Produced by Suzanne Shell, Katherine Delany and the Project Gutenberg
Distributed Proofreading Team
A Library Primer
John Cotton Dana
Third Edition
Library Bureau, Chicago
1903
Copyright, 1899, by Library Bureau
To Samuel S. Green, William I. Fletcher, and Charles A. Cutter
PREFACE.
A library primer was published in the first six numbers of Public
Libraries in 1896. It was quite largely made up of extracts from an
article by Dr W.F. Poole on The organization and management of public
libraries, which formed part of the report on Public libraries in the
U.S., published by the U.S. Bureau of education in 1876; from W.I.
Fletcher's Public libraries in America; from Mary W. Plummer's Hints
to small libraries; and from papers in the Library journal and A.L.A.
proceedings.
At the request of a number of people interested I have revised,
rewritten, and extended the original draft for publication in book
form. Additional material has been taken from many sources. I have
tried to give credit in good measure. The prevailing tendency among
librarians is to share ideas, to give to one another the benefit of
all their suggestions and experiences. The result is a large fund of
library knowledge which is common property. From this fund most of
this book is taken.
The Library Primer is what its name implies. It does not try to be
exhaustive in any part of the field. It tries to open up the subject
of library management for the small library, and to show how large it
is and how much librarians have yet to learn and to do.
The City library, J.C.D.
Springfield, Mass.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I, The beginnings--Library law 9
II, Preliminary work 10
III, What does a public library do for a community? 12
IV, General policy of the library 15
V, Trustees 17
VI, The librarian 20
VII, The trained librarian 23
VIII, Rooms, building, fixtures, furniture 25
IX, Things needed in beginning work 30
X, The Library Bureau 35
XI, Selecting books 39
XII, Reference books for a small library 46
XIII, Reference work 53
XIV, Reading room 57
XV, List of periodicals 61
XVI, Buying books 63
XVII, Ink and handwriting 69
XVIII, Care of books 73
XIX, Accessioning 76
XX, Classifying 78
XXI, Decimal classification 81
XXII, Expansive classification 84
XXIII, Author numbers or book marks 91
XXIV, Shelf list 92
XXV, Cataloging 94
XXVI, Preparing books for the shelf 99
XXVII, Binding and mending 103
XXVIII, Pamphlets 108
XXIX, Public documents 110
XXX, Checking the library 113
XXXI, Lists, bulletins, and printed catalogs 114
XXXII, Charging systems 116
XXXIII, Meeting the public 122
XXXIV, The public library for the public 123
XXXV, Advice to a librarian 126
XXXVI, The librarian as a host 128
XXXVII, Making friends for the library 131
XXXVIII, Public libraries and recreation 133
XXXIX, Books as useful tools 134
XL, Village library successfully managed 135
XLI, Rules for the public 137
XLII, Rules for trustees and employés 140
XLIII, Reports 146
XLIV, Library legislation 147
XLV, A.L.A. and other library associations 152
XLVI, Library schools and classes 154
XLVII, Library department of N.E.A. 156
XLVIII, Young people and the schools 157
XLIX, How can the library assist the school? 160
L, Children's room 163
LI, Schoolroom libraries 164
LII, Children's home libraries 166
LIII, Literary clubs and libraries 168
LIV, Museums, lectures, etc. 170
LV, Rules for the care of photographs 171
Library Primer
CHAPTER I
The beginnings--Library law
If the establishment of a free public library in your town is under
consideration, the first question is probably this: Is there a statute
which authorizes a tax for the support of a public library? Your state
library commission, if you have one, will tell you if your state
gives aid to local public libraries. It will also tell you about your
library law. If you have no library commission, consult a lawyer and
get from him a careful statement of what can be done under present
statutory regulations. If your state has no library law, or none which
seems appropriate in your community, it may be necessary to suspend
all work, save the fostering of a sentiment favorable to a library,
until a good law is secured.
In chapters 44 and 45 will be found a list of state library
commissions, important provisions in library laws, and the names of
the states having the best library laws at present.
Before taking any definite steps, learn about the beginnings of other
libraries by writing to people who have had experience, and especially
to libraries in communities similar in size and character to your own.
Write to some of the new libraries in other towns and villages of
your state, and learn how they began. Visit several such libraries, if
possible, the smaller the better if you are starting on a small scale.