Lists, bulletins, printed catalog
Give the public access to the card catalog if possible. If a
dictionary catalog is made it will prove to be most helpful to the
serious students. For the average reader, the person who wishes to get
a recent book, the latest novel, etc., prepare lists of additions from
month to month, post them up in some convenient place in the library,
and put them in a binder to be left on desk or table in the delivery
room.
Print lists of additions, if possible, in the local papers; also
publish reference lists having to do with current events and matters
of popular interest. Oftentimes the newspapers will furnish, for a
small sum, extra copies of the lists which they have printed. If the
means warrant the expenditure, a periodical bulletin, appearing once
a month, or even oftener, containing information about the library,
notes on recent additions, suggestions as to the use of books, lists
on special subjects, and lists of books lately added may prove useful.
Such a bulletin can often be maintained without cost to the library by
having it published by some one who will pay its expenses by means
of advertisements. The very best way of bringing new books to
the attention of readers is to print a list of additions, with
call-numbers, as condensed as possible, and with no other matter, for
free distribution in the library.
In printing lists of books, make the classes covered special, not
general. Give lists suitable for as many different needs and occasions
as possible. There can't be too many of them. For instance, a teacher
would find thoroughly helpful and practicable such classified lists
of books as, for beginners in third and fourth grades, for the
intermediate pupils, for boys, for girls, numerous references to the
current events of the day; historical readings divided into periods
and adapted to different grades; historical fiction under several
forms of classification; biographies and biographical sketches suited
to different ages; geographical aids, including travel, description,
life, scenes, and customs in different countries; natural history and
elementary science; the resources of the library available for the
purpose of illustrating topics in history, art, and science; material
for theme studies; special lists for anniversary days now so generally
observed in schools, and so on.
Lists in which the titles of the books come first are better liked by
the general public than are author-lists. People commonly know books
by name, not by author.
Don't make the mistake of spending much money, at the library's
beginning, for a printed catalog. A printed catalog, as stated in
chapter 25, is not a necessity. It is useful, particularly for home
use, to tell whether the library owns certain books; but with a good
card catalog, newspaper lists, special lists, and the like, it is not
a necessity. Few large libraries now publish complete catalogs.