Chapter XVII: Practical Application

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=241. Numbers.=--The class letters and numbers of all books should be written in the inside, preferably on the back or front of the title-page, and should also be carried on to the labels, book-cards and all other records. On the outside the class letters and numbers may be lettered in gilt or written on a suitable tag, which must be firmly pasted on the back. The usual position for the tag is at about 1½ inches from the foot of the back, as this gives regular and uniform marking, which looks neat. Some librarians prefer a place at the top of the back, as the arranging number thus becomes more prominent, and the tag at the foot is more subject to handling. The diagram shows the two methods.

=242.= In classification systems in which the class numbers are used for charging and all other purposes it is necessary to provide a series of elaborate auxiliary marks to distinguish book from book in the same subdivision. Thus, in the Decimal scheme, 621·18 is the number for books on boilers. If there are six books on this topic, some distinction must be used in charging to enable the librarian to know which book has been issued. Mr Cutter has devised a table for this purpose, which is known as the “Cutter Author Marks,” by which surnames are arranged according to their initials and qualified by a number thus:

Abbott = Ab2.
Acland = Ac6.
Cook = C77.
Cousin = C83.
Crabb = C84.
Gardiner = G16.
Gerry = G36.
Gilman = G42.
Shock = Sh8.

The six books on boilers would accordingly be distinguished by receiving these author marks, and the numbers might become:

621·18 Ab2 Abbott on Boilers.
621·18 C83 Cousin „
621·18 G16 Gardiner „
621·18 Sh8 Shock „

In the Subject Classification these books when given the number for boilers, C210, could be further distinguished by the numbers of the biographical tables, thus:

C210
---- Abbott on Boilers.
3011

C210
---- Cousin „
3669

C210
---- Gardiner „
4565

C210
---- Shock „
7863

=243. Book and Shelf Marking.=--It is better to have the class numbers stamped on the back of the book at once than to rely on tags or labels, which have a tendency to peel off. In some open access libraries using ordinary gilt lettering, a subsidiary marking has been adopted to prevent misplacement and to aid replacement.

These marks are simple round spots of coloured enamel painted on the backs of books, and they effectually prevent shelf being mixed with shelf and tier with tier. There are eight shelves in a tier, and eight distinctive colours are used, so that no colour is repeated in the same tier, and they are varied in every succeeding tier, so that adjoining shelves will not correspond in the colour of their marking. As a further precaution, the class marks are placed at different heights on the backs of the books in each tier, so that, even if a red-marked book from Tier 1 were placed among the red-marked books on Tier 3, there would still be a distinction. Of course the same level is maintained for each tier, by means of gauges, and the progression of colours is observed. When a book moves forward to another shelf, the mark is painted over with the new colour, and when the book is moved to another tier, the mark is carefully scraped out and altered to suit the new location. As movement is not extensive in ordinary libraries, this alteration is only an occasional duty. The class numbers maintain the topic order on the shelves, and so the most common method of open access shelf marking is complete. It has been argued that the class letters and numbers are all-sufficient to maintain order in a library which allows readers to go to the shelves, but on this point experience varies. At any rate, there is no harm in taking simple precautions of this kind, which certainly possess the great advantage that if a book is misplaced it can be noticed instantly and rectified. Uniform form marks require closer scrutiny, the use of colours demands but a casual glance. In closely classified libraries where there is no public access to the shelves, simple class numbers ought to be sufficient for staff purposes. The only additional point is that, perhaps, the accession numbers should also figure on the backs of the books, especially if an indicator is used for charging in the lending department.

COLOURS.

Tier 1. Tier 2. Tier 3.
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Blue Yellow Grey
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Red Mauve Buff
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Green White Blue
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Yellow Grey Red
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Mauve Buff Green
--------------- --------------- ---------------
White Blue Yellow
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Grey Red Mauve
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Buff Green White
--------------- --------------- ---------------

FIG. 74.--Colour Marking of Books.

=244.= It is desirable that the arrangement of the shelves should be made as clear as possible to the staff and to readers by means of various guides, and these are particularly necessary in open access libraries. The best general guide is a plan of the department showing the disposition of the books in the cases, and indicating the sequence of the classification by means of arrows. The plan of the Croydon Central Lending Library may serve as an example. If the classes are indicated chromatically: for example, 000 red, 100 blue, 200 yellow, 300 green, etc., the plan will be more easily followed. Such a plan, drawn to a large scale, framed, and hung in a conspicuous position, will give readers a valuable conspectus of the department.

FIG. 78.--Tier Guide showing Lettering of Front (Section 244).

In addition, a series of bold class labels at the top of each class, and plenty of topic labels on the shelves, together with the progressive class numbers boldly printed, and fixed to the end of each shelf, will be found a great help to understanding the classification and finding the books. Shelf topic and number labels can be printed by the staff with an ordinary rubber-printing or sign-writing apparatus, and they can be fixed to the shelves by means of the label-holders mentioned in

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Manual of Library EconomyChapter XVII: Practical Application

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