READING-ROOM METHODS
=460. Newsrooms.=--The chief difference which exists in the composition
of British and American libraries is the frequent absence from the
latter of general reading rooms in which the principal newspapers are
displayed for public use. The newsroom has never been generally
recognized in the United States as a necessary department of a public
library, and, save in a few exceptional cases, these rooms are not to be
found in the average American public library. The nearest approach to
the British newsroom in America is the large magazine reading room, in
which all kinds of weekly and monthly periodicals are displayed. This is
substantially the same as a newsroom, but without the current numbers of
daily newspapers. There are reasons why the Americans do not encourage
newsrooms, and one is the enormous number of newspapers which exist in
every large town. The display of a representative selection of
newspapers and the cost of maintaining the department would occupy a
large space, and the funds would be spent to a considerable extent in
providing one of the least healthy forms of literature. But perhaps the
real reason for the American indifference to the newsroom is the
sensational and vulgar tone of a considerable portion of the newspaper
press. Some American newspapers are free from such undesirable and
objectionable features as sensational and untrue comments on current
events, vulgar personalities, exaggeration and misrepresentation,
objectionable and dangerous advertisements, and a very low level of
literary merit, but many are not. The best fugitive work of American
writers of any importance is to be found in the magazines and literary
weeklies, which offer a marked contrast in every respect, save perhaps
as regards advertisements, to the somewhat debased character of many
American daily newspapers. These are all reasons why newsrooms on the
British plan are not quite desirable in American libraries, and they
apply to a large extent to the altered conditions of recent British
journalism. Time was when the average British newspaper represented a
high standard of accuracy, fairness and literary ability, but since the
importation of many doubtful American methods, the character of the
press has to a large measure degenerated. Moreover, few British
newspapers are independent of political or corporation control, although
exceptions exist, and impartial reports of and comments upon news are
rare.
=461.= The stock arguments in favour of newspapers are reasonable, and
have a strong element of truth in them. They attract a class of reader
who would not otherwise come to the library at all, and satisfy the
literary aspirations of some ratepayers who might receive otherwise no
direct return for their rates. The presence of literary, technical and
commercial periodicals in the newsroom is also said to attract a large
number of interested readers, and no doubt it does; but this result
might be achieved independently of the newspaper element. Newspaper
readers are often a class apart; they rarely read anything else. _Real_
newspaper readers are comparatively few, and besides those who come for
the weekly periodicals, the newsroom attracts loafers, sporting men and
all kinds of hopeless individuals, to whom the comparative comfort of
the newsroom is an attraction. Mr George Gissing, in one of his
sketches, has drawn an exaggerated picture of such a newsroom haunter,
who suffers from a kind of neurosis which drags him irresistibly to a
public newsroom, there to indulge his morbid olfactory sense. The main
argument in favour of newsrooms is that they present representative
journals of every shade of opinion, and give the opportunity which is
badly needed of comparative reading. But it is a department which some
librarians think costs rather more than is justified by its actual
value. When the annual charges for periodicals, fittings, lighting,
heating, oversight and proportion of loan are all added together, it
will be found that a newsroom costs a very considerable amount, which
could be applied to more permanent advantage in a reference or lending
library. The smaller the library the greater is the proportionate cost,
and committees may seriously consider the question of limitation in
public newsrooms, at any rate so far as daily newspapers are concerned.
It is clearly a department where continual supervision is necessary,
where it is most difficult to enforce discipline, and one that gives
rise to continual public criticism.
=462.= A few years ago the practice of _blacking out_ the betting news
was adopted in some newsrooms, as an experimental device to discourage
the sporting element, which in some towns used to obstruct the greater
part of the newsrooms. This is mentioned, not as an example to be
followed, but as showing the shifts some library authorities have been
driven to in order to prevent abuses. This practice of obliteration is
now rare. Another suggestion for coping with the betting fraternity is
to cease buying or displaying the evening papers, or to procure them so
late as to make them useless for the purposes of the sporting element,
while not in any way penalizing the reader who comes after 7 p.m. As a
further suggestion for limiting the cost and obstructions of most
newsrooms in large towns, it has been proposed (1) that only the morning
daily papers be bought, for the benefit of the unemployed; (2) that the
“Situations Vacant” columns only be displayed from 7 or 8 till 11 a.m.;
(3) that the whole of them be removed at 11 o’clock, and their places
occupied by maps, charts, pictures of current topics, or other similar
broadside matter likely to interest and instruct.
=463.= In this way a newsroom might be greatly improved, and the
character of its work changed, without interfering with the use of the
illustrated periodicals, technical journals and trade papers displayed
on the tables. By utilizing the wall space only for newspapers, good
oversight is obtained and a certain amount of limitation is forced upon
the authority by mechanical means. In arranging newspapers on the
stands, care should be taken to separate the popular journals by a few
less popular ones, so as to avoid continuous crowding at one or two
points. The people who read newspapers should be distributed round the
walls as thinly as possible, and this can only be effected by spreading
the papers all round the available area.
=464.= In selecting newspapers for a newsroom great care should be taken
to represent all political parties, and at the same time to avoid as far
as may be the sensational element. All local papers should be taken, if
not for display at least for permanent preservation. The leading London
and provincial dailies should be taken, and a representative daily from
Scotland and Ireland, and the leading foreign newspapers in French and
German at least.
[Illustration: FIG. 165.--Double Newspaper Stand, Chelsea (Section
466).]
=465.= Newspapers are best displayed upon wall stands where possible, as
more oversight can be obtained, and the economy over standard slopes,
with papers on both sides, is undeniable. A newsroom fitted with
newspaper stands at right angles to the walls, and covering most of the
floor space, presents a somewhat crowded and obstructed appearance, and
it is impossible for the staff to thoroughly overlook it easily. Apart
from this a newsroom gains much in appearance, spaciousness and airiness
when the newspapers are relegated to the walls, well out of the way. The
weekly journals can be kept very conveniently on tables, as shown in
Sections 162-65, and it is sometimes found advantageous to secure them
by means of cords or chains as described in Section 163.
=466. Newspaper Stands.=--The present conditions of printing and
production seem to make the broadside style of newspaper a necessity in
all countries, and till some radical change in machinery is introduced
which will permit newspapers in pamphlet or small quarto form to be
produced rapidly, large stands for the display of newspapers will have
to be provided. Standard newspaper slopes either at right angles to
walls or distributed over the floor of a newsroom are not recommended,
for the reasons already given and because their cost is much greater.
They are necessary, however, in some cases, owing to considerations of
light and convenience, and the form and dimensions indicated will be
found useful (Figs. 165 and 166).
[Illustration: FIG. 166.--Double Newspaper Stand (Section 466).]
[Illustration: FIG. 167.--Wall Newspaper Stand (Section 467).]
=467.= Apart from the fact that an exclusive use of wall slopes leaves
the centre of the room free, it permits the titles and whereabouts of
newspapers to be more easily noticed. Wall slopes should be made to the
same dimensions as standards, save, of course, that only one face is
necessary. The lower part of the slope should project eighteen inches to
fifteen inches from the wall, to give a convenient angle for reading.
Too great a slope is not desirable, as it tends to throw the top of the
paper out of the reach and eye range of short people. This difficulty
has been met most satisfactorily by the system designed, we believe, by
Mr E. A. Savage for use at Wallasey. Here the slopes work on a central
pivot and move backwards and forwards to enable the top or bottom of the
paper to be read with ease, and are so balanced that they fall easily
and readily into their correct position when released. These slopes, it
may be added, are much lower than those usually adopted, and a reader
may be seated at them and may compass the whole paper thus. A small
beading or projection at the foot of the slope is frequently of use in
preventing papers from drooping.
=468. Newspaper Fittings.=--TITLES for newspapers should be fixed on the
stands over the centre of the spaces occupied by the papers. A
title-board about six inches high should be provided for the purpose. It
can be made to slide along a projection on the top of the stands if
grooved on its under side. On this the name-tablets of the newspapers
should appear in bold letters, not less than two inches high. These
tablets may be printed on paper or card, or may appear on enamelled,
metal or plate-glass tablets. There is a very large variety of such
name-tablets on the market, and choice will not be difficult. It is a
useful practice to attach to the fronts of the stands at intervals small
bone, metal or card tablets intimating that papers must be surrendered
to other readers after a certain period of warning has elapsed. A useful
form of such intimation is as follows:
+-----------------------------------------+
| =Readers are requested to relinquish |
| newspapers within TEN MINUTES of |
| being asked to do so by other readers.= |
+-----------------------------------------+
[Illustration: FIG. 168.--Simplex Newspaper Holder (Section 469).]
[Illustration: FIG. 169.--Revolving Newspaper Holder with Clips (Section
469).]
=469.= HOLDERS.--There is a very large variety of rods, clips, and other
means for holding newspapers on their stands, and the following
illustrations will describe them better than words. A good form is used
in the public libraries of Hammersmith, Wolverhampton, Leicester,
Finsbury, Liverpool, etc., and consists of a pair of screw clips which
can be readily adjusted to any height of paper. These Simplex clips are
illustrated on the revolving rod. Fig. 168 is called the “Simplex”
newspaper rod, and is fastened to the bottom by means of a screw turned
by a key. It is used in the public libraries of Wolverhampton, Croydon,
Hull, West Ham, Glasgow, etc. Fig. 169 is a revolving holder which can
be adjusted to different sizes of illustrated periodicals, by means of
the sliding screw clips. It is intended for periodicals like the
_Graphic_, _Sketch_, _Architect_, etc., which frequently have large
folding plates running across two pages, and which cannot be
conveniently examined when the journal is secured to a stand. A special
form of separate wooden stand or easel is also made for such illustrated
journals, which will be found useful when room is scarce on the other
slopes.
=470.= Other fittings for newspaper slopes which are sometimes used are
metal leaning bars or fences to keep readers from leaning on the papers
and tearing them. These must be very strongly fastened at the foot of
the slope in such a position as to project about four to six inches from
the front. They should be held in strong brackets, as they have to
support a very considerable weight.
The sticks and rods for holding single or several newspapers, such as
are used for clubs and restaurants, are not particularly suitable for
public library use, unless under very exceptional circumstances.
One of the commonest abuses of the newsroom is the tearing or cutting
out of parts of newspapers (ladies frequently remove them with the
scratching of the point of a hat-pin!), especially of advertisements. It
is well to have a notice prominently displayed to the effect that this
is a penal offence, and that persons desiring to copy advertisements may
borrow pencil and paper for the purpose on application.
=471. Magazine Rooms and Periodicals.=--The newsroom may be made the
store for all the trade, technical and other weeklies which in any way
convey _news_ in their own particular fields; while the magazine room,
if provided separately, may be reserved for the monthly and quarterly
magazines, reviews and other miscellanies, which are not so much
vehicles for the spread of current news. This is a rough division, but
it seems a reasonable one for libraries where some distinction must be
made between newsrooms and magazine rooms. In the selection of
periodicals and magazines the same care should be taken as with
newspapers to choose only the best and most representative. Committees
should make it an invariable rule never to take any sectarian paper,
save as a donation, or in response to a widespread public demand. Church
and chapel papers are often forced upon libraries by their respective
partisans out of sheer rivalry, and when this sort of thing once begins
the library is sure to suffer by having to pay dearly for the
gratification of mere sectarian feeling. It is waste of money to
subscribe for the papers of this, that, and the other sect, on the
sentimental grounds of fair play all round, and of meeting the views of
large bodies of ratepayers in the same spirit as the wishes of trades or
professions are met by providing technical and other journals. But there
is this difference. A technical journal appeals to all sects, while a
sectarian journal does not, and, as a matter of fact, is seldom read by
its adherents once the honour of the faith is vindicated by having it
placed in the public library. Some libraries adopt the rule of refusing
all donations of periodicals in order to prevent the difficulties that
arise.
=472.= The arrangement of periodicals and magazines in their respective
rooms calls for some notice. There are several ways in actual use which
all prove satisfactory, and which are, nevertheless, very different in
application. The most common plan of displaying periodicals is to spread
them loose all over the tables in strong covers lettered with the
titles, and to try to maintain a rough alphabetical order. Another
method is to place the periodicals in their covers in racks as described
in Sections 162-65. The readers are expected to take what periodical
they want from these racks, read it at the tables, and return it to its
place in the rack. As a rule they either do not return them accurately
or they leave them lying on the tables. But in any case this method is
preferable to the plan of spreading them over the tables, as it acts in
a measure as an indicator to the periodicals in use. A third method is
to keep the whole of the periodicals off the tables or racks, and to
issue them from a counter or rack which is superintended by an
assistant. This can be done in a number of ways, but preferably by means
of an indicator such as is described in Section 393. The last plan is
one which has the advantage of providing each periodical with a fixed
place where it can always be found, though it entails the provision of a
separate chair and table space for every magazine, and so requires a
much greater amount of space than any of the other methods.
[Illustration: FIG. 170.--Adjustable Periodicals List (Section 474).]
=473.= With tables provided with racks in the manners shown in Section
165 the periodicals can be arranged alphabetically, or classified by
kind, and secured to the rack or table by means of stout cords or chains
covered with leather to prevent noise. If double-sided tables are
available, with divisions as described above, they should be provided.
Double-sided tables, especially if narrow, are not comfortable to sit
at, either on account of the knees, breath or manners of your
_vis-à-vis_, but when divided by means of a central partition, much of
this objection is removed. Except for the difficulty of providing space
for every separate periodical, it has been found, after trial of most of
the other methods, that the fixed plan, plus some convenient means of
inserting a new periodical at any point, is on the whole the most
satisfactory all round. It is a decided advantage for a reader to be
able to go straight to the place where the magazine he wants is fixed,
and to find it always there when directed to it from any form of
indicator or periodicals list. If the less popular or valuable
periodicals were placed in a rack similar to that shown in Section 165,
Fig. 49, the space required for displaying the better periodicals and
magazines would be considerably restricted in area, while there would be
a gain in space as well. The plan of keeping all the periodicals
together which deal with the same trade or subject is very advantageous,
and has the effect of removing the readers of lighter magazines, who are
sometimes of a restless type, from the more studious reader who wants
quiet.
=474.= In any plan of displaying periodicals on tables or racks a key to
the order should be provided in the shape of an adjustable periodical
list, which gives a complete list of every periodical or magazine
contained in a room. It is an appliance in which the name of every
periodical taken by the library is clearly displayed on a printed
movable slip in a glazed English oak frame. This frame has a movable
back to which are attached xylonite strips which retain the printed
titles of the magazines in place, enabling them to be arranged in any
order and to be added to or taken from at pleasure. Thus the name of a
withdrawn or defunct periodical can be easily removed and that of a new
one added.
=475.= The checking of periodicals and newspapers as received, and every
morning as they lie on the tables, should be done by means of special
records or checks. An effective form of check card for magazines or
periodicals as received from the newsagent is shown in Figs. 171-3. This
shows overdues at once, and enables a complete check to be kept on the
delivery of periodicals. One kind of ruling suffices for every kind of
periodical, daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly, and the cards are ruled
as in the figures below with heading and fifty-two lines to the page. If
necessary both sides can be ruled, and so one card can be made to last
for a long time.
In the cards for monthly periodicals the names of the months should be
written in advance, the dates of receipt being added against each month
as the magazine is received. In the case of weeklies and dailies the
numbers are to be entered number by number as received. An overdue can
be noticed at once by anyone going over the cards, by simply noting that
a weekly due on Friday, the day previous to the actual date of
publication, has not been entered. These cards should be examined for
overdues daily in the case of dailies, and every Friday evening or
Saturday morning in the case of weeklies and monthlies. If each kind is
stored in a suitable box or portfolio the checking and marking-off can
be done with great rapidity. These cards can also be used for annuals,
society publications, etc. In the latter case the year can be written at
the top of the column, and the publications received for the
subscription can be written in the column lengthways. If nothing has
been received by the middle of any year, the society can be notified.
But the irregularity of society and other subscription publications is a
feature which requires a good deal of watching, and a card check of some
kind is essential.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| _Cornhill Magazine._ _Annual Cost_, 9s. |
| |
| _Vendor_, Jones & Co. _Due about_ 28th. _Location_, Rack 30. |
+-----+------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+
| 19|01. | 19|02. | 19|03. | 19|04. | 19|05. | 19|06. |
+-----+------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+
|No. | Rec. | | | | | | | | | | |
|Jan. |Dc. 28| | | | | | | | | | |
|Feb. |Jn. 29| | | | | | | | | | |
|Mar. |Mar. 1| | | | | | | | | | |
|Apl. | | | | | | | | | | | |
|May | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
|The ruling continues for 52 lines. |
FIG. 171.--Periodicals Check Card, Blue (9¼″ × 6″), showing Arrangement
for Monthlies (Section 475).
+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| 1901.| 1902.| | | | | | | | | | |
+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Jun. 1|Jun. 2| | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 8| „ 9| | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 15| „ 16| | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 22| „ 23| | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 29| „ 30| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
FIG. 172.--White Card, showing Arrangement for Weeklies (Section 475).
+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|< | | 19|01. | | >|< | | 19|02. | | >|
+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Jun. 1| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 3| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 4| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 5| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 6| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 7| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 8| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 10| | | | | | | | | | | |
| „ 11| | | | | | | | | | | |
FIG. 173.--Buff Card, showing Arrangement for Dailies (Section 475).
=476.= The morning check of periodicals as they lie on the tables should
be done by an assistant armed with a list, written or printed on a card,
by means of which he or she can follow the order of all the periodicals
as they are arranged on stands, tables or racks. Anything missing should
be noted on a separate slip of paper, and entered in the work-book. The
initials of the checker should also be written in the work-book in the
space provided. (See Section 89.) The librarian should receive the check
slip if anything is missing. In similar fashion the assistant who
examines the periodical check cards for overdues should notify the
librarian of any numbers not promptly received.
The filing of magazines and newspapers may be done in a variety of ways.
Newspapers should be kept in order on special racks, in piles, with a
suitable board underneath to act as a runner and support, and a sheet of
cardboard or glazed casing paper above to prevent the settling of dust.
Periodicals and magazines may either be kept in special cloth-covered
boxes made to take a whole or half-year’s numbers, as the case may be,
or kept on boards in the same manner as newspapers. In both cases
alphabetical order of titles will be found a suitable arrangement. The
plan of placing the numbers of a periodical as done at the Mitchell
Library, Glasgow, seems a simple and effective manner of dealing with a
large number of files. This is illustrated in Fig. 174.
=477.= It is not advisable to reserve anything, either for binding, or
preservation for a time, and it is wise to make up a list of periodicals
and newspapers which it is intended to keep, file them, and give all
the remainder away to poorhouses, asylums or similar institutions.
Sometimes they can be sold at half-price as withdrawn from the tables,
but in most cases all matter of this kind has to be sold as waste-paper.
=478.= The only satisfactory method of counting the attendances in
general reading rooms is by means of a recording turnstile. All other
methods of occasional counts and the striking of averages are
unreliable. The demand for statistics is sometimes so strong,
unfortunately, that librarians are driven to satisfy their committees as
to the use made of reading rooms, and in the absence of a turnstile the
best thing to do is to take whole-day counts as follows: on a Monday in
January; Tuesday in February; Wednesday in March, etc.; divide the total
by twelve, and multiply the average thus obtained by the number of days
open. Every individual who enters or re-enters must be counted. This
gives a mere approximation to the actual attendance, but is a better and
more reasonable plan than counting the readers present in the rooms
every hour or half-hour, adding the totals together, and reckoning the
result as the day’s attendance.
[Illustration: FIG. 174.--Periodicals File (Section 476).]
As an aid in keeping order in public newsrooms it is a good plan to
frame a few copies of the 1898 “Act to provide for the Punishment of
Offences in Libraries,” and to hang them in conspicuous places, along
with the admonitory notices regarding “Silence,” etc. The official
appearance of a framed Act of Parliament has a daunting effect upon a
certain type of mind, and has been found to act as a check upon sporting
and loafing individuals.
=479. Women’s Rooms.=--About eighty public libraries in Britain have
provided separate rooms for the use of women, but it is doubtful if such
accommodation is really necessary, and they have not been uniformly
successful. To a certain extent the matter depends upon the locality. If
there is plenty of room in the building there is no harm in making this
extra provision, if the room can be properly overlooked, but in cases
where space is limited, it is a mistake to cramp the rest of the
building for the sake of a somewhat sentimental idea. A few extra women
of a fidgety or timid sort may be attracted to the library because of
this exclusive accommodation, but the great majority of women prefer to
use the ordinary departments of a public library on the same footing and
conditions as men, and resent distinctions, such as the room implies. If
women can use the crowded spaces in front of restricted lending
libraries, and can mix with men in open lending libraries, they can
surely use the other public rooms without harm or inconvenience.
=480. Public Lavatory Accommodation.=--This is perhaps a convenient
place to mention lavatory accommodation for the public. It should not be
provided by public library authorities at all, unless to a limited
extent for the use of reference library readers, or for social meetings
in connexion with lecture rooms. It is the duty of the sanitary or
public health authorities to provide this kind of public accommodation,
and not library boards with painfully limited funds. Somewhere adjacent
to the library building provision of this kind can be made by the local
authority, and it will be found a convenience to the public and a relief
to the library funds.
=481.= BIBLIOGRAPHY
No monograph. For articles see Cannons: E 69 _et seq._, Newsrooms; D
38-9, Racks and Stands; E 70-4, Fittings and Notices; E 78, Ladies’
Rooms.
DIVISION XIII
LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN