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The charging system of the

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Citation McNiff, Philip J. 1949. The charging system of the Lamont Library. Bulletin III (3), Autumn 1949: 438-440.

Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42672668

Terms of Use This article was downloaded from ’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA I-Inrvrrr d Library B 1t lI eti11 Auunicnn Review and the Cbrirtian The volun1e contains a chapter de- E1·n.u1ineri published a number of voted to I-Iarvanli not to n1cntion a scrn1oi1sa.nd addrcsses 1 -....vasthe. author paragraph or so de\Totcd to Yale as of a Poe! icnl Cater.bisn1 and several ,veil. The matedn1 on Irlarvard ,vould occas1onai poen1s and hy1nns, prepared seen1 to be factual data dra,vn fro1n a Report on tbe Ornithology of the 1849 c~taloguc and perhaps sin1ilar Alassachusetts, and \\'rote four of. the sOluces. Atnong the six plates in the b jog ra phi es for J-ared Sp arks 1s Librar}' vo]unie is also a vie,v uf Girard Co]~ of A111ericnnDiogrnpby . 2 Jege, Phi lad clp h ia.[i Per Ada1n Siljestron1, born on 24 The second vie.\v 1s found in Resn i December 18151 i.vas graduated fro1n Forcnta Stnter11~1iby P. A. Si1jcstron1 Uppsala in 1836 ,vjch a Ph.D. degree. (Stockholn1, 1852-54)~4 "~here it ap- ·T,vo years 1atcr he took p~nt in Paul pears as the frontispi~ce to \Tolun1c I Gain1ard's north polar expedition,

( r 8 52) + • fhis volun1e js concerned ,vri6ng a hook on his observations. ,virh educational institutions in the After teaching at Norrkoping and Un; te d Sta tcs ( 0111 Bi 1du ingstn ed I e 11 Uppsala for some ten years he de- och Bild11ingen. i Flirenta Statcr11rr). veloped an interest in cleinentary edu- 1·he vic,v is :.111jrrcgolar engrav- cational proL1ents \\'hich ]ed hirn to ingt ,vithout horder Hne1 cnt[tled Engfand and North ~>\.n1eritain 1 849-' '/ nbont 6.10 x 3.15 50. This book ,vas the result of his inc hes in ~jzc on an uncut leaf of 8.~ x trn ve ls in the United Sta tcs. There- 5.6 inches. Presun1ably engraved in after he did further cxtcns1ve traveling S-\vedcn, it is a sonlc,~·h:n reduced to ~tudy educational 111ethods.,after copy of the Quincy Bicentennial \'ic"r ,vh ic h he revised the en ti re aca d cn1ic c1f 1840 done on ,vood~ ,v1th the on1is- .svsten1 in Stnckholmt in due tin1e be- sion of the a1un1ni proces~ion and the con1ing Jnspccto_r of schools and an top of the Pin·ilion ,;dth hs flag. educational autl1ority \\'ith numerous publjcations to his credit+ I-le died on :i G corge Ha rv-cy G~nzrncr 1 ~,vi11iam Tio;_arn Oli·n:!r Pc:abody/ Dicdonar,y of l9 Fehruary 1892. A,uericcm Biography, Xl\r (Nc,Y Yorl.:t I·IAJ\1:lLTON ,rAUGHA.1'' BAIL r934), 343-344. I am indebted to Dr l\1al'sb!IU,,( S. of th is S\van, D~rcctor of the American Swedish ·1· here is an I:ngl ish tran:slation Rownn, entltkd , I-Jisto ric.-al i\-im-e mn of Phi' add phi a, for first ,Tolume-)Ly Frederica l,ringing this \·olumc to n1y attention -anJ 1"be Education.ttI Institntio~1s of the United no for furnishing the jnform1tion about States (Lond.oe1, 1853) t but it cantafns Silj cstrom. fJfot~s.

Tl1c Cl1argi11gS 1rste1n of tl1c Lain on t Library L plnnning for the Lan1ont Li- constitute a barrier ns effecti,re as braq.r centered around the locked cup boa rd s or closed ·stacks .. X all )jbrary pr~cttccs prh1ciple of removing barrjers Con~cqucntly, bet,\'Cen the students and the· books. "\Vere subj ec tc d to n ea rch in g anal ysj s Con1pUcated routines and techniques. in order to discover ho,v their simpli-

Harvard University - / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume III, Number 3 (Autumn 1949) Notes 439 fication might achi eve freer gcccss to This nun1ber appears on the book books and speedier scr,,icc to students. pocket in the back of the book and on One of the_ n1ost in1portant library. the verso of the tit]e-pnge. 1~he shelf- functions .is the cjrculation of books. Jist record carric.~ the circu]ation nun1- This jncludes the charging out of b er as ,veil as the cl a.ss nrn.rk for any books and the cancellation of ch-s.rgcs g~ven title. The nrnnbcrs 1 to 2.9,999 ,vhcn books arc returned. In the study \.Vere set aside for books in the 1·c- of existing charging systems it ,va s s crve d book col lec ti on.; the nu n1b ers disco , ..ere d th a ti ,vhi] e the various 30,000 Lo 99i999 ,vcrc assjgncd to book~ .c]ectric autonrn.tic ch'lrgjng nm.chines in the genera 1 collection. A nu111cdcal and photochargjng systcn1s had cer- recorcl of the circu l~tion numbers is tain advantagesJ there ,,·ere serio11s kept so that book~ l'.an be accounted dra,vbacks to the mechanical devices. for ,vhen they are -charged for out- The michines are expensive to pur- side u~e. SinL.:ethere js a mare rapid chase or to ·rent. So1ne nrnchines re~ turnover of llook.~ in the reserved qui re the nlrtintc nar:--ceof a 1argc fi]c collcctjo11.s~their• circulation nurnher of date-due or transaction-nunlber record is kept on cards; the nun1cric:al cards; and though machine charging record for the general collecdon is cli111inatesson1e kinds of clerical ,vork, n1ai nta in ed on ]o ose-1e~ f sheets. The it adds another type .. record comprises a 1~rief author and 1-he hook-ca.rd system ,vhich in- title en try nd the c 1ass n1ark. vo]vcs having a carc1 in a pocket at After the borro,vcr bas selected his the back of the 8helved book ,vas book, he n1ust fill out the necessary considered an

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume III, Number 3 (Autumn 1949) 44° Har·vnrd Library Bulleti11 The' borro,ver then present~ the books frorn the general coUection arc book and charge care.I to the attendant ducL st'l.tioned at one of the con1bined in- One serious obstacle to good li- sp~ction and charge points at the exits+ b ra rr sc r'iti ce in a coHegC Iih tel ry h:1s .L~ftcr checldng the churge card for lJcrn the an1ount of titnc it has taken accurncy, the. attendant ,\rrites the cir- to caned rernrned books. At Ha:r- culation nurnher on a predated date- Yatd, this ,vas particularly true of due slip ,\Thich he slips into the hook required-reading bool'\s ,\·hen the pocket. Thjs transaction con1p1eted~ slow· process of tJking books to the the borro,vcr js frl:!c to go. 1-hc date- charge file for the removal of charge d uc s]ips have the s11111cblock arr:1ngc- slips: ]ef t students c1an1oring for the n1cnt as the charge cards and are 1 ,uoo or n1orc books that \\'ere 1nost printed so that each card can be used in demand. Lamont's ne ,v ch~rg j ng

four titncs. A ·w·ltiLcs]ip js used for sv~ten1... has dirninatcd this bottleneck . books in the gcnen1l collecrion and n It js no,v possible to handJe t\vjce as col nred slip for hooks in the rescn•cd n1any books in nllout onc-f ourth the book co]lectjon. tirne previously required. Under the The ·ch~rge cards are a1Tringed l)y ne, v systen1, the J1b rn ry a trcn d ant re- c:ircnlation number under the date due. n1o ,Testhe date-due sllp fron1 the_ re- A separate file is kept for required- turned book, checking to make sure reading books ,vhi ~h circulate for one that the numllef on the sl[p agrees night only; these are considered o,~cr- ,vith· the number on the book pocket. ... duc on the follo,ving day and steps After this sin1ple operation, the hook arc taken to retrieve then1. Boo1,s is ready to be returned to the shel vesL · fron1 the gencri1l co1lecdon an:: ahvnys The date-due slip is used to cancel the dnc on the sau1c day of the \Yeck. A charge card; this js a clerical tnins~c- hook borro,ved on ,vednesday is

load con1cs on \:Vednesday 1 ,vhcn the students. PHILIP J. ~IcNrFF

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume III, Number 3 (Autumn 1949) List of Con tribt1tors

v\lJLLTAhr A. JACK SO~! Professor of Bih1iography ~n·d Assistant Librari-an of the College Library in charge of the Houghton Library~ I-Iar, 1 ard Uni- versity

DONA Ln Co~F.Y, Li h ra ri an nnd Prof cssor of Librada nsh ip~ Uni versitr of Ca Ji~ f ornia at Berkeley

N ~,VTON F l\·Icl{ RON, Di re~ tor of the Co]leg e Library and Prof cssor of Eng- lish, Amherst Col1ege

I-L1RVIE BRANsroJ\IB, Chancellor, \T anderbilt Uniltersity l Rr.nNARllCoHF.K, A~i~tant Profes~or of Genernl Education and of the llis- I . tory of Science, Ha n:i-nrdUni versi (y . '

I-IYDER E. RoLLJKs, Gurney Professor of English J.... iterature 1 Harvard Uni- vcrsny

HE TNRICH ScHNEIDER, Profess or of G crm anl I-Iar,,.a rd Univ crsi ty

F.o,v1NE. ,,,.ILLTAi.\'l.S, Assistant to the Librarhu1 of Harvard College

LEON EDEL, Ne\\' ·York City

~1r.1-rroN l\·1 . Sr A L'rs, JR,A ss-istri nt Prof cssor of Eng 1is h, L-a,vrence Co 11ege

CAJ\"I[LLA 1-IAY GJLLlESJ Uncvcrsity of Leeds

juHN J. ENcK 1 Teat:hing Fellcn-vin Engli.,h~ Harvard University

'HERJ\1..:\h"' TEERlNKt Arnhcrn, Netherlands

I-:IAI\11LTON VAUGHAr-.T BAIL, Treasurer of the Frankljn lnstitutei Philadelphia, ·pcnn 5y 1va nia

Ptt1Lll' J. J\·1cNnT, Assistant L.ibrarian of the College Library in charge of the lAlmont ] .,ibrary, Hanrard University

f nEDERI CK C. PACKARD, Assocj ate Jlrof essor of Pub Ii c Sp ea kin g1 Harvard Uni - vers1ty+ '

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume III, Number 3 (Autumn 1949)