Chapter II: Preface: v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, FORMS, ETC. xii

DIVISION I.--INTRODUCTORY
MEMOIR 1
INTRODUCTION 11

DIVISION II.--FOUNDATION, COMMITTEES AND FINANCE
CHAP.
I. LEGISLATION 19
II. ADOPTION OF ACTS, FOUNDATION AND COMMITTEES 34
III. FINANCE, LOANS AND ACCOUNTS 43
IV. STATISTICS AND REPORTS 60

DIVISION III.--STAFF
V. THE LIBRARIAN 71
VI. ASSISTANTS 83
VII. LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS 99

DIVISION IV.--BUILDINGS
VIII. THEORY AND GENERAL REMARKS 106
IX. SITES AND PLANS 110

DIVISION V.--FITTINGS AND FURNITURE
X. MISCELLANEOUS FIXTURES AND FITTINGS 132
XI. SHELVING AND ACCESSORIES 141
XII. FURNITURE 154

DIVISION VI.--BOOK SELECTION AND ACCESSION
XIII. BOOK SELECTION 167
XIV. ACCESSION METHODS 189

DIVISION VII.--CLASSIFICATION AND SHELF ARRANGEMENT

XV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 206
XVI. SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES 209
XVII. PRACTICAL APPLICATION 226

DIVISION VIII.--CATALOGUING, FILING AND INDEXING
XVIII. CATALOGUING METHODS, RULES AND CODES 241
XIX. MECHANICAL METHODS OF DISPLAYING CATALOGUES 259
XX. FILING AND INDEXING 281

DIVISION IX.--MAINTENANCE AND ROUTINE WORK
XXI. STATIONERY AND RECORDS 296
XXII. BOOKBINDING AND REPAIRING 303

DIVISION X.--RULES AND REGULATIONS
XXIII. RULES AND REGULATIONS 322

DIVISION XI.--THE LENDING, OR HOME READING, DEPARTMENT
XXIV. REGISTRATION OF BORROWERS 341
XXV. ISSUE METHODS 350
XXVI. BOOK DISTRIBUTION 366

DIVISION XII.--THE REFERENCE DEPARTMENT
XXVII. GENERAL REFERENCE LIBRARY METHOD 375
XXVIII. LOCAL COLLECTIONS 399
XXIX. LIBRARIES OF MUNICIPAL REFERENCE 415
XXX. THE COMMERCIAL LIBRARY; THE TECHNICAL LIBRARY 418
XXXI. READING ROOM METHODS 424

DIVISION XIII.--LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN
XXXII. THE CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT 439
XXXIII. THE LIBRARY AND THE SCHOOL 457

DIVISION XIV.--LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
XXXIV. LECTURES, READINGS AND EXHIBITIONS 467
XXXV. RURAL LIBRARIES 477

DIVISION XV.--MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES
XXXVI. MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES 486

APPENDICES
I. THE NOMENCLATURE OF LIBRARY POSITIONS 495
II. THE LIBRARIAN’S LIBRARY 498

INDEX 511

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, FORMS, ETC.

FIG. PAGE
James Duff Brown _Frontispiece_
1. Form for Annual Estimates 46
2. Returns of Library Expenditure 47
3. Suggestion Slip 56
4. Rulings for Issue Record Books 62
5. Table of Librarians’ Salaries 77
6. Staff Time Sheet 89
7. Staff Work Book 92
8. Salaries paid in 1911 93
9. Sketch Plan for Small Town Library 116
10. North Islington Library--Reading Room 117
11. North Islington Library--Lending Department 118
12. Lambeth (Herne Hill) Open Access Lending Department 119
13. Montrose Lending Library 120
14. Bromley Lending Library 121
15. Islington Central Library--Ground Floor 122
16. Islington Central Library--First Floor 123
17. North Fulham Library 124
18. St Pancras Central Library 125
19. Glasgow (Woodside) Library 126
20. Glasgow (Townhead) Library 127
21. Wolverhampton Library 128
22. Southend-on-Sea Library 129
23. Back of Library Counter 133
24. West Islington Library 133
25. North Islington Barrier 134
26. Lambeth (Herne Hill) Barrier 135
27. Croydon Central Library 136
28. Triple Open Access Barrier 137
29. Treadle Latch for Wicket 138
30. Barrier for Dividing Rooms 138
31. Double Bay Standard Metal Book-Case 143
32. Wood Wall-Case 144
33. Tonks’ Fittings 145
34. Details of Adjustable Metal Shelving 146
35. Metal Shelving (Patent Office) 147
36. Rack for Bound Newspapers 148
37. Case for Large Folio Books 149
38. Lattice-work Steps 150
39. Short Steps 150
40. Continuous Wooden Step and Handles 151
41. Spring Step 152
42. Swinging Step, with Improved Handle 153
43. Desk-Topped Table 154
44. British Museum Reading Table 155
45. Reference Room Table 156
46. Table with Elevated Periodical Rack 157
47. Periodical Rack on Table 158
48. Reading Table with Partition for Titles 159
49. Periodical Rack 160
50. Rack for Odd Periodicals 161
51. Railway Time-Table Rack 162
52. Metal Reading Easel 163
53. Wooden Reading Easel 163
54. Chair with Anchorage 164
55. Arm Chair with Hat Rail 165
56. Chair with Folding Tray 165
57. Donation Acknowledgment 190
58. Donation Book Ruling 191
59. Proposition Book Ruling 191
60. Book-Order Sheet 193
61. Book-Order Tray 194
62. Accessions Number Book 195
62A. Accessions Routine Book 196
63. Manila Book Card 197
64. Board Label 198
65. Date Label 199
66. Warning Label 200
67. Map and Plate Label 200
68. Process Stamp 201
69. Stock Book--Left folio 202
70. Stock Book--Right folio 202
71. Abstract Sheet for Stock 203
72. Withdrawals Book 204
73. Lettering of Class Numbers 226
74. Colour Marking of Books 228
75. Tier Marking of Books 229
76. Shelf Front, with labels 230
77. Tier Guide 230
78. Tier Guide Lettering 231
79. Class Guide 232
80. Bookcase with Classification Guides 233
81. Shelf-Check Register 234
82. Shelf Dummy 235
83. Millboard Dummy 236
84. Xylonite Label-holder 237
85. Tongued Metal Book-rest 237
86. Flanged Metal Book-rest 237
87. Combined Book-rest and Shelf Guide 238
88. Yale Book-rest 238
89. Book-carrier in front of Book-case 239
90. Book-truck 239
91. Hand-printing Models 256
92. Catalogue Shelves, British Museum 260
93. Adjustable Screw Binder 261
94. Rudolph Indexer Book 262
95. Card Catalogue Cabinet, with extension runners 263
96. Cabinet of Card Trays 264
97. Sideless Card Catalogue Tray 265
98. Cards for Bonnange Catalogue Trays 267
99. Bonnange Card Catalogue Trays 268
100. Staderini Card Trays and Cards 269
101. Duplex Card Catalogue 270
102. Leyden Slip Holder 271
103. Volume of Staderini Sheaf Catalogue 271
104. Staderini Sheaf Catalogue 272
105. Sacconi Sheaf Catalogue 273
106. Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue 273
107. Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue 274
108. Adjustable Sheaf Catalogue, with Cradle and Key 274
109. Front of Sheaf Catalogue Author Slip 275
110. Reverse of Sheaf Author Slip 276
111. Sheaf Title Slip 276
112. Sheaf Subject Slip 277
113. Adjustable Placard Catalogue 278
114. Folder for Vertical File 282
115. A Drawer of a Correspondence Filing Cabinet 283
115A. Specimen of Jast Classification of Library Economy 284
116. Address, and Correspondence, Index Card 286
117. Pamphlet Box 287
118. Prints Box 289
119. Lantern-slide Index Card 290
120. Supplies Location Card 292
121. Withdrawals Card 293
122. Missing Books Index Card--front 294
123. Missing Books Index Card--back 294
124. Inventory Book 299
125. Inventory Slip--front 300
126. Inventory Slip--back 300
127. Class Lettering and Numbering 310-313
128. Class Lettering and Numbering 314
129. Binding Sheet 317
130. Binding Order Book 318
131. Binding Slip 319
132. Renewal Slip 337
133. Ratepayer’s Voucher 343
134. Non-Ratepayer’s Voucher--front 344
135. Non-Ratepayer’s Voucher--back 345
136. Non-Resident’s Voucher 345
137. Borrower’s Card 347
138. Borrowers’ Number Register 348
139. Book Issue Card 351
140. Book and Borrower’s Cards in Pocket 353
141. Book Pocket and Card 354
142. Borrower’s Card with Pocket 355
143. Borrower’s Card and Book Card conjoined 355
144. Elevation Plan of Card Charging Tray 356
145. Card-charging Trays in Position 357
146. Diagram of Elliot Indicator 359
147. A Library Indicator 360
148. Diagram of Periodicals Indicator 363
149. Quick Reference Collection, Glasgow 367
150. Branch Library Return 369
151. Mitchell Library, Glasgow 376
152. Plan of Islington Reference Library 377
153. Islington Reference Library 379
154. Reference Library Application Form 381
155. Picton Reading Room, Liverpool 384
156. Reading Room, Royal Society of Medicine 387
157. Reading Room, Reading Table, Chair, etc. 389
158. Clippings Index Slip 391
159. Application for Loan of Reference Book 393
160. Application for Loan of Reference Book--back 393
161. Application for Loan of Reference Book--Refusal
Form 394
162. Application for Loan of Reference Book--Refusal
Form, with reasons 394
163. Label of Photographic Survey 411
164. Print Index Slips 412
165. Double Newspaper Stand, Chelsea 427
166. Double Newspaper Stand 428
167. Wall Newspaper Stand 428
168. Simplex Newspaper Holder 430
169. Revolving Newspaper Holder, with Clips 430
170. Adjustable Periodicals List 433
171. Periodicals Check Card, Monthlies 435
172. Periodicals Check Card, Weeklies 435
173. Periodicals Check Card, Dailies 436
174. Periodicals File 437
175. Cathays Children’s Hall, Cardiff 442
176. Voucher for Children 444
177A. School Libraries Return Card--front 462
177B. School Libraries Return Card--back 463
178. Lecturer’s Memorandum 470
179. Privilege Issue Notice 471
180. Privilege Issue Notice, Information Slip 472
181. Rural Library Board Label 480
182. Rural Library Board Label, Charging Card 482
183. Rural Library Board Label, Charging Card--back 482

DIVISION I

INTRODUCTORY

MEMOIR

On Christmas Day 1878 a Scottish lad of seventeen, having realized a cherished desire and obtained an appointment as junior library assistant at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, presented himself before the then unimposing portals of that institution at the north corner of Ingram Street, and found them closed. He concluded characteristically that this was because the librarian was an Englishman. The lad who endeavoured to begin what was his real life-work on this unusual day was James Duff Brown, who was to become in many ways the greatest practical influence of his time in the British public library movement, who lived through its most expansive period, codified and published its methods and results, experimented boldly, faced and overcame a remarkable force of opposition, and left behind him a memory which present librarians revere, and works which will not easily be forgotten.

We have no record of his earliest years, other than that he was born at Edinburgh on 6th November 1862, and during boyhood showed tenacity and mental acquisitiveness. At thirteen he became an apprentice in the publishing house of Edmonstone & Douglas in his native city, and in the same year, when Mr Douglas left that firm at the establishment of that of Douglas & Foulis, he remained with Mr Douglas. A year later found him at Glasgow with the firm of W. R. McPhun & Sons. The work done for these firms gave him an initiation of a kind into literature, but the earlier Glasgow period was never a happy memory of his, and his true career began at the Mitchell Library. Here he spent ten years, enlarging his knowledge, specializing thoroughly in librarianship, devoting much of his leisure to musical lore, and by ability and purposefulness working his way to responsible positions on the library staff. When he was twenty-one he began to collect material for his _Biographical Dictionary of Musicians_, which appeared four years later in 1886; at twenty-three was Glasgow correspondent to _The Musical Standard_; and he was the editor and reviser of the six large quarto volumes of Chalmers’s _Caledonia_ which appeared 1887-90. The industry thus shown was inherent in his character. He told Mr T. A. Aldred that he acquired the early-rising habit in youth, and that most of his work was done in the mornings before he began his official day’s work at 9 a.m.; and the Mitchell was at some distance from his home. This habit, which few of us ever acquire, he retained through life. It is interesting to know that he served from 1886 to about 1888 in the Third Lanark Volunteers; a little booklet from his pen, _A Volunteer Reconnaissance_, records his experiences.

A large library, however liberally administered, does not often offer opportunities for a man’s larger initiative unless he occupies one of the chief positions; and the exercise of his gifts did not come fully until his appointment in 1888 to the newly-established Clerkenwell Public Library in London. The building is a comparatively small edifice occupying a triangular site, and hardly one in which experiments little short of epoch-making might be expected; but Brown was a man of ideas and courage who could make the most of such a building. Moreover, London offered him openings which he did not hesitate to take. Retiring in person as a rule, nervous in speech, and in appearance of no special significance, he yet threw himself with quiet energy into the work of the Library Association. It must be remembered that from about 1888 to 1898 the public library movement in England received its greatest impetus, probably because in those years the full effects of the Education Act of 1870 came into play. Few of the libraries founded in that period are entirely without marks of his influence. In 1891 he conceived the idea--very old in itself, but quite new in its application to municipal libraries in this country--of throwing open the shelves to the choice of readers; and he formulated a scheme, which he called by the somewhat tautological name of “safe-guarded open access,” and published it anonymously in _The Library_ in a paper entitled “A Plea for Liberty to Readers to Help Themselves.” A visit to America in 1893, where he attended the Chicago Conference of the American Library Association as a delegate of the Library Association, confirmed him in his opinion of the practical desirability of the system, although he says, “There was no such thing as proper safe-guarded open access as now understood anywhere in America when I was there”; but free access there was, without the locking wickets and other safeguards which he introduced at Clerkenwell. In brief, his method was to admit readers to the shelves, but by way of a wicket at which their credentials were checked unobtrusively, and to allow them to pass out at another wicket at which the books chosen were charged. Thus the reader was locked in the library while making his choice. The results of his experiment were presented to the Belfast Conference in a paper he wrote in collaboration with one of his Committee, Mr Henry W. Fincham, entitled “The Clerkenwell Open Lending Library,” which was modest and restrained in tone; but although the discussion that ensued was generous and appreciative to an extent, it was the fiercest yet known amongst librarians, and the question became the most contested one in our work. So sharp were the divisions the simple suggestion created that the municipal library profession went into two armed camps, and friendships and good-feeling were frequently destroyed by it. It is difficult for younger librarians to realize the courage and confidence that were needed to champion open access twenty-five years ago against the active antagonism of 90 per cent. of the profession. There were not wanting men, however, who were drawn to the champion, amongst them Mr L. Stanley Jast, then librarian of Peterborough, Mr T. Johnston, librarian of Croydon, and Mr Brown’s own assistants, Mr Charles Riddle in particular, who opened the first library outside London on this system at Bournemouth in 1895. In 1896 Croydon adopted it, Hornsey followed in 1898, and although progress was slow at first, to-day it has so far won the battle that the opening of a new library on any other system is a matter for surprise, and many of the more conservative libraries, even in the largest cities, have adopted it at least in some part of their system; moreover, the question itself has become impersonal, and no librarian to-day would criticize another for any views he might hold in connexion with it. It was, as Sir J. Y. W. MacAlister declared in 1894, “the dawn of a new epoch; a hundred years hence the authorities of the greater municipal London, which will then be carrying on the work now only attempted by the present congeries of village communities, will pass a resolution ordering a tablet to be fixed to the wall of a quaint three-cornered building in Clerkenwell, to commemorate the fact that here, in 1894, the revolution had begun which in a few years had changed the entire system of public libraries throughout the land.”

Although safe-guarded open access was the principal practical contribution of Brown to library practice, he introduced other things of great importance. His _Quarterly Guide_ was the first annotated library bulletin published in England. He invented an indicator, more compact and perhaps as effective as most others, as a challenge to another similar inventor. He improved the sheaf catalogue, and indeed many of the commonest appliances now in use were of his contriving. A description of these, and others, he gave in his _Handbook of Library Appliances_, 1892, published by the Library Association. As open access abolished the need for alphabetical indicator-keys, he was at liberty to consider the question of catalogues radically; and he advocated the classified catalogue and class-lists as fulfilling the needs of students and readers better than other forms. In this advocacy he secured the vigorous co-operation of Mr Jast; and in this matter also a great controversy ran for some years, dignified amongst librarians as “the battle of the catalogues.” The issue is still in doubt as to the entire desirability of the classified catalogue for all purposes and places, but to-day the classified catalogue is certainly as common as any other form.

His brain and pen were active throughout life. In 1897 he published, in conjunction with Stephen Stratton, a _British Musical Biography_, another valuable biographical dictionary. In 1898 he founded, and for many years was to edit, _The Library World_, an independent and radical journal of library methodology and politics, which has held its own to this day. Opinions of all kinds were expressed in its pages; Brown wrote innumerable articles for it; and many librarians of present distinction first saw themselves in print in its pages. Especially did Brown encourage through its pages the struggles of young and unknown men at a time when encouragement was of priceless value to them. A list of his works is given at the end of this chapter, and will be sufficient to show his energy; but the appearance of his _Manual of Library Classification and Shelf Arrangement_, 1898, which contained his Adjustable Classification, was a real event, because it was the first comprehensive treatment of a till then little understood and much abused subject; as was that of his greatest work, the _Manual of Library Economy_, which first appeared in 1903, and has influenced all library methodology.

Quiet as he was in many ways, he was of a social disposition, a trait which found an outlet to some extent at the Library Association, of which he was a councillor from 1890 to 1911; but for closer purposes of _camaraderie_ he founded, with Mr Jast, the well-known Pseudonyms, a dining-club of librarians and their friends, which had its origin in the ‘nineties, and flourished for many years. The meetings were held in various Bohemian restaurants in Soho, professional and literary topics were debated, and Brown reported them in _The Library World_. The reports had little relation to the actual proceedings, and few people were more entertained, and, incidentally, astonished at their own wittiness (as reported) than the Pseudonyms themselves. This is but one instance of his humorous way of regarding all things. In conversation, and in writing of even the most dryasdust subjects, it seemed impossible for him to talk or write without humour.

Brown’s sixteen years at Clerkenwell made the library perhaps the most reputed in the country. Mr Jast may be quoted upon this: “Mr Brown’s influence and reputation extended far beyond his own country. Foreign librarians visiting London almost invariably made for two places; one was the large and handsome room overlooking a stately west-end square, which Mr J. Y. W. MacAlister occupied for so many years; and the other was a small room, high up in a rather dingy-looking triangular building, overlooking a dingier street in Clerkenwell, which was so hidden away that one rather stumbled upon it than found it, where Mr J. D. Brown worked in his official capacity as Librarian, before he was called to a sphere more worthy of his labours, in Islington. How many librarians, how many members of library committees, how many workers in the Library movement have been charmed, interested, and instructed in these two rooms?” Not only was he required to give advice in his own country; at different times he was called upon to lecture on “free public libraries” in the United States, in Holland and in Belgium. “A Bruxelles,” writes M. Paul Otlet, “il parla devant l’auditore du Musée du Livre et son succès fut très grand.” I cannot help thinking that his success depended more upon his subject and his clear writing than upon his speaking; he was on the whole an indifferent speaker, his nervousness was painful to himself and others, and his ineradicable Glasgow accent was a real obstacle. He told my wife that the only place in which he enjoyed speaking was the meetings of the Islington Staff Club; he confessed to a horror and nervousness in public speech.

In 1904 he was appointed the first Borough Librarian of Islington. Here the public libraries scheme had its very beginnings under his care, and he was responsible for the interior design of the fine central library and the north and west branches; probably also for the south-east branch, but of that I am not sure. These libraries, I dare affirm, represented the highest achievement in library-planning in this country, with their handsome, adequate and practical rooms, economy in working, and general suitableness for their purpose. Here he brought into practice two of his principal innovations. The first was the Subject Classification, a huge, minute scheme, which we describe in more detail in the later pages of this book, which challenged comparison with the great and more popular American schemes in its completeness, logical arrangement, and admirable notation. Its focus upon British requirements made it specially attractive to British librarians, and although it may never supersede the more universal Decimal System of Melvil Dewey, it is nevertheless a work of the greatest value to all librarians. The second and more revolutionary innovation was the exclusion of the newsroom as usually understood from the libraries. In his account of his visit to America, he mentioned with something approaching disapproval the absence of this department from American libraries and the sense of desertion which resulted there; but at Islington he adopted the American plan. I am told that the Islington public did not approve the omission quite as much as did its author, but the arguments he used for it were common-sense ones, although he has had few, if any, British imitators.

To give in detail all his work for Islington would be to occupy a disproportionate space in a memoir of this compass. Suffice it to say that he provided this not entirely grateful Borough with a system which is the admiration of our profession. He gathered round him an accomplished staff, published a model select catalogue, encouraged the formation of an excellent staff guild for his assistants, and did many other invaluable things. He had long been a teacher of young librarians. When the Library Association courses were inaugurated at the London School of Economics he became the lecturer in library organization and routine, and served in that capacity for many years. As one of his students, I can vouch for his conscientious, painstaking teaching, his care in clearing up difficulties, the encouraging and friendly way in which he answered our questions, marked our exercises, and generally made our work of interest and value. No librarian who turned to him for advice ever went unhelped, whatever his age or school of thought. He wrote hundreds of letters to such purpose in his beautiful minute handwriting, and a collection of these would form, I believe, an excellent journal of contemporary librarianship. He seemed, in particular, to have a minute knowledge of all librarians and library assistants, their capacities and work accomplished. His obvious sympathy with young assistants first drew many of us to him. From the day I met him in 1896 at Bournemouth to his death he showed me by constant signs his regard for younger men and women who had a real interest in the work that he himself loved. He treated us with equal consideration in his correspondence, and the youngest correspondent received the same courtesy as his elders. He drafted the constitution of the Library Assistants’ Association, which with slight modifications has proved most wise and successful; and he frequently, especially in his last years, attended the meetings of this Association, taking part in the discussions when invited to do so, but seldom intruding his opinions unasked upon his young listeners, who, be it remarked, were always eager to hear him.

It is a difficult task to sketch “the man in his habit as he lived,” but a few words may be written. The portrait which forms our frontispiece is almost life-like, with its thoughtful, quiet, and, if one looks carefully enough, intent and humorous face. In person he was small, but not too obviously so; fragile-looking, but yet compact and vital in appearance and movement; he had brown hair and beard, delicate features, deft and supple hands; he thought calmly, was a rapid, consistent, and persevering worker; what he began he finished. His writings have been pronounced by Dr E. A. Baker to possess unmistakable quality, although “he scoffed at the word ‘style’ as denoting some futile kind of verbal legerdemain” (I think he must have done so jokingly, as his own personal library showed that he was by no means blind to the qualities of literary expression). “Shrewd, practical common sense, rough on cranks and sentimentalists, unmerciful to muddlers, impervious to a good many ideas, but a steady assertor of those he had tried and approved--this was the stuff of Brown’s writing,” is Dr Baker’s estimate, and in the main it coincides with my own. His personal tastes may be inferred from his work. “He once told me,” writes Mr Aldred, “he knew three subjects only, viz., library economy, music, and Scotland. I forget the order in which he placed them. Being a Scotsman, probably Scotland came first. In many respects, however, J. D. B.’s knowledge was of the encyclopædic order--he appeared to know a little of any subject named.”

In early life he was pronounced to be consumptive, but he told me, “I have lived to see the doctors who condemned me in their graves,” by careful living, and probably by sheer will power. But in his later years he had to meet many difficulties at Islington, where the libraries became the sport of a political party and he had a committee which was unable to assess his powers. It is useless to revive this now, but it probably helped to bring about his early death. He first became seriously ill in 1911, and with a few intervals, when we believed him to be practically himself again, he gradually weakened. In the last few months of his life a stay at Bournemouth was tried as a final resource, and here he read musical biography assiduously and maintained the keenest outlook upon all things; but no improvement ensued in his health, and he returned to London a dying man. The end came at his house, 15, Canonbury Park South, Islington, on 26th February 1914; and he was buried, amid every sign of regret and affection, at New Southgate Cemetery. His only memorial to the present are his works; I believe they will be an enduring one.

To sum up: Brown entered upon his library career at a time when the library movement received its greatest impetus, and brought the whole force of a fertile and inventive mind and a ready pen into its service. He wrote the first text-books actually intended for English public librarians, collected and systematized all available methodology, and, thoroughly believing in his mission, this man more than any other in his generation fashioned in this country a living, interesting profession out of the despised materials of the popular library. An impression written by Alderman H. Keatley Moore, B.A., B.Mus., J.P., a veteran worker for public libraries, who made his acquaintance early, may serve to conclude this necessarily brief account of our author:

“What was it especially that made one feel so clearly that one was in the presence of a true man, of an absolute master of his subject, of one, in fact, whom it was an honour to know?

“I think it was that curious quietness, the repose of a man who has thought out everything fully for himself, and is content to leave the facts as he has arranged them to tell their own story. He was still, because he was so strong; he was undisturbed by clamour because he had been through it all, and now stood in the open with the conquered fortress behind him, its strength his strength made visible; one gradually grew rather timid of this shy talker because he always had the facts on his side. . . . He was the most unaffected and modest man of real mark that I have ever met in my long public life. I shall always be glad to have known him. I shall always remember the great services he rendered to me, to my town, to our country. Across my sincere regret at his loss flickers the whimsical thought of how he would wonder at the fuss we are making over him.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following is a list of Brown’s separate publications. His articles were legion, and will be found by reference to the indexes of all library periodicals and transactions. Nearly all the anonymously-written articles and editorials in _The Library World_ from 1898 to about 1906 are his:

1886. Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: with a bibliography of
English writings on Music. Paisley: A. Gardner.

1888. A Volunteer Reconnaissance.

1892. Handbook of Library Appliances: fittings, furniture, charging
systems, etc. L.A. Series, 1.

1893. Guide to the Formation of a Music Library. L.A. Series, 4.

1897. Greenwood’s Library Year-Book. Scott, Greenwood.

(The second edition, 1900-01, was entitled British Library Year-Book.)

1898. Manual of Library Classification and Shelf Arrangement. Libraco
Series. Library Supply Co.

(Chapter vi., which contains “The Adjustable Classification,” was
published separately under that title.)

1903. Manual of Library Economy. Scott, Greenwood. Second edition,

1907. Library Supply Co.

1904. Annotated Syllabus for the Systematic Study of Librarianship.
Libraco.

Classified List of Current Periodicals: a guide to the selection of
magazine literature. L.A. Series, 8.

1906. Manual of Practical Bibliography. Routledge.

Subject Classification. 1906, Libraco. Second edition, 1914, Grafton.

1907. The Small Library: a guide to the collection and care of books.
Routledge.

1909. Guide to Librarianship: reading lists, methods of study, etc.
Grafton.

(Supersedes the “Annotated Syllabus.”)

1912. Library Classification and Cataloguing. Grafton.

(Incorporates much of the matter in the “Manual of Library
Classification” in revised form.)

1913. A British Library Itinerary. Grafton.

WORKS WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION

1897. _With_ Stratton, S. S. British Musical Biography: a dictionary
of musical artists, authors and composers born in Britain and its
Colonies. Birmingham: Stratton.

1901. _With_ Moffat, Alfred. Characteristic Songs and Dances of all
Nations.

1915. Stewart, J. D., _and Others_. Open Access Libraries: their
planning, equipment and organization. With Introduction by J. D.
Brown. Grafton.

(This work was planned by Brown.)