CHAPTER XXXV

RURAL LIBRARIES

=542. The Need, and Earlier Schemes.=--Until recently a rural dweller in Canada, the United States, and some parts of Australia was better provided with literature than the villager in the United Kingdom. It is true that private generosity had established village libraries and circulating collections of books in several counties; and honourable mention may be made of the schemes of the Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes, 1847; the Yorkshire Union of Educational Institutes, 1854; the Central Circulating Library, 1888; the Bishop of Hereford, 1906; the Dorset Book-Lending Association, 1908; and the extensive scheme for the Highlands and Hebrides of Mr James Coats of Paisley; as also Sir Charles Seeley’s scheme for the Isle of Wight, and the Westmorland scheme, which are both, however, public ventures worked through the County Council in the first case, and, in the second, through the Kendal Public Library. All of these (except the Coats scheme) work on the sound method of dispatching to selected (and, in some of the private instances, subscribing) centres boxes of books which are changed twice or thrice yearly.

=543.= The private schemes, effective as they are, are unable to supply that co-ordinated service which may be expected from a state, or rate, maintained service; and as a whole the rural population is unprovided as yet. Although the need for general library provision has been abundantly recognized, the imagination of British legislators seems to have been unable to compass anything practical towards meeting it. The reasons for lack of village libraries turn upon the small product of the penny rate, which in an average population of 400--a frequent population figure for a village--rarely exceeds £10 yearly, a sum manifestly inadequate to provide or maintain a library. Ignorance of even this possibility and the traditional apathy or actual hostility of squire and parson, at least until lately, to any scheme of rural enlightenment may also have been factors; but, however that may be, in 1915 only seventy-six out of all the parishes of the kingdom had libraries working under the Acts. Co-operation alone can produce for these scattered populations the benefits of a sound service; but although the Libraries Acts (1892, Sections 9-10; 1893, Section 4) permit the co-operation of neighbouring urban districts or parishes for the provision of libraries, the method has been resorted to only occasionally, as at Workington and Harrington in Cumberland, where some such combination exists.

=544. The County Council as Library Authority.=--The obvious authority to establish and administer rural libraries is the County Council; but there is no explicit legislative instruction, or even permission, for them to do so. The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust has given careful and sympathetic attention to this problem, and to this body the recent rapid development of rural libraries is due. Acting on a recommendation of Professor W. G. S. Adams, in his valuable _Report on Library Provision and Policy_, 1915, that experimental library systems should be established in five selected areas in different parts of the kingdom, the Trustees invited certain County Councils through their education committees, and certain towns well placed in regard to surrounding rural districts, to accept grants for such work. Professor Adams advised the provision of (1) a central library, from which the books could be distributed at regular intervals, and from which also there should be supervision of the whole area; (2) village libraries, usually placed in a school, with the schoolmaster as librarian, and consisting of a permanent collection of important reference and standard works, and a circulating library which would be exchanged at three-monthly or other suitable intervals. The first areas chosen were Staffordshire as a county; Worksop, Nottinghamshire, as a town centred amongst villages; and the Trustees themselves established at the public library of their own centre, Dunfermline, a system to deal with the Orkneys, Shetland and the island of Lewis, and to reinforce by circulating collections the Coats libraries in other districts. The scheme has developed rapidly, and at the time of writing the counties of Dorset, Gloucester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Somerset, Stafford, Warwick, Westmorland, Wilts, York, Montgomery, Brecon, Buckingham, Cardigan, Carnarvon, Forfar, Lewis, Orkney and Shetland, Perth, Kerry and Limerick are all administering, or have accepted, grants for rural libraries. The grants range in amount from about £3000 to £7000 each, and are initial and experimental; that is to say, the sum provided is intended to establish and maintain the library system for a space of five years, after which it is expected that they will be administered entirely from county funds.

=545. The Methods of Carnegie Rural Libraries.=--It is too early yet to assess the results of these schemes or to expatiate with any certainty upon their methods; but an account of the administration of the Trust’s own scheme for the North of Scotland may be taken as typical, because, with the necessary variations imposed, or considered desirable, in the various county schemes, it is the standard for them all.

=546. The Central Repository.=--At the central repository the books are collected, classified, catalogued, dispatched and received; and accommodation sufficient for these purposes is provided. The extent of the initial stock, which is intended later to be fully representative of English and translated foreign literature, literature in Gaelic, local industries, science, history and topography, is such as to provide a collection of about seventy-five books for each centre to be served; and the travelling collections consist in equal proportions of general works, fiction for adult readers, and literature for children. Later, however, the selection will be influenced largely by the demands made by the local librarians. In the first case collections were exchanged twice yearly. Certain current periodicals, not returnable, were also sent out in boxes.

ACCESSION.--A slip suggestions record is used, one slip being written for each title; and from this the order list is compiled. Both order and slips are stamped with the date of the order, and when the books are received and found to be correct the slips are stamped with the date of receipt. The slips are then filed to form a continuous catalogue of accessions. Accessioning is done the ordinary way; all books are stamped throughout with a rubber-stamp impression of the name of the Trust; and the board label reads thus:

+----------------------------------------+ | | | RURAL LIBRARIES. | | | | Readers are requested to take great | | care of the books while in their | | possession, and to point out any | | defect they may notice in them to the | | librarian. | | | | All books should be returned to the | | Library within 14 days from date of | | issue; but an extension of the period | | of loan will be granted when desired. | | | +----------------------------------------+

FIG. 181.--Rural Library Board Label (Section 546).

CLASSIFICATION.--The Decimal classification is used, to two places for general works, and to four places for works on specific subjects; this enables a fairly minute arrangement. The common adjustments are made of removing Fiction and Biography from 900, and arranging the former in alphabetical-author order, and the latter alphabetically by persons biographed.

CATALOGUING.--A simple form of classified catalogue, with author and subject indexes, is used; and the date of publication is omitted from the bibliographical particulars, as the latest editions are always to be presumed. Complete catalogues in this form are eventually to be sent to all centres, but meanwhile separate typed lists, covering each collection, are sent out with the collection.

CENTRAL CHARGING.--The method of charging books to the various centres is simple. A card index in the usual form is drawn upon, the cards for each consignment of books being abstracted and placed behind a guide bearing the name of the centre. A date guide is inserted when the dispatch is made, and the “deliveries index” thus made forms a convenient guide to the books at any given centre, and, of course, is a means by which returned books are checked.

DISPATCHES.--Books are dispatched in boxes, specially constructed in deal, 18 × 12 × 12 inches inside measurements, which hold about forty-five volumes. They are banded with hoop iron, which is secured by screw-in iron bolts, and iron bars, screwing with nuts to the bolts, secure the lid. The interior is lined with waterproof paper; and flush handles are fitted to each box. The design is intended to meet the very rough usage probable in transit to remote districts. In ordinary rural service a much lighter box, of three-ply wood, has been found to be quite suitable. It is probably better, too, to have smaller boxes, as the handling of heavy boxes of books is a difficulty for both carrier and librarian.

=547. The Village Centres.=--LOCAL ADMINISTRATION.--The local administration of the libraries is in the hands of central committees formed of members of secondary education and library committees, and other interested people, with the librarians of the towns in the area as secretaries. These committees cover each a number of parishes, and for the immediate supervision of the parishes local sub-committees of members of school boards, teachers, etc., have been formed, and of these the schoolmaster is generally the secretary and local custodian of the books. These committees advise on book requirements and on such matters as shelving, etc.; central committees are also expected to raise the small funds for the conveyance of the books. The average library finds accommodation in the schools, and permanent collections, which include the more expensive and general reference books, are deposited in village institutes and existing Carnegie public libraries. Schools requiring shelves are supplied with deal cases, having five adjustable shelves, and a book-capacity of 150 volumes.

CHARGING.--The record of stock in use at the centres is on cards which are sent out in their card-case from the central repository. These card-cases are of cloth over strawboard, hold approximately 150 cards, are 8 × 5½ inches in size, and are made in the shape of an ordinary square-backed book-cover, with eyelet holes below the hinge through which cords are laced on which the cards are secured. Inside these cases the cards for each consignment of books are arranged in classified order. The card used is as shown on page 482 (Figs. 182 and 183).

When books are received at the local centre the librarian checks them with the cards and arranges them in the order of the cards on the shelves. The charging method is obvious. The charge is made under the name of the author, particulars of readers and date of issue and return being entered in the appropriate columns, the word “adult” being written in the age column for readers obviously over twenty-one. The charges are returned to the repository at the exchange periods, and these enable statistics to be made.

+---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Library .............................. Book No. .......... | | | | Author ............................... Card No. .......... | | | | Title ................................ | +---------------+----+-----------+--------------+---------------+ | | | |Date Borrowed.| Date Returned.| |Name of Reader.|Age.|Occupation.+----+----+----+----+----+-----+ | | | |Day.|Mth.| Yr.|Day.|Mth.| Yr. | +---------------+----+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Continue on other side | | | | | | | +--------------------+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+

FIG. 182.--Front of Charging Card--Carnegie Rural Library Scheme. The size is 7¼ × 4¼ inches.

+---------------+----+-----------+--------------+---------------+ | | | |Date Borrowed.| Date Returned.| |Name of Reader.|Age.|Occupation.+----+----+----+----+----+-----+ | | | |Day.|Mth.| Yr.|Day.|Mth.| Yr. | +---------------+----+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Don’t write below | | | | | | | | | this line. | | | | | | | | +--------------------+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+ | | | | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+

FIG. 183.--Back of Carnegie Charging Card.

=548. Museum of Rural Library Appliances.=--The above are, in brief, the chief features of the North of Scotland scheme, which seems to be serving its purpose admirably; and in connexion with it the Trust is building up at Dunfermline a small museum of rural library appliances, to include different types of boxes, forms, and other machinery tried in the various centres. This valuable work will in time furnish librarians with a considerable amount of important and useful data.

=549. Other Schemes=.--As the North of Scotland scheme is continuing in the control of the Carnegie Trust, it is on a rather different footing from the county schemes, which are in the control of the county education committee. In general, however, the methods are the same. There is a central repository where books are selected, catalogued, dispatched, and overhauled on return, and where reading courses, special catalogues, etc., may be prepared; indeed, whence skilled advice and assistance may be drawn by all the village centres. And, as recommended by Professor Adams, local village schools are the deposit centres, with schoolmasters as a rule for librarians. The smaller towns have in some places made arrangements by which they amalgamate or co-operate with county schemes, but the larger towns usually work independently.

A rough estimate of the cost of an actual rural library scheme founded on a Carnegie grant may be given:

Capital expenditure: Repository, building £800 Books 2100 Boxes 140 Accessories 100 Initial clerical labour 100 ---- £3240 =====

Annual expenditure: Salary of librarian £180 Clerical assistance 50 Heating, lighting, cleaning 50 Rates and taxes 25 Carriage of books 100 Repairs, etc. 25 ---- £430 Ultimate additional annual cost: Repairs and renewals 160 ---- 160 ---- £590 ====

Thus the annual cost of the scheme after the initial expenses have been met is reckoned at £590, but the salary allowed here is inadequate. It is at this point that the legal powers of the County Councils may be tested. It is difficult to imagine the Local Government Board auditor ruling that they cannot provide such library maintenance out of education funds because the Education Act of 1918 does not mention it (although the Scottish Act of 1918 does, and permits it), but the matter has not been questioned yet.

=550. General Considerations.=--Every librarian will see the potentialities of this work, as completing in a large measure the public library system of the country; moreover, its rapid and successful development is an earnest of the immense future of libraries as a whole. By co-ordinating this village work with such educational agencies as University Extension, and the Workers’ Educational Association, it will be possible to give to rural life many of the intellectual advantages hitherto exclusively the possession, for the non-wealthy classes, of town life, and this at a time when settlement on the land is proceeding apace. Meanwhile the supervising rural librarian may make regular visits throughout his area, in which he will give advice on reading, demonstrations in the use and care of books, and exercise the undoubted opportunities he will have of bringing people of like intellectual pursuits, but in different villages, into touch with one another. All this presupposes the existence of a professional librarian in control of the entire scheme. An initial mistake has been made in some counties in appointing teachers to this position, on the theory, no doubt, that the training of teachers is a very suitable basis for work with libraries which are locally administered by teachers. It may be so--the evidence is not yet forthcoming--but we do not think so. Library organization, especially at the outset, demands the specialist, and the librarian differs radically in training and mental attitude from the teacher. Further, the salaries hitherto offered have ranged from £150 to £300 per annum--have in only one case reached the higher figure--and these sums must be augmented considerably if the rural libraries are to attract and retain the librarians they really need.

=551.= BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams, W. G. S. Report on Library Provision and Policy, 1915.

Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Annual Report, 1915 _to date_.

Farr, Harry. Libraries in the Rural Districts, 1909. Library Assistants’ Association Series, 2.

Hetherington, A. L. Rural Libraries, 1916.

Ministry of Reconstruction. Third Interim Report of the Adult Education Committee: Libraries and Museums, 1919, p. 7.

Wynkoop, Asa. Commissions, State Aid and Agencies. _In_ A.L.A. Man. of Lib. Econ., Preprint of chapter xxvii., 1913.

For articles see Cannons: F 3, Village Libraries; F 4, Travelling Libraries.

DIVISION XV

MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES