CHAPTER XXXI

READING-ROOM METHODS

=460. Newsrooms.=--The chief difference which exists in the composition of British and American libraries is the frequent absence from the latter of general reading rooms in which the principal newspapers are displayed for public use. The newsroom has never been generally recognized in the United States as a necessary department of a public library, and, save in a few exceptional cases, these rooms are not to be found in the average American public library. The nearest approach to the British newsroom in America is the large magazine reading room, in which all kinds of weekly and monthly periodicals are displayed. This is substantially the same as a newsroom, but without the current numbers of daily newspapers. There are reasons why the Americans do not encourage newsrooms, and one is the enormous number of newspapers which exist in every large town. The display of a representative selection of newspapers and the cost of maintaining the department would occupy a large space, and the funds would be spent to a considerable extent in providing one of the least healthy forms of literature. But perhaps the real reason for the American indifference to the newsroom is the sensational and vulgar tone of a considerable portion of the newspaper press. Some American newspapers are free from such undesirable and objectionable features as sensational and untrue comments on current events, vulgar personalities, exaggeration and misrepresentation, objectionable and dangerous advertisements, and a very low level of literary merit, but many are not. The best fugitive work of American writers of any importance is to be found in the magazines and literary weeklies, which offer a marked contrast in every respect, save perhaps as regards advertisements, to the somewhat debased character of many American daily newspapers. These are all reasons why newsrooms on the British plan are not quite desirable in American libraries, and they apply to a large extent to the altered conditions of recent British journalism. Time was when the average British newspaper represented a high standard of accuracy, fairness and literary ability, but since the importation of many doubtful American methods, the character of the press has to a large measure degenerated. Moreover, few British newspapers are independent of political or corporation control, although exceptions exist, and impartial reports of and comments upon news are rare.

=461.= The stock arguments in favour of newspapers are reasonable, and have a strong element of truth in them. They attract a class of reader who would not otherwise come to the library at all, and satisfy the literary aspirations of some ratepayers who might receive otherwise no direct return for their rates. The presence of literary, technical and commercial periodicals in the newsroom is also said to attract a large number of interested readers, and no doubt it does; but this result might be achieved independently of the newspaper element. Newspaper readers are often a class apart; they rarely read anything else. _Real_ newspaper readers are comparatively few, and besides those who come for the weekly periodicals, the newsroom attracts loafers, sporting men and all kinds of hopeless individuals, to whom the comparative comfort of the newsroom is an attraction. Mr George Gissing, in one of his sketches, has drawn an exaggerated picture of such a newsroom haunter, who suffers from a kind of neurosis which drags him irresistibly to a public newsroom, there to indulge his morbid olfactory sense. The main argument in favour of newsrooms is that they present representative journals of every shade of opinion, and give the opportunity which is badly needed of comparative reading. But it is a department which some librarians think costs rather more than is justified by its actual value. When the annual charges for periodicals, fittings, lighting, heating, oversight and proportion of loan are all added together, it will be found that a newsroom costs a very considerable amount, which could be applied to more permanent advantage in a reference or lending library. The smaller the library the greater is the proportionate cost, and committees may seriously consider the question of limitation in public newsrooms, at any rate so far as daily newspapers are concerned. It is clearly a department where continual supervision is necessary, where it is most difficult to enforce discipline, and one that gives rise to continual public criticism.

=462.= A few years ago the practice of _blacking out_ the betting news was adopted in some newsrooms, as an experimental device to discourage the sporting element, which in some towns used to obstruct the greater part of the newsrooms. This is mentioned, not as an example to be followed, but as showing the shifts some library authorities have been driven to in order to prevent abuses. This practice of obliteration is now rare. Another suggestion for coping with the betting fraternity is to cease buying or displaying the evening papers, or to procure them so late as to make them useless for the purposes of the sporting element, while not in any way penalizing the reader who comes after 7 p.m. As a further suggestion for limiting the cost and obstructions of most newsrooms in large towns, it has been proposed (1) that only the morning daily papers be bought, for the benefit of the unemployed; (2) that the “Situations Vacant” columns only be displayed from 7 or 8 till 11 a.m.; (3) that the whole of them be removed at 11 o’clock, and their places occupied by maps, charts, pictures of current topics, or other similar broadside matter likely to interest and instruct.

=463.= In this way a newsroom might be greatly improved, and the character of its work changed, without interfering with the use of the illustrated periodicals, technical journals and trade papers displayed on the tables. By utilizing the wall space only for newspapers, good oversight is obtained and a certain amount of limitation is forced upon the authority by mechanical means. In arranging newspapers on the stands, care should be taken to separate the popular journals by a few less popular ones, so as to avoid continuous crowding at one or two points. The people who read newspapers should be distributed round the walls as thinly as possible, and this can only be effected by spreading the papers all round the available area.

=464.= In selecting newspapers for a newsroom great care should be taken to represent all political parties, and at the same time to avoid as far as may be the sensational element. All local papers should be taken, if not for display at least for permanent preservation. The leading London and provincial dailies should be taken, and a representative daily from Scotland and Ireland, and the leading foreign newspapers in French and German at least.

=465.= Newspapers are best displayed upon wall stands where possible, as more oversight can be obtained, and the economy over standard slopes, with papers on both sides, is undeniable. A newsroom fitted with newspaper stands at right angles to the walls, and covering most of the floor space, presents a somewhat crowded and obstructed appearance, and it is impossible for the staff to thoroughly overlook it easily. Apart from this a newsroom gains much in appearance, spaciousness and airiness when the newspapers are relegated to the walls, well out of the way. The weekly journals can be kept very conveniently on tables, as shown in Sections 162-65, and it is sometimes found advantageous to secure them by means of cords or chains as described in Section 163.

=466. Newspaper Stands.=--The present conditions of printing and production seem to make the broadside style of newspaper a necessity in all countries, and till some radical change in machinery is introduced which will permit newspapers in pamphlet or small quarto form to be produced rapidly, large stands for the display of newspapers will have to be provided. Standard newspaper slopes either at right angles to walls or distributed over the floor of a newsroom are not recommended, for the reasons already given and because their cost is much greater. They are necessary, however, in some cases, owing to considerations of light and convenience, and the form and dimensions indicated will be found useful (Figs. 165 and 166).

=467.= Apart from the fact that an exclusive use of wall slopes leaves the centre of the room free, it permits the titles and whereabouts of newspapers to be more easily noticed. Wall slopes should be made to the same dimensions as standards, save, of course, that only one face is necessary. The lower part of the slope should project eighteen inches to fifteen inches from the wall, to give a convenient angle for reading. Too great a slope is not desirable, as it tends to throw the top of the paper out of the reach and eye range of short people. This difficulty has been met most satisfactorily by the system designed, we believe, by Mr E. A. Savage for use at Wallasey. Here the slopes work on a central pivot and move backwards and forwards to enable the top or bottom of the paper to be read with ease, and are so balanced that they fall easily and readily into their correct position when released. These slopes, it may be added, are much lower than those usually adopted, and a reader may be seated at them and may compass the whole paper thus. A small beading or projection at the foot of the slope is frequently of use in preventing papers from drooping.

=468. Newspaper Fittings.=--TITLES for newspapers should be fixed on the stands over the centre of the spaces occupied by the papers. A title-board about six inches high should be provided for the purpose. It can be made to slide along a projection on the top of the stands if grooved on its under side. On this the name-tablets of the newspapers should appear in bold letters, not less than two inches high. These tablets may be printed on paper or card, or may appear on enamelled, metal or plate-glass tablets. There is a very large variety of such name-tablets on the market, and choice will not be difficult. It is a useful practice to attach to the fronts of the stands at intervals small bone, metal or card tablets intimating that papers must be surrendered to other readers after a certain period of warning has elapsed. A useful form of such intimation is as follows:

+-----------------------------------------+ | =Readers are requested to relinquish | | newspapers within TEN MINUTES of | | being asked to do so by other readers.= | +-----------------------------------------+

=469.= HOLDERS.--There is a very large variety of rods, clips, and other means for holding newspapers on their stands, and the following illustrations will describe them better than words. A good form is used in the public libraries of Hammersmith, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Finsbury, Liverpool, etc., and consists of a pair of screw clips which can be readily adjusted to any height of paper. These Simplex clips are illustrated on the revolving rod. Fig. 168 is called the “Simplex” newspaper rod, and is fastened to the bottom by means of a screw turned by a key. It is used in the public libraries of Wolverhampton, Croydon, Hull, West Ham, Glasgow, etc. Fig. 169 is a revolving holder which can be adjusted to different sizes of illustrated periodicals, by means of the sliding screw clips. It is intended for periodicals like the _Graphic_, _Sketch_, _Architect_, etc., which frequently have large folding plates running across two pages, and which cannot be conveniently examined when the journal is secured to a stand. A special form of separate wooden stand or easel is also made for such illustrated journals, which will be found useful when room is scarce on the other slopes.

=470.= Other fittings for newspaper slopes which are sometimes used are metal leaning bars or fences to keep readers from leaning on the papers and tearing them. These must be very strongly fastened at the foot of the slope in such a position as to project about four to six inches from the front. They should be held in strong brackets, as they have to support a very considerable weight.

The sticks and rods for holding single or several newspapers, such as are used for clubs and restaurants, are not particularly suitable for public library use, unless under very exceptional circumstances.

One of the commonest abuses of the newsroom is the tearing or cutting out of parts of newspapers (ladies frequently remove them with the scratching of the point of a hat-pin!), especially of advertisements. It is well to have a notice prominently displayed to the effect that this is a penal offence, and that persons desiring to copy advertisements may borrow pencil and paper for the purpose on application.

=471. Magazine Rooms and Periodicals.=--The newsroom may be made the store for all the trade, technical and other weeklies which in any way convey _news_ in their own particular fields; while the magazine room, if provided separately, may be reserved for the monthly and quarterly magazines, reviews and other miscellanies, which are not so much vehicles for the spread of current news. This is a rough division, but it seems a reasonable one for libraries where some distinction must be made between newsrooms and magazine rooms. In the selection of periodicals and magazines the same care should be taken as with newspapers to choose only the best and most representative. Committees should make it an invariable rule never to take any sectarian paper, save as a donation, or in response to a widespread public demand. Church and chapel papers are often forced upon libraries by their respective partisans out of sheer rivalry, and when this sort of thing once begins the library is sure to suffer by having to pay dearly for the gratification of mere sectarian feeling. It is waste of money to subscribe for the papers of this, that, and the other sect, on the sentimental grounds of fair play all round, and of meeting the views of large bodies of ratepayers in the same spirit as the wishes of trades or professions are met by providing technical and other journals. But there is this difference. A technical journal appeals to all sects, while a sectarian journal does not, and, as a matter of fact, is seldom read by its adherents once the honour of the faith is vindicated by having it placed in the public library. Some libraries adopt the rule of refusing all donations of periodicals in order to prevent the difficulties that arise.

=472.= The arrangement of periodicals and magazines in their respective rooms calls for some notice. There are several ways in actual use which all prove satisfactory, and which are, nevertheless, very different in application. The most common plan of displaying periodicals is to spread them loose all over the tables in strong covers lettered with the titles, and to try to maintain a rough alphabetical order. Another method is to place the periodicals in their covers in racks as described in Sections 162-65. The readers are expected to take what periodical they want from these racks, read it at the tables, and return it to its place in the rack. As a rule they either do not return them accurately or they leave them lying on the tables. But in any case this method is preferable to the plan of spreading them over the tables, as it acts in a measure as an indicator to the periodicals in use. A third method is to keep the whole of the periodicals off the tables or racks, and to issue them from a counter or rack which is superintended by an assistant. This can be done in a number of ways, but preferably by means of an indicator such as is described in Section 393. The last plan is one which has the advantage of providing each periodical with a fixed place where it can always be found, though it entails the provision of a separate chair and table space for every magazine, and so requires a much greater amount of space than any of the other methods.

=473.= With tables provided with racks in the manners shown in Section 165 the periodicals can be arranged alphabetically, or classified by kind, and secured to the rack or table by means of stout cords or chains covered with leather to prevent noise. If double-sided tables are available, with divisions as described above, they should be provided. Double-sided tables, especially if narrow, are not comfortable to sit at, either on account of the knees, breath or manners of your _vis-à-vis_, but when divided by means of a central partition, much of this objection is removed. Except for the difficulty of providing space for every separate periodical, it has been found, after trial of most of the other methods, that the fixed plan, plus some convenient means of inserting a new periodical at any point, is on the whole the most satisfactory all round. It is a decided advantage for a reader to be able to go straight to the place where the magazine he wants is fixed, and to find it always there when directed to it from any form of indicator or periodicals list. If the less popular or valuable periodicals were placed in a rack similar to that shown in Section 165, Fig. 49, the space required for displaying the better periodicals and magazines would be considerably restricted in area, while there would be a gain in space as well. The plan of keeping all the periodicals together which deal with the same trade or subject is very advantageous, and has the effect of removing the readers of lighter magazines, who are sometimes of a restless type, from the more studious reader who wants quiet.

=474.= In any plan of displaying periodicals on tables or racks a key to the order should be provided in the shape of an adjustable periodical list, which gives a complete list of every periodical or magazine contained in a room. It is an appliance in which the name of every periodical taken by the library is clearly displayed on a printed movable slip in a glazed English oak frame. This frame has a movable back to which are attached xylonite strips which retain the printed titles of the magazines in place, enabling them to be arranged in any order and to be added to or taken from at pleasure. Thus the name of a withdrawn or defunct periodical can be easily removed and that of a new one added.

=475.= The checking of periodicals and newspapers as received, and every morning as they lie on the tables, should be done by means of special records or checks. An effective form of check card for magazines or periodicals as received from the newsagent is shown in Figs. 171-3. This shows overdues at once, and enables a complete check to be kept on the delivery of periodicals. One kind of ruling suffices for every kind of periodical, daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly, and the cards are ruled as in the figures below with heading and fifty-two lines to the page. If necessary both sides can be ruled, and so one card can be made to last for a long time.

In the cards for monthly periodicals the names of the months should be written in advance, the dates of receipt being added against each month as the magazine is received. In the case of weeklies and dailies the numbers are to be entered number by number as received. An overdue can be noticed at once by anyone going over the cards, by simply noting that a weekly due on Friday, the day previous to the actual date of publication, has not been entered. These cards should be examined for overdues daily in the case of dailies, and every Friday evening or Saturday morning in the case of weeklies and monthlies. If each kind is stored in a suitable box or portfolio the checking and marking-off can be done with great rapidity. These cards can also be used for annuals, society publications, etc. In the latter case the year can be written at the top of the column, and the publications received for the subscription can be written in the column lengthways. If nothing has been received by the middle of any year, the society can be notified. But the irregularity of society and other subscription publications is a feature which requires a good deal of watching, and a card check of some kind is essential.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | _Cornhill Magazine._ _Annual Cost_, 9s. | | | | _Vendor_, Jones & Co. _Due about_ 28th. _Location_, Rack 30. | +-----+------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+ | 19|01. | 19|02. | 19|03. | 19|04. | 19|05. | 19|06. | +-----+------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+ |No. | Rec. | | | | | | | | | | | |Jan. |Dc. 28| | | | | | | | | | | |Feb. |Jn. 29| | | | | | | | | | | |Mar. |Mar. 1| | | | | | | | | | | |Apl. | | | | | | | | | | | | |May | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |The ruling continues for 52 lines. |

FIG. 171.--Periodicals Check Card, Blue (9¼″ × 6″), showing Arrangement for Monthlies (Section 475).

+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | 1901.| 1902.| | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Jun. 1|Jun. 2| | | | | | | | | | | | „ 8| „ 9| | | | | | | | | | | | „ 15| „ 16| | | | | | | | | | | | „ 22| „ 23| | | | | | | | | | | | „ 29| „ 30| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

FIG. 172.--White Card, showing Arrangement for Weeklies (Section 475).

+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |< | | 19|01. | | >|< | | 19|02. | | >| +------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Jun. 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 3| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 4| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 5| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 6| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 7| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 8| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 10| | | | | | | | | | | | | „ 11| | | | | | | | | | | |

FIG. 173.--Buff Card, showing Arrangement for Dailies (Section 475).

=476.= The morning check of periodicals as they lie on the tables should be done by an assistant armed with a list, written or printed on a card, by means of which he or she can follow the order of all the periodicals as they are arranged on stands, tables or racks. Anything missing should be noted on a separate slip of paper, and entered in the work-book. The initials of the checker should also be written in the work-book in the space provided. (See Section 89.) The librarian should receive the check slip if anything is missing. In similar fashion the assistant who examines the periodical check cards for overdues should notify the librarian of any numbers not promptly received.

The filing of magazines and newspapers may be done in a variety of ways. Newspapers should be kept in order on special racks, in piles, with a suitable board underneath to act as a runner and support, and a sheet of cardboard or glazed casing paper above to prevent the settling of dust. Periodicals and magazines may either be kept in special cloth-covered boxes made to take a whole or half-year’s numbers, as the case may be, or kept on boards in the same manner as newspapers. In both cases alphabetical order of titles will be found a suitable arrangement. The plan of placing the numbers of a periodical as done at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, seems a simple and effective manner of dealing with a large number of files. This is illustrated in Fig. 174.

=477.= It is not advisable to reserve anything, either for binding, or preservation for a time, and it is wise to make up a list of periodicals and newspapers which it is intended to keep, file them, and give all the remainder away to poorhouses, asylums or similar institutions. Sometimes they can be sold at half-price as withdrawn from the tables, but in most cases all matter of this kind has to be sold as waste-paper.

=478.= The only satisfactory method of counting the attendances in general reading rooms is by means of a recording turnstile. All other methods of occasional counts and the striking of averages are unreliable. The demand for statistics is sometimes so strong, unfortunately, that librarians are driven to satisfy their committees as to the use made of reading rooms, and in the absence of a turnstile the best thing to do is to take whole-day counts as follows: on a Monday in January; Tuesday in February; Wednesday in March, etc.; divide the total by twelve, and multiply the average thus obtained by the number of days open. Every individual who enters or re-enters must be counted. This gives a mere approximation to the actual attendance, but is a better and more reasonable plan than counting the readers present in the rooms every hour or half-hour, adding the totals together, and reckoning the result as the day’s attendance.

As an aid in keeping order in public newsrooms it is a good plan to frame a few copies of the 1898 “Act to provide for the Punishment of Offences in Libraries,” and to hang them in conspicuous places, along with the admonitory notices regarding “Silence,” etc. The official appearance of a framed Act of Parliament has a daunting effect upon a certain type of mind, and has been found to act as a check upon sporting and loafing individuals.

=479. Women’s Rooms.=--About eighty public libraries in Britain have provided separate rooms for the use of women, but it is doubtful if such accommodation is really necessary, and they have not been uniformly successful. To a certain extent the matter depends upon the locality. If there is plenty of room in the building there is no harm in making this extra provision, if the room can be properly overlooked, but in cases where space is limited, it is a mistake to cramp the rest of the building for the sake of a somewhat sentimental idea. A few extra women of a fidgety or timid sort may be attracted to the library because of this exclusive accommodation, but the great majority of women prefer to use the ordinary departments of a public library on the same footing and conditions as men, and resent distinctions, such as the room implies. If women can use the crowded spaces in front of restricted lending libraries, and can mix with men in open lending libraries, they can surely use the other public rooms without harm or inconvenience.

=480. Public Lavatory Accommodation.=--This is perhaps a convenient place to mention lavatory accommodation for the public. It should not be provided by public library authorities at all, unless to a limited extent for the use of reference library readers, or for social meetings in connexion with lecture rooms. It is the duty of the sanitary or public health authorities to provide this kind of public accommodation, and not library boards with painfully limited funds. Somewhere adjacent to the library building provision of this kind can be made by the local authority, and it will be found a convenience to the public and a relief to the library funds.

=481.= BIBLIOGRAPHY

No monograph. For articles see Cannons: E 69 _et seq._, Newsrooms; D 38-9, Racks and Stands; E 70-4, Fittings and Notices; E 78, Ladies’ Rooms.

DIVISION XIII

LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN