Chapter 22 of 52 · 3256 words · ~16 min read

CHAPTER XIV

ACCESSION METHODS

=207. Donations.=--The first British Public Library Act did not make any provision for funds with which to buy books: it trusted entirely, with the innocence of extreme youth, to the benevolence of donors. As these somewhat rare persons did not respond in an encouraging manner, the Acts were forthwith amended, and communities given power to purchase books from such limited funds as were left after loans, the librarian’s salary and the lighting bill had been settled. Although every library benefits now and then from the generosity of donors of books and money, donations cannot be regarded as a reliable source of a constant and liberal supply of good and suitable books. Indeed, it may be asserted that more printed rubbish is bestowed annually on public libraries than anything of a useful or valuable sort. Touting for gifts is to be avoided. It is not only undignified, but often results in failure and a certain loss of status to the library which employs a general begging policy.

State papers and public documents are carefully preserved in many libraries in the United Kingdom. Many of the best parliamentary papers and reports can be obtained free on application to H.M. Stationery Office in London, but other valuable public documents, such as some of the Record Office publications, the Ordnance Survey, etc., must be purchased. The parliamentary papers were not given free to public libraries till after years of agitation dating from the time of Edwards in 1850. A selection of these papers will be found sufficient for most libraries, and this can be made from the lists published by H.M. Stationery Office.

=208.= All donations, good, bad or indifferent, should be duly recorded in a special DONATION REGISTER, and the donors should be thanked in the usual manner, either by means of a special circular or post-card. For the majority of donations a printed post-card of acknowledgment is commonly used, and specially valuable gifts are acknowledged by special resolutions conveyed in a handsome form. It would seem better, however, if a letter-form of acknowledgment were generally used. Gratitude, even for small gifts, costs little, and its expression frequently leads to more valuable gifts. The usual wording for acknowledgments runs thus:

+-----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. | | | | I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your gift | | named below, and to convey to you the most cordial thanks | | of the Library Committee. | | | | Yours faithfully, | | | | ............................_Chief Librarian._ | | | | ......................................................... | | | | ......................................................... | | | | ......................................................... | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+

FIG. 57.--Donation Acknowledgment (Section 208).

=209.= The ruling of a donation book (Fig. 58) will be found to answer all ordinary purposes.

The donation number is a progressive number which should be given to all gifts, particularly books, because, when pencilled on volumes which are duplicates or not stocked for any reason, it is easy to ascertain their history by turning up the number in the donation book. Most of the other headings explain themselves. When books are added to the library as donations it is well to carry into this record the accession numbers given to them in the columns provided. In the “Remarks” column can be entered any information as to the disposal of the gifts. In some libraries a book is used which resembles a receipt book in having a counterfoil and a tear-off sheet forming a thanks circular or acknowledgment form. This style of book is less satisfactory than the form of record given above.

<-----------------9″------------------><-------------9″--------------> +----++------+------++---------++-----+--------++----------++--------+ | || |Date || || | ||Accession || | ^ |Do- ||Date |of Ac-||Descrip- ||No. |Name and||Number. || | | |na- ||of Re-|knowl ||tion of ||of |Address ++-----+----++Remarks.| | |tion||ceipt.|edg- ||Donation.||Vols.|of ||Lend.|Ref.|| | | |No. || |ment. || || |Donor. || | || | | +----++------+------++---------++-----+--------++-----+----++--------+ | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || |13″ | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | | | || | || || | || | || | V

FIG. 58.--Donation Book Ruling (Section 209).

=210. Readers’ Suggestions.=--There are comparatively few suggestions of new books made by readers in public libraries, most of the recommendations coming from the librarian and the committee. It is customary to provide a book in which members of the public can enter their suggestions, or slips as described in Section 48. Slips are perhaps preferable to books, as they are more likely to be used by the public and are handier to arrange. Failing them, an ordinary foolscap folio book can be provided, ruled with columns across two pages showing:

FIG. 59.--Proposition Book Ruling (Section 210).

=211.= From the suggestions of the public and the committee and his own study of reviews, catalogues, journals, etc., the librarian prepares a list of book suggestions for the use of the committee, or special books sub-committee, as the case may be. This list may either be entered and kept in the suggestions book, or written out on separate slips (5 inches × 3 inches), which can be afterwards used as a catalogue for staff use. The latter plan is preferable as being more economical and convenient, especially when worked in conjunction with suggestion slips, of the same size, instead of a proposition book. Some committees require a duplicated list of the suggestions to be prepared and circulated before they meet in order that every member may have the opportunity of examining it beforehand. In a few cases the librarian also (or as an alternative) obtains all the books on approval from the bookseller, and the committee chooses from direct examination of the books themselves. This method involves extra labour, especially in large libraries, but is very successful and well worth the trouble. When the list has passed the committee, with whatever modifications they may have imposed, the books can be ordered as described below in Section 213. These suggestions are the main source from which the library is built up, and ought to be prepared and examined with great care. Arising out of this part of the subject is the question of buying books at sales. This is often done through a bookseller or other agent, who receives a marked copy of the catalogue, with the prices to be offered written against each entry, and for his services in attending and bidding 5 to 10 per cent. is generally allowed. Of course, at any book-sale in the same town as the library, the librarian may attend, but an experienced agent is more likely to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately few public libraries can afford to compete with booksellers and private collectors in the saleroom, and practically this source of accessions is not of much use to the majority of British public libraries.

=212. Subscription Books.=--Sources of book supply in many libraries are the works coming regularly as annuals, or from societies to whose publications the library subscribes. Patents’ specifications, parliamentary reports and other periodical publications also furnish a constant, if somewhat irregular, stream of additions. There should be some simple means of checking these annual and irregular publications, and a series of cards, somewhat similar to those suggested for magazines in Section 475, will be found very convenient. It is hardly necessary to add that these check-cards should be examined regularly for overdues and omissions. Societies which issue only occasional monographs are the most difficult to trace and check. With annual publications of a definite kind, such as _Whitaker’s Almanack_, there is no trouble whatever.

=213. Ordering.=--The routine of book ordering should be reduced to the simplest possible system. There are plenty of elaborate methods designed to find out and penalize defaulting assistants, booksellers, etc., but they are not recommended. The very simplest plan is to place the proposition slips, when dealt with by the committee, in a special tray, or, better, drawer of a card cabinet, in a compartment marked “Books passed by committee,” and then to enter them in an ordinary order-sheet, of which a carbon copy should be taken, or which may be copied later. These order sheets (8 inches × 10 inches) may be ruled thus:

FIG. 60.--Book-order Sheet (Section 213).

In the “Remarks” column of the duplicate copy can be entered the date of receipt when a parcel of books is being marked off.

Libraries which use vertical and similar filing systems preserve carbon copies of order lists and file them under appropriate headings, and dispense with the ruled order sheet given above, merely accompanying the lists with a general official order. Where a duplicated (cyclostyled, mimeographed, etc.) list of suggestions is used for the committee, a copy of this, with the committee’s adjustments, can be used as an order list. The bookseller’s invoice and the books are checked by the suggestion slips, and discrepancies of price or books not supplied are revealed immediately. The use of books for entering lists, or for other library record purposes, is gradually giving way to the more mobile and economical systems to be obtained by the use of expansible files and card indexes.

[Illustration: FIG. 61.--Book-order Tray (Sections 213, 214).[7]]

[7] This illustration is retained because it illustrates a satisfactory method of guiding; but this type of tray is inferior to a special drawer in an “administrative” card cabinet. In such a cabinet drawers would be assigned to (1) “SUGGESTIONS,” which would include the slips for all books noted by the librarian for consideration; suggestions by experts; by staff; incomplete works, etc.; (2) “COMMITTEE DRAWER,” containing books “Submitted to the Committee,” and “Passed,” and “Rejected” (with reasons), or “Postponed for further inquiries, etc.”; (3) “ORDER DRAWER,” with guides showing “Ordered,” “Overdue,” “Not Supplied” (when O.P., Binding, Reprinting, etc., the reasons should be stated and dated); and (4) “ADDITIONS,” containing the slips of books added during the year, after the slips have been used in the cataloguing processes. After a year the slips are worked into the Staff Catalogue.

=214.= When the order has been placed with the bookseller, the slips aforesaid should be transferred to a compartment marked “Books on order,” and as the books are supplied they can be withdrawn and placed in a compartment marked “Books for catalogue.” This will leave a residue of overdue books, which can be overhauled at intervals, and, when the books have been written for, transferred to a compartment marked “Books overdue.” A simple form of tray is one divided by means of projecting guides to indicate the contents of each compartment (Fig. 61).

This plan of keeping check of books on order, at every stage, will be found much simpler, and more accurate and convenient than any system of book-keeping.

=215. Accession Work.=--When a parcel of new books arrives from the bookseller, or a monthly lot of donations is passed, it is wise to enter each lot in a special book called the routine book, which will determine the order of numbering, and give rough figures of cost and number of additions to all departments. This book is ruled as shown in Fig. 62A, and explains itself.

Each new book should be carefully examined for imperfections, etc., before being numbered. The books should next be arranged in order of invoice or donation book, with the lending, reference, branch and children’s books in separate lots.

=216.= The ACCESSION NUMBERS must next be applied, and it should be made a rule in every library, whatever method of classification is adopted, to give the books a progressive accession number irrespective of a class number. A special book for recording these numbers can be obtained, one each for the lending and reference libraries, ruled as follows:

+-----------+-------++--------------------------+---------+ |Progressive| Class || Author and Title. |Class or | | No. |Letter.|| |Shelf No.| +-----------+-------++--------------------------+---------+ | 1 | A ||Balfour. Manual of Botany.| 200 | | 2 | || | | | 3 | || | | | 4 | || | | | 5 | || | | | and on | || | | | to 50 per | || | | | page | || | | +-----------+-------++--------------------------+---------+

FIG. 62.--Accessions Number Book (Section 216).

This will show at a glance the next vacant number to be used, and also, roughly, the total number of books in the library at any given moment, when the withdrawals are counted off. The accession numbers should be written on the back of the title-page of each book, and should also be written against the entry on the invoice, and also, if a donation, in the appropriate column of the donation book. In cases where the stock

## book is also the order book, the accessions number book can be dispensed

with, and the accessions routine book used alone.

+------++---------+--------++----------++----------++ | || | || || || | || | First ||Accession || Number of|| | || Source: | Word || Number. || Vols. || | Date.|| Donor or| of || || || | || Vendor. |Invoice.|| || || | || | ++-----+----++-----+----++ | || | ||Lend.|Ref.||Lend.|Ref.|| +------++---------+--------++-----+----++-----+----++ | 1901 || | || | || | || |June 6||Tompkins |Balfour || 1-50|1-25|| 50 | 25 || | „ 12||Donations|See Book||51-56| .. || 6 | .. || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || | || +------++---------+--------++-----+----++-----+----++

+------++---------+--------++------------------++---------------++------+ | || | || || Replacements. || | | || | First || Cost. || || | | || Source: | Word || || || Re- | | Date.|| Donor or| of || || ||marks.| | || Vendor. |Invoice.|| || || | | || | ++--------++--------++-----++--------++ | | || | || Lend. || Ref. ||Vols.|| Cost. || | +------++---------+--------++--+--+--++--+--+--++-----++--+--+--++------+ | 1901 || | || | | || | | || || | | || | |June 6||Tompkins |Balfour || 7|10| 0|| 6| 5| 0|| 6 || 0|19| 0|| | | „ 12||Donations|See Book||..|..|..||..|..|..|| .. ||..|..|..|| | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | | || | || | | || | | || || | | || | +------++---------+--------++--+--+--++--+--+--++-----++--+--+--++------+

FIG. 62A.--Accessions Routine Book (Section 215).

=217.= According to the system of charging used, each book should be dealt with further, as regards appropriating its equivalent card, indicator book, or ledger page, as may be needful. Assuming that card charging is the adopted plan, a specially made manila book-card must be prepared, having the accession and class number and letter, and its author and title written on its front surface, as below:

+----------------------------------------------+ | E 100·3. | +..............................................+ | Balfour. | +..............................................+ | Manual of Botany. | +..............................................+ | | +----------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+

FIG. 63.--Manila Book-card.

This form of book-card may be ruled to take the borrowers’ numbers and dates of issues, and is one of the main accessories of the card system described in Sections 380, 381.

=218.= With indicators it is necessary to write the accession numbers on to the indicator books or tabs according to the style of indicator used. In forms such as the Elliot, the number is already fixed on the indicator frame and requires no additional book tab or block. Other processes connected with book numbering for shelving purposes are considered in