whole matter is one of public
convenience, and if it is remembered that to have the library used to
its fullest limit is the ideal, the hours will be chosen well. At the
same time, there are always readers who prefer to use the library in the
last hour of the day, whatever that hour may be. If the closing hour is
nine, they will arrive at 8.45; if eight, at 7.45, and so on; it is a
curious, not uncommon human trait, which may be borne in mind when hours
are being arranged.
=350. Age Limits.=--There are wide differences in the practice as
regards the limit of age from which persons are allowed to use the
libraries, but within recent years the opinion on this point has
undergone considerable change. Formerly persons under eighteen and
sixteen were forbidden the use of public libraries; now such high limits
are very uncommon, though fourteen is still frequently seen in the rules
of otherwise progressive libraries. Of course, local conditions must
receive due consideration in this matter, though it is difficult to
think of any circumstance which calls for any distinction being made
between children of twelve and those of fourteen years of age. There are
hundreds of bright, intelligent lads and girls of twelve who are the
equals in knowledge and ability of their fellows of thirteen and
fourteen years of age; in fact, children do not fit, intellectually,
into age-compartments; their capacities are surprisingly individual.
What seems reasonable is the entire abolition of age limits in lending
libraries, subject to the reservation that the librarian should have
discretionary power to refuse to issue books to any child unable to read
and write. Failing this, the limit might be fixed at twelve where there
are no separate juvenile libraries, but reduced to seven where such
departments exist. There is a certain amount of trouble and
inconvenience to adults resulting from admitting very young children,
especially in open access and other libraries without separate juvenile
accommodation, and this would be partly met by the compromise proposed.
Separate children’s libraries are the solution of the difficulty, and,
when these can be provided all round, the age limit downwards can be
abolished so far as they are concerned, while the limit for the adult
library can be raised to twelve or fourteen. But adequate provision
should be made for interchanging, and all necessary facilities provided
for enabling intelligent young people under the limit to procure
suitable more advanced books if desired, and also for allowing adults to
revive their youth by allowing them access to the works of Ballantyne,
Henty and other authors.
=351.= As regards age limits in reference libraries and reading rooms,
there is more to be said for keeping them high than in the case of
lending libraries, especially when there are separate children’s rooms.
But, generally speaking, there is no strong reason for excluding
well-conducted boys or girls from a popular reading room, whatever their
ages may be, provided they do not come during school hours, or do not
otherwise make the library a place in which to hide from some duty. In
some libraries, with age limits of twelve, fourteen or over, it is the
practice to turn away younger children from news and reading rooms in
cases where they are accompanied by their parents or elders. This is an
abuse of a rule which was only intended to protect readers from the
noisy incursions of irresponsible youngsters, who are wont to stray into
public places out of sheer devilment, or accident, or excess of
curiosity. To apply this rule to children in arms, or youngsters
accompanied by and in charge of their elders, is simply officialism
calculated to injure the popularity and prestige of municipal libraries.
The age limit for a reference library designed for students, with open
access to the shelves, should be fixed at fourteen or sixteen, with
discretionary power to the librarian to grant permits to any studious
youngster under that age. Where access to public reading rooms and
juvenile departments is easy, there seems no good reason for throwing
open the reference library to all and sundry, unless under the
safeguards suggested.
=352. The Borrowing Right.=--There are several points in connexion with
the borrowing rights of various classes of citizens which it is
desirable to notice, especially as they have much bearing on the
question of a library’s popularity and good management. In some towns
the borrowing right is strictly confined to ratepayers or residents in
the library district. Employees who live outside the district are
excluded, but for what particular reason it is difficult to understand.
An employee contributes directly to the material well-being of the
district in which his work lies; he contributes indirectly but
substantially towards the rates; he spends most of his waking and all
his working hours in the district; and in other ways he is as much a
citizen as the resident who works outside the district and only sleeps
in it at night. It is impossible to discover any reason for the
distinction made between employee and resident in some places, and it
may be pointed out that plenty of large towns grant the borrowing right
to employees without the slightest inconvenience, difficulty or
injustice to anyone. A further wise liberality permits borrowing
privileges to all non-resident scholars and students at schools or
similar institutions in the town. Similar arguments apply in favour of
such an arrangement, and these young folks are usually readers of a
valuable type.
=353.= Teachers and others engaged in educational work should be dealt
with as generously as possible, and should be lent as many books as they
need at a time for purposes of their work. From six to twelve works are
frequently required by a teacher in preparing a subject, and he should
be allowed to have them, the most liberal interpretation possible being
given to this privilege. Obviously no teacher should be permitted to
make his needs an excuse for borrowing batches of current and popular
works to the detriment of other readers, but it is better to risk even
this than to fail him in what may be an important matter. A teacher
reaches farther than the average individual.
=354.= Another regulation which tells against the interests of municipal
libraries is that in which every intending borrower, ratepayer or
otherwise, is required to obtain the signatures of one or two registered
ratepayers as guarantors before a ticket will be issued. It is not
necessary to imagine reasons for this very serious obstacle to intending
borrowers. Since many large and small towns dispense with this
precaution in the case of ratepayers, and allow non-ratepayers and
compounding householders to have tickets on the guarantee or
recommendation of one ratepayer or on leaving a small deposit, there is
no reason why this elaborate double guarantee should not be abolished
all round. The time will doubtless come when guarantees of all kinds
will be abolished and suitable recommendations substituted.
There are other antiquated and needless restrictions in connexion with
the borrowing right which need not be specified at length, but are
grouped together here as examples of bad rules for which there is little
justification.
1. The illegal charge of 1d. or 2d. for tickets or voucher forms,
still levied in some places in defiance of the Public Libraries Act,
1892, Section 11, Sub-section (3); and various judicial decisions.
2. Requiring more than three days’ notice before issuing a borrower’s
ticket. (In some places borrowers are required to wait for a week or
fourteen days from the date of lodging their application for tickets.)
3. Limiting the time for reading books to less than fourteen days.
4. Refusing to renew books by post-card, letter, telephone, or
messenger, and requiring that the actual books shall be brought back
to be re-dated.
5. The imposition of fines amounting to more than 1d. per week or part
of a week for overdue books. (In certain libraries, some of which are
not pressed for funds, the exorbitant fine of 1d. per day is imposed
for overdue books, with a time limit of seven, ten and fourteen days.
This question is further considered in Section 355.)
6. Refusing to exchange books on the same day as that on which they
are issued. (As the books which are brought back for exchange are
usually those which the borrowers have read previously, there seems
little need for such a disobliging rule.)
7. Refusing to issue books on the same day as that on which they are
returned to the library. (A common practice in the old-fashioned
libraries, worked by means of charging ledgers, but still found in
several much more up-to-date libraries. The same craze for tantalizing
the public has in a minor degree infected some open access lending
libraries which will not re-issue returned books until they have been
replaced on their shelves by the assistants.)
8. Charging borrowers 1d. or 2d. as a penalty for losing their tickets
and requiring them to be re-issued. (Query, a contravention of the
Act.)
9. Disallowing the use of ink for copying purposes in all
circumstances.
10. Allowing only one volume at a time to borrowers.
11. Restricting the number of books which a reference reader may have
at one time.
=355. Fines and Penalties.=--So long as the present rate limitation
remains as fixed by successive Acts of Parliament, fines will continue
to be levied in British municipal libraries. There is no doubt that the
small incomes realized in most public libraries from the niggardly
provision made by Parliament is one cause of the efforts made in many
cases to increase funds, by imposing fines of varying degrees of
severity upon the borrowers from lending libraries. This is, indeed, the
principal reason, though it is said that, but for penalties of some
sort, books would never be returned at all. There may be some truth in
this, as regards a small proportion of borrowers, but the experience of
Manchester and some American towns where no fines are imposed rather
modifies the statement as to the supposed disastrous effects of
non-fining. This, like many another question, is one on which the
inexperienced theoretical objector appeals to his imagination for
details of all sorts of hardships, inconveniences and dangers arising
as the result of abolishing fines. Every argument is directed towards
showing how the library would suffer, and incidentally it has been
mentioned that, perhaps, the undue retention of a popular book would
prove highly inconvenient to other readers who wanted it. These matters
need not be discussed, since it must be obvious that popular books can
always be duplicated to a certain extent; that more diligence can be
exercised in the tracing, pursuit and ingathering of overdue popular
books; and that there are methods of punishing hardened delinquent
borrowers of this kind, by suspending their tickets, as is done at
Manchester without serious results. But it is quite evident that in
Britain fining for overdue books will be maintained until it is declared
illegal--and no doubt, with bye-laws not legally confirmed, it is a
doubtful practice, in England at all events--or Parliament has removed
the rate limitation or provided other means of financial assistance,
without all this scraping, pinching and doubtful means of increasing
funds. What is suggested is more latitude in the imposition of fines,
and a less eager desire to make money over the business than is implied
in such fines as 1d. a day, and fines of two, three, four and five cents
as charged in some American libraries. No library has a right or any
need to make a profit out of such a transaction as fining for overdue
books, and it would be better to make a uniform charge of 1d. per week,
or portion of a week, for books retained over a fortnight, when not
renewed by postcard or otherwise.
=356. Holiday and Sunday Opening.=--Whether libraries are to be opened
or not on public holidays and Sundays is largely a matter for local
option. In some places libraries have been experimentally opened on
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS on the sentimental plea that many persons are unable to
use them at any other time, and the result has been anything but
encouraging. In other places, like seaside and holiday resorts, they
have been opened on such holidays, with decided advantage to trippers
seeking shelter from inclement weather. Generally speaking, all
libraries should be _closed_ on public holidays, on the grounds that a
general holiday should be generally observed as such, and that people
are much better in the fresh air than sitting indoors in libraries or
anywhere else on such occasions. If any exception to this were made it
would be to open only on wet and stormy public holidays, but always
except Christmas, and, in the case of Scotland, New Year’s Day. The
public holidays in Britain are too few and far between to effect any
radical influence upon libraries or readers.
=357.= As regards SUNDAYS, conditions are rather different. To begin
with there are more of them, and they come at regular intervals. But
unless the need for Sunday opening can be demonstrated by a satisfactory
result derived from a series of trial openings, it is better for the
libraries not to be opened as a mere concession to the views of certain
societies, or the supposed utility of the movement to people who are
alleged to be unable to come on week-days. If experiment proves that
Sunday opening is meeting a real need, open the libraries by all means,
but not otherwise. As a compromise it is suggested that if Sunday
opening is decided upon, the reading rooms only should be open between
the hours of 3 and 9 P.M. on every Sunday between October and May
inclusive. There is little need for Sunday opening in warm
weather--people are much better out-of-doors--especially if, as is
usually the case, attendances fall off greatly.
Should the Sunday opening question become a burning one in any town,
arrangements might be made to open the reading room and reference
library, provided at least 500 citizens take out tickets as an earnest
of their intention to use the library. It is doubtful if in any town
Sunday opening has been limited to students and other inquirers, but it
would form a reasonable manner of settling a difficult question should
opinion be sharply divided.
As regards ways and means of carrying on the business of a public
library on holidays and Sundays, special arrangements must be made, both
as regards the necessary attendants, heating, lighting and cleaning.
=358. Enforcement of Rules.=--There is nothing in the original English
or Irish Acts which gives power to enforce rules and bye-laws, but in
the Act of 1901 such may be obtained provided the rules are approved by
the Local Government Board. In the Scotch Act very full provisions are
made for the confirmation and enforcement of bye-laws. Clause 22 of the
Act of 1887 reads: “It shall be lawful for the committee to make
bye-laws for regulating all or any matters and things whatsoever
connected with the control, management, protection and use of any
property, articles or things under their control for the purposes of
this Act, and to impose such penalties for breaches of such bye-laws,
not exceeding £5 for each offence, as may be considered expedient; and
from time to time, as they shall think fit, to repeal, alter, vary or
re-enact any such bye-laws, provided always that such bye-laws and
alterations thereof shall not be repugnant to the law of Scotland, and
before being acted on shall be signed by a quorum of the committee, and,
except in so far as they relate solely to the officers or servants of
the committee, such bye-laws shall be approved of by the magistrates and
council, or the board, as the case may be, and shall be approved of and
confirmed by the sheriff of the county in which the burgh or parish, or
the greater part of the area thereof, is situated.” Provision is also
made for advertising and giving due notice of intention to adopt the
bye-laws.
=359.= It should be stated, however, that there are quite a number of
cases in which magistrates’ decisions in England have upheld the rules
of Public Library Committees with regard to recovery of fines for
overdue books, the value of books lost and guaranteed, and on other
points. In some of these cases it has not been held or suggested that
guarantee or voucher forms should be stamped as agreements, or that any
limit under £5 should be placed on the amount of the guarantor’s
liability. Nevertheless, a value limit of £1 or £2 might be placed upon
a guarantor’s liability, and that will dispose of the awkward point as
to the agreement being stamped.
=360. Draft Rules and Regulations.=--These draft rules are based upon a
careful examination of the principal bye-laws adopted by many of the
principal libraries in Britain and the United States, with certain
modifications to harmonize them with certain leading principles
advocated throughout this book. No two places are exactly alike in all
their circumstances and local conditions, so that no library is likely
to adopt these rules exactly as they stand. But they contain suggestions
which may be found useful in drawing up and adopting a series of
suitable rules, and enabling most vital points to be met. Some
libraries have an enormous number of rules, amounting in some cases to
fifty or sixty items, but many of these are quite unnecessary and need
not be considered. The draft rules drawn up by the Local Government
Board may be obtained if thought needful; but they are printed
separately in the _Library Association Record_, 1903, p. 28. The fewer
and simpler the rules the more likely are the people to read and observe
them.
LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
RULES AND REGULATIONS
GENERAL
1. The Liberton Public Library is a society established for purposes
of literature and science exclusively. The librarian shall have the
general charge of the library, and shall be responsible for the safe
keeping of the books and for all the property belonging thereto.
2. The library is supported in part by a rate levied in accordance
with the Public Libraries Acts and in part by annual voluntary
contributions of money and gifts of books and periodicals. The library
committee shall not make any dividend, gift, division, or bonus in
money unto or between any of the members.
3. Admission is free to all parts of the library during the hours of
opening, but no person shall be admitted who is disorderly, uncleanly
or in a state of intoxication. Smoking, betting and loud conversation
or other objectionable practices are also forbidden in the rooms or
passages of the library.
4. The librarian shall have power to suspend the use of the ticket of
any borrower, and refuse books or deny the use of the reading rooms to
any reader who shall neglect to comply with any of these rules and
regulations, such reader having the right of appeal to the library
committee, who shall also decide all other disputes between readers
and the library officials.
5. Readers desirous of proposing books for addition to the library may
do so by entering, on slips (_or_ in a book) kept for the purpose, the
titles and particulars of publication of such books, which will then
be submitted to the committee at their first meeting thereafter. All
suggestions on management to be written on slips or sent by letter to
the committee.
6. Any person who unlawfully or maliciously destroys or damages any
book, map, print, manuscript or other article belonging to the
libraries shall be liable to prosecution for misdemeanour under the
provisions of 24 & 25 _Vict., c. 97, An Act to consolidate and amend
the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to malicious injuries
to property_, 1861. The provisions of the statute entitled 61 & 62
_Vict., c. 53, An Act to provide for the punishment of Offences in
Libraries_, 1898, shall also apply.
REFERENCE DEPARTMENT
7. The library and reading room shall remain open on week-days from 9
A.M. till 10 P.M. (and on Sundays, from October to May inclusive, from
3 to 9 P.M.), but shall be closed on Christmas Day (New Year’s Day),
all public holidays, and such other days as the committee may from
time to time appoint.
8. Every person on entering the reference library shall sign his or
her name, with the correct address, in a book kept for the purpose.
Anyone giving a false name or address shall be liable to prosecution,
and shall not afterwards be allowed to use the library.
9. Every person before leaving the room shall return the book or books
consulted into the hands of the librarian or his assistants, and must
not replace books taken from the open shelves, but leave them with the
assistant at the exit.
10. Any work in the lending department, if not in use, excepting
Fiction, may be had on application at the reference library counter
for perusal in the reading room, but on no account must such books be
taken from the room.
11. Illustrations of all kinds may be copied, but not traced, save by
permission of the librarian. Extracts from books may be copied in
pencil. The use of ink is only permitted at certain tables which are
reserved for the purpose. Certain works are only issued after a
written application to the library committee.
LENDING DEPARTMENT
12. The lending library is open daily for the issue and receipt of
books every week-day from 10 A.M. till 9 P.M., but shall be closed on
Sundays, Christmas Day (New Year’s Day), all public holidays and such
other days as the committee may from time to time appoint.
13. Books shall be borrowed for home reading only by persons rated,
resident or employed in the Borough of ..........., or qualified by
Rule 18.
14. All persons whose names appear on the current Roll of Electors of
the Borough, or in the local directories as residents, may borrow
books on their own responsibility, after filling up an application for
a borrower’s ticket, on a form provided for the purpose.
15. Other residents, and non-resident employees in the borough, over
twelve (fourteen) years of age, may borrow books, but must first
obtain a guarantee (or recommendation) from a duly qualified person,
as defined in Rule 14, and must sign an application for a borrower’s
ticket, on forms to be provided by the librarian. But no such
guarantor shall be allowed to assume responsibility for more than
three other persons, unless by special arrangement with the committee,
and in no single case shall his or her liability exceed £2 per person
guaranteed.
16. Any person resident or employed in the borough, unable to obtain
the signature of a qualified resident as a guarantee, may borrow books
on leaving a deposit of 10s. with the librarian. The guarantee of the
recognized head officials of Government departments, Friendly
Societies and similar organizations may be accepted at the discretion
of the Committee in lieu of an ordinary guarantee, for persons who are
employed in the district.
17. The Application and Guarantee Form, duly signed, must be delivered
to the librarian, and if, on examination, it is found correct, the
borrower’s ticket will be issued three days (_or_ at once) after
(excluding Sundays), but will only be delivered to the borrower in
person. This ticket will be available at the central library or any
branch or branches.
18. In accordance with Section 11 of the Public Libraries Act, 1892,
the committee will lend books to persons, other than those duly
qualified under Rules 13-16, who pay an annual subscription of 7s.
6d.; but such borrowers must conform, in every respect, to all the
rules of the library, and shall have no privileges other than those
possessed by the other borrowers.
19. The committee shall issue additional tickets to readers, available
for all classes of literature save Fiction. Any duly enrolled borrower
may have one of these extra tickets on filling up an application form
as for an ordinary ticket. School teachers may have more than one
ticket of this class on application to the librarian.
20. All tickets and vouchers must be renewed annually, each ticket and
voucher being reckoned available for one year from date of issue.[13]
[13] In some libraries the practice has arisen of making tickets
permanent, as long as the holder resides in the district, without
renewal annually. In place of renewal, a revision takes place, to
ensure accuracy of addresses, etc.; where this is so, Rule 20 is
unnecessary.
21. The borrower must return each volume lent within fifteen days,
including days of issue and return, and shall be liable to a fine of
1d. per week or portion of a week for each volume lent, if not
returned within that period, but the issue of a book may be renewed
for a further period of fifteen days, dating from the day of
intimation, on notice being given to the librarian either personally
or in writing, and no further renewal will be allowed if the book is
required by another reader. Books which are much in demand may,
however, be refused such renewal at the discretion of the librarian.
22. Each volume on return shall be delivered to the librarian or his
assistant, and if on examination it be found to have sustained any
damage or injury, the person to whom it was lent, or his or her
guarantor, shall be required to pay the amount of damage done or to
procure a new copy or series of equal value, and, in the latter case,
the person supplying the new copy shall be entitled to the damaged
copy or series on depositing the new one.
23. Borrowers who are unable to obtain a particular non-fictional
book, and desire that it shall be retained for them on its return,
must give its title, number, etc., to the assistant, and pay 1d. to
cover cost of posting an intimation that it is available for issue;
but no book will be kept longer than the time mentioned in the notice
sent. Novels cannot be reserved under this rule.
24. Borrowers are required to keep the books clean. They are not to
turn down or stain the leaves, nor to make pencil or other marks upon
them. They must take the earliest opportunity of reporting any damage
or injury done to the books they receive, otherwise they will be held
responsible for the value of the same.
25. If an infectious disease breaks out in any house containing books
belonging to the library, such books are not to be returned to the
library, but must be handed over to the Medical Officer of Health or
any sanitary officer acting on his behalf. Until such infected house
is declared free of disease by the Medical Officer of Health, no books
will be issued from the libraries to any person or persons residing
therein. In similar circumstances non-resident ratepayers or employees
must return their books to the Medical Officer, and cease to use the
libraries till their residences are certified free from infection.
26. Only actual borrowers who are enrolled on the register of the
library shall have the right of direct access to the book-shelves, but
their representatives may be admitted at the discretion of the
librarian or his assistants. To prevent disappointment, these
representatives should come provided with a list of several
book-titles and numbers.
27. Any change in the residence of borrowers or their guarantors, or
notice of withdrawal of guarantee, must be intimated to the librarian
within one week.
28. Borrowers leaving the district or ceasing to use the library are
required to return their tickets to the librarian in order to have
them cancelled; otherwise they and their guarantors will be held
responsible for any books taken out in their names.
29. No person under twelve years of age shall be eligible to borrow
books or make use of the adult library, except by the librarian’s
permission.
GENERAL READING AND MAGAZINE ROOMS
30. The general reading room shall remain open on week-days from 8
A.M. till 10 P.M., and the magazine room from 9 A.M. till 10 P.M. (and
on Sundays, from October to May inclusive, from 3 to 9 P.M.). Both
rooms shall be closed on Christmas Day (New Year’s Day), all public
holidays, and such other days as the committee may from time to time
appoint.
31. No persons under twelve years of age, unless accompanied by their
parents or elders capable of controlling them, shall be allowed to use
these rooms, except by permission of the librarian or his assistants.
32. Any persons who use these rooms for purposes of betting, or who in
any way cause obstruction or disorder in these or any other rooms or
passages of the libraries, are liable to be proceeded against under
the provisions of 61 & 62 _Vict., c. 53, An Act to Provide for the
Punishment of Offences in Libraries_, 1898.
33. Readers in possession of newspapers or other periodicals must be
prepared to resign them to any other reader who may ask to peruse
them, ten minutes after the request has been made through one of the
library staff.
JUVENILE ROOM
34. The juvenile reading room and library shall remain open from 4
till 8 P.M. daily on Monday to Friday inclusive, and from 10 A.M. till
6 P.M. on Saturdays.
35. The admission is free to every boy or girl under (twelve) fourteen
years of age residing in the Borough of . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
who is able to write and read; but they must obtain a guarantee (or
recommendation) from their parents or school teacher as to good
behaviour and safe return of all books.
36. Only one book per week will be allowed to each borrower.
37. Application for tickets admitting to the reading room must be made
at the library.
There are certain admonitory rules which are best displayed in frames in
placard form, such as: SILENCE IS REQUESTED; NO CONVERSATION ALLOWED; NO
DOGS ADMITTED; CYCLISTS ARE REQUESTED TO KEEP THEIR MACHINES OUTSIDE THE
BUILDING; PLEASE WIPE YOUR BOOTS; NO ADMISSION THIS WAY; NO SMOKING
ALLOWED; and so on. Some of the general rules would be much more
effective if displayed in this form.
=361. Notes on Rules.=--1 and 2. These rules are included for the
purpose of qualifying for the certificate of exemption from income-tax
and local rates, as described in Sections 37-40.
15. In some libraries the guarantee of responsible heads of large
government and other departments is accepted for all the employees, and
secretaries of associations and school teachers have also been accepted.
In the first case the association has become responsible for all its
eligible members, and signs through its secretary. In the second case
the teacher assumes responsibility for all his eligible pupils. It
should be understood that a teacher’s guarantee does not involve the
teacher in financial responsibility, but is an indication of his opinion
that the applicant may benefit by the use of the library, and usually
includes the assumption that he will use his moral influence to secure
the due care and return of books. Some libraries have abolished the
guarantee for non-ratepayers.
16. DEPOSITORS should be treated as ordinary borrowers, and their
tickets and numbering should go through the same routine. The money
received from deposits may either be paid into the bank and repaid as
wanted by depositors from petty cash, or held by the librarian and
repaid when called up. Deposit money of this kind when paid into the
bank tends somewhat to complicate and falsify the accounts by recording
receipts which do not belong to the library, and inflating the petty
cash expenditures, but borough accountants regard it as orthodox
book-keeping as a rule. The practice differs in all places as regards
this point, and the librarian may keep a separate account of these
moneys, whether paid into the bank or not.
18. Under the powers conferred by the 1892 Act, many public libraries
now permit persons residing outside the district who are not otherwise
qualified to become borrowers on payment of an annual subscription,
ranging from 5s. to 10s. The money received from this source should be
paid into the subscriptions account at the bank, and a proper receipt
given to the subscriber, showing how long the subscription is current.
21. The RENEWAL OF BOOKS is generally allowed without question, if no
inquiries for them in the interval have been recorded. In other cases,
such renewals must, of course, be refused, unless the books are not
returned, in which case nothing can be done. Here again the eternal
fiction question arises, and there are reasonable doubts if the right of
renewal should be allowed in the case of recent popular novels. With
classic fiction and other books it is quite another matter, and students
should be allowed to renew within all reasonable limits, and by any
reasonable means--post-card, telephone, message or other--providing that
readers give the necessary particulars. A form of renewal slip is used
at some libraries which may be useful. Copies are taken away by any
borrower who thinks he may require them, and if he desires to renew a
book, he simply fills up a slip and sends it by hand or post to the
library. The assistant then picks out the charge from the charging
system, inserts the renewal slip in the pocket, and re-issues it under
the current date. The renewals may be picked out and sorted in one
sequence behind a special guide, so that when a book is returned which
has not been re-dated, it is easy to find it; or a “dummy” book card may
be inserted in order under the original date of issue bearing a
reference to the date of renewal--this is perhaps the more effective
method. Renewals should count as re-issues, and a record should be made
of the issue of all books which are thus renewed.
+--------------------------------+
| _Book No._ |
+--------------------------------+
| _Issued_ |
+--------------------------------+
| _Renewed_ |
+--------------------------------+
| _Fine_ |
+--------------------------------+
| This Ticket should be returned |
| when renewing the Book. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+--------------------------------+
| LIBERTON |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY. |
+--------------------------------+
FIG. 132.--Renewal Slip (Section 361 (21)).
23. The practice of RESERVING BOOKS has been adopted in many libraries,
and within certain limits it is useful. The chief points connected with
the matter are whether all books should be reserved, and how many orders
for the same popular book should be booked at once. As regards the first
point, it is wise to exclude current popular, but not classic, fiction
from the operation of the rule, partly for the reason that in this class
duplicates of popular novels are generally stocked, and also because it
is necessary to restrict as much as possible any privilege which may
seem to favour one class to the exclusion of another, as there is no
doubt that the charge of 1d. will practically exclude many poor people
from participating in this method of book-reservation. It is simple to
make a rough distinction between classic and current fiction, by adding
the classic symbol (some arbitrary sign) to the class-mark of all books
which have been published more than ten years. Such works are not
necessarily classic, of course, but all that is contemplated is to
prevent the holding-up on reservation lists of the latest works. As
regards the second point, librarians will have to exercise a nice
discretion as to how many readers they will place on the rota at one
time, as it is quite conceivable that to reserve any popular work twenty
or thirty times ahead is simply to cut it off from general circulation
for an indefinite period. In the case of very popular books, the
possibility of buying a special copy for reservation should be
contemplated. As regards the method of working the system of reserving
books, the usual plan is to sell a post-card to the borrower, who
addresses it to himself and enters the name of the book wanted. These
post-cards are then returned to the librarian, who arranges them in
order, and, as the books are stopped on return, sends out the post-card
next in order. A usual form for the post-card is as follows: “Please
note that the book ............................. reserved by you, has
now been returned, and will be kept for you till the evening of
..........................” The assistant fills in the date by which the
book should be claimed. Of course, borrowers who fail to claim miss
their turn. A separate register of these reserved books can be kept in
addition to the cards, if thought advisable. A receipt should, of
course, be given for each post-card, and in some libraries the numbers
of the books reserved are written on the counterfoils.
25. INFECTIOUS DISEASES NOTIFICATION.--Authorities differ greatly as to
the power of books to carry and disseminate disease. American and
English bacteriologists, after exhaustive researches and tests, declare
that dirty books cannot convey infection, whilst German and French
scientists are not so sure. The latest tests and theories are negative.
Infection is conveyed in a wet state from the patient to another person,
and it is affirmed that when contagious matter has dried it is
innocuous. It is, therefore, clear that the conditions under which books
may carry disease rarely, if ever, occur. As library assistants are
continually turning over, handling and inhaling the dust, etc., from
lending library books without observed ill results, it may be assumed
that the danger of infection, if it exists at all, is greatly
exaggerated. But as the public mind is somewhat excited over this
question, it is necessary for library authorities to take steps to
reassure the people that everything is done to prevent disease being
communicated through the medium of library books. The Public Health Acts
are quite clear on the point that persons suffering from infectious
diseases, or in charge of other persons so suffering, are liable to
penalties for lending any article; and this would cover the case of a
library which re-issued a book which came from an infected house. The
practice should therefore be for the local sanitary authority to seize
all library books found on disease-infected premises, and simply destroy
them after due notification to the library authority. A further
notification should be sent to the library when the house has been
disinfected and declared free from disease, as in the meantime the
librarian has stopped the issue of books to persons in the
disease-stricken house from the date of the first intimation. There are
various forms of notice used for notifying when and where disease breaks
out, and what books are destroyed, and also for declaring the infected
house free from disease. As regards the disinfection of books by means
of fumes, etc., the opinion is that it cannot be properly done without
destroying the bindings, and it is best to take the extreme course in
view of the public fears. As regards the cost of replacing such
destroyed books, the local sanitary authority can be called upon to do
this under the provisions of the Public Health Acts, 1901, but unless
the annual loss is very great, it seems hardly advisable to raise the
point. In small places or towns with very limited book funds, the
sanitary authority should certainly be asked to replace all books which
are destroyed. It is a wise plan to keep a separate record of books
which are destroyed in the interest of the public health. This need not
note any further particulars than the dates, titles and numbers of
books, and cost. A column can be reserved for remarks.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
=362. Rules:=
Brett, W. H. Regulations for Readers. U.S. Educ. Rept., 1892-3, vol.
i., p. 939.
Dana, J. C. Public Service. _In his_ Library Primer, p. 122.
Library Hours. Greenwood’s Year Book, 1900, p. 236.
=363. Sunday Opening:=
Barnett, Canon. Sunday Labour in Public Libraries, etc. Greenwood’s
Year Book, 1897, p. 102.
Cutler, M. S., Mrs Fairchild. Sunday Opening of Public Libraries. U.S.
Educ. Rept., 1892-3, vol. i., p. 771.
Greenwood, T. Sunday Opening of Public Libraries. _In his_ Public
Libraries, 1894, p. 458; _and statistics_ in the British Library Year
Book, 1900, p. 236.
=364. Infectious Diseases:=
Books as Carriers of Disease. Library J., vol. xxi., p. 150.
Johnston, T. The Replacement of “Infected” Books. Library W., vol.
iv., p. 6.
Rivers, J. Do Public Library Books spread Disease? L. W., vol. vii.,
p. 143.
Willcock, W. J. Notification of Infectious Disease and the Public
Library. L. W., 1899, p. 89.
=365. Open Access:=
_See_ Manual of Library Economy, 1903, pp. 445-68, for discussion of
policy and list of articles on the subject.
Stewart, J. D., and Others. Open Access, 1915.
For articles see Cannons, E 45-48, Rules and Regulations, Hours,
Sunday and Holiday Opening; E 107, Loan Period.
DIVISION XI
THE LENDING, OR HOME READING, DEPARTMENT