CHAPTER VI

ASSISTANTS

=78. General.=--The organization of the library staff under the chief librarian is naturally governed by the number of assistants and the size of the system they work. Most libraries have a second qualified librarian who is variously called Deputy-Librarian or Sub-Librarian [or sometimes he is called Chief Assistant Librarian, Deputy Chief Librarian, or, more rarely in England, Vice-Librarian. There is still considerable confusion in the nomenclature of library offices, and it would be well if a uniform system were adopted. (See Appendix I.)]. Large libraries have, in addition, a hierarchy of assistants, as follows: 1. A Superintendent of Branches, where there are several libraries in the system, as at Birmingham, Glasgow, etc.; 2. Librarians-in-Charge of the several departments; 3. Branch Librarians; 4. Senior assistants; 5. Junior assistants. The qualifications of Deputy, Superintendent of Branches, Librarians-in-Charge and Branch Librarians differ from those of the Chief Librarian in degree rather than in kind, and to these positions only trained men should be appointed. In many cases they are appointed from staff, not always to the benefit of the library. It is a sound plan to throw open all the higher appointments in libraries to competition, in which competition, of course, any member of the existing staff should be allowed, without prejudice, to compete. One of the mistaken policies, especially of large libraries, has been to promote men because of mere length of service. Such service is undoubtedly valuable, but is not necessarily a proof of qualification for higher library positions.

=79. Deputy-Librarian.=--It may be affirmed that appointments to any senior position should be subject to the same principles, and to conditions similar to those governing the appointment of chief librarians. In small libraries the means at the disposal of the committee do not always permit of a salary sufficient to attract a diplomate of the Library Association, or a man similarly qualified, but no assistant who is inexperienced or is without the certificates of the Library Association should ever be appointed to the important position of Deputy-Librarian. The duties of the Deputy-Librarian comprise the whole administration of the library system under the chief librarian, the general supervision of every department, and the direction of the duties of the whole staff. He becomes acting-chief librarian in every absence of his principal, and should be qualified to assume this position both by his knowledge and his personality. It is therefore clear that his technical training must in general be as sound and catholic as that of his chief; and in addition to this quality, he should possess initiative, disciplinary powers, discretion, and loyalty to his chief and to the existing system. In detail his duties will vary according to the size of the system; and in small libraries he will be merely the superior assistant, taking part in every operation (except the merely mechanical ones, which may be performed by untrained juniors) of the library; in somewhat larger libraries he may arrange the hours and duties of the staff and superintend them, and check all cataloguing and classification. In the largest libraries his work is almost purely administrative.

The conditions of the appointment of a Deputy-Librarian are somewhat difficult to describe, owing to the divergences we have named. He usually, but not always, works similar hours to the remainder of the staff; has his own office, or, at any rate, private desk; and is usually invested with considerable authority. It should be the aim of the chief librarian to make this office a worthy one--and to see that only worthy persons occupy it. A good deputy gives tone to the whole staff, as he comes into more intimate contact with it than the chief librarian. The salaries paid to Deputy-Librarians are again matters which vary; they range from £100 to £300, and in a few places to much higher sums than this. [In the last edition it was laid down that the deputy should receive a maximum of not less than half of that of the chief; but we think any dogmatic statement of that kind objectionable, as being subject to numberless variations in various places.]

=80. Superintendent of Branches.=--This librarian acts as a _liaison_ officer between the chief librarian and the branch librarian in systems where there are many branch libraries. He must be qualified to assess the work of each library and to co-ordinate the whole branch system, to look over time-sheets, examine into the performance of the assistants, judge their capacity and training, advise as to the books required in particular localities, and, in general, make the units of the system smooth-working parts of a homogenous whole. It is probable that a capable superintendent is an economy of some consequence in a large system. Few libraries, however, with less than a dozen branches possess such an officer, his duties usually in other cases falling upon the chief or deputy librarians. The superintendent is subordinate to the deputy-librarian, and his salary is something more than that of a branch or departmental librarian.

=81. Departmental Librarians.=--Of recent years the tendency in library work has been towards specialization, and in most libraries of any size assistants are given more or less permanent charge of departments, and are usually called librarians-in-charge. The librarian of a branch library falls into this category although he may not occupy exactly the same level on the staff as the librarian-in-charge of the reference library; as, also, in libraries which have such departments, does the head of the cataloguing staff, the order division, etc. In the great libraries the librarian-in-charge of the reference department is easily the head of the grade we are discussing, as he must obviously be a person of considerable bibliographical acquirements in addition to being the possessor of a complete library training, and his work lies with inquirers, research workers, and similar readers who require skilled and sympathetic assistance. In the majority of libraries all librarians-in-charge are regarded as official equals. Their salaries are obviously governed by the wealth and work of the library concerned, but a rough calculation ranges them at from the inadequate minimum of £90 to about £250 or more, with many intermediate scales. The duties of a librarian-in-charge involve the responsibility of conducting the department according to the prevailing library policy, the arranging of the duties of the staff and the seeing that they are performed, the training of the staff, the maintenance of order in public rooms, and the exploiting of the department to the utmost in the interest of the public.

=82. Library Councils.=--In some libraries the chief librarians have formed the deputy-librarian, the superintendent of branches and the librarians-in-charge into a committee which is variously named, but is commonly called by the large name of the Library Council, which meets weekly or monthly in the chief librarian’s office and discusses the current methods of the library system and the means whereby its activities may be improved and its influence extended. Such a council has necessarily only a consultative function, and all decisions it reaches are subject to the chief librarian. Regular agenda are often used and minutes kept of such meetings, and they are surprisingly fruitful in useful and practical suggestions. Even quite impractical suggestions should be encouraged at such meetings, as they often throw light on the general work and lead to other suggestions of a useful character. More and more both in this country and in America the chief librarians are taking their senior colleagues into their confidence in this way, and thus a community of interest is created and an enthusiasm is fostered which are well worth having.

=83. Assistants.=--In America the library assistant is in the best instances a person who is a graduate of a college or who has had a high school education; who, in addition, has taken a course of one year, or, in special instances, two years at a library school. Not all or even the majority of assistants are of this type, as the American library is unable to afford a large number of workers so highly qualified. On this side of the Atlantic the American system is an impossible ideal in existing circumstances; not one library in the kingdom--except, occasionally, the Government libraries--could pay the initial salaries which such training should command. Indeed, the whole question of staffing libraries is affected in most adverse manner by the inadequacy of library incomes. Assistants must as a rule be chosen from amongst young people just leaving school--often Council elementary or secondary schools. They are therefore people in almost every sense, except, it may be, natural ability, incapable at the beginning of their library career of anything more than the mere mechanical tasks. They have to be educated before they are trained technically in most cases. To secure the right material it is becoming the practice to demand of candidates for library work a fair general knowledge, and the Library Association has asked that some such certificate as matriculation, or the Oxford and Cambridge Locals, should be required of them. Where the supply of candidates so qualified does not exist, the chief librarian sets a simple qualifying examination paper to test the common sense and education of candidates. Appointments are usually made for a probationary period of about three months, at the end of which time it is possible to judge in a rough way whether the youngster will benefit by library training or not. Owing to the limited prospects the work offers the librarian has a moral obligation to see that appointees who are unsuitable are encouraged to seek other occupations as soon as their unfitness for librarianship is proven. Where both sexes are employed exactly the same type of qualifications should be required from each, and equal remuneration should be paid. The smaller salaries sometimes offered to girls have ill results both upon the individual candidates and upon the library.

=84. Hours.=--The last exhaustive inquiry into the hours worked by municipal library assistants was made by the Library Assistants’ Association in 1911, who embodied its results in a valuable report. Hours are naturally influenced by the prevailing length of working-time in commerce and in other walks of life. The average number worked in libraries in 1908 was 48 weekly; in 1911 it was 45·22; but the tendency is to make it 42 hours. The difficulties which face a librarian in arranging a time-sheet are that he has usually too small a staff, and cannot afford a larger one, and that the library is in many or all of its departments open from twelve to fourteen hours daily. This involves evening work on several days in the week, and means that the hours are irregular and broken. At the same time the nature of library work is exacting, and much more efficient work can be expected from a seven-hours’, or even shorter, day than from a longer one. Study, recreation and social experience are absolutely necessary for successful work; and time-sheets should be arranged to make these possible. There is no excuse whatever for the at one time prevailing time-sheets which required assistants to work from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with an interval of 1½ hours for dinner and a similar interval for tea. The librarian whose staff is so small that these hours are necessary to keep the library open is attempting at the expense of the health and whole natural life of his staff to do more work than the community has a right to expect. Even with the seven-hour day the broken hours involved form the least attractive feature of library work. The time-sheet suggested by the Library Assistants’ Association is given as a practical solution of some of the difficulties we have enumerated--not as an ideal but as the result of experience. It provides for a half-holiday weekly and for hours of recreation and study. It should be the aim to make the use of the sheet regular, so that every assistant may know what evenings, for example, he has at his disposal throughout the year. Modifications are sometimes made during the summer months, when the work is slacker, in the direction of giving the assistants more free time.

SUGGESTED TIME-SHEET (LIBRARY ASSISTANTS’ ASSOCIATION)

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MONDAY A ------------ ------------ B ------------ --------- C 8.45---------- D ------------ ------------ E ------------ ------------- F ------------ ---------- G ------------ ------------ H ------------ ----------

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TUESDAY A ------------ --------- B ------------ ------------ C ------------ ------------ D 8.45---------- E ------------ --------- F ------------ ------------ G ------------ --------- H ------------ ------------

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WEDNESDAY A ------------ B ------------ --------- C ------------ ------------ D ------------ ------------ E 8.45---------- F --------- --------- G --------- ------------ H ------------ ------------

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 THURSDAY A ------------ ------------ B ------------ C ------------ ------------ D ------------ ------------ E --------- ------------ F 8.45---------- G ------------ ------------ H ------------ ------------

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FRIDAY A ------------ ------------ B ------------ ------------ C ------------ --------- D ------------ --------- E ------------ ------------ F ------------ G 8.45---------- H ------------ ------------

9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SATURDAY A ------------ --------- B ------------ ------------ C ------------ --------- D ------------ --------- E ------------ ------------ F ------------ ------------ G ------------ ------------ H 8.45----------

FIG. 6 (Section 84).

Hours of duty 42 per week. Each assistant has a half-day and an evening off, works one night until 10 o’clock, and comes on one morning at 8.45. The library is assumed to be open all the week, and where an early-closing day is in vogue, the time-sheet is simplified by confining nearly all the half-holidays to that day.

The time-sheet would be much improved if 5 p.m. were substituted for 6 p.m. on the evening off; an assistant leaving at 6, after he has had a meal, has very little evening left. It should be the endeavour so to adjust the sheet that each assistant is off every other evening, the half-day counting as one. Local circumstances will suggest variations, which can easily be made.

=85.= The whole staff question, so far as junior assistants are concerned, may be modified by the Education Act of 1918. This has raised the age at which children may leave school, and requires of them part-study until the age of 18. Seeing that the juniors at present engaged are of 14 years and upwards, this may mean duplicate junior staffs, with accompanying problems of remuneration. It may be that specialized library training may be accepted in lieu of the continuation classes contemplated by the Act. But the matter is at present in a state of transition, and we can only indicate the new problem.

=86. Sunday Work.=--Some libraries remain open on Sundays and on public holidays, usually for a part of the day. About half of these pay extra remuneration for hours worked on these days; others allow time off through the week for it; and in one or two places Hebrew assistants are specially employed for Sunday duty.

=87. Junior Assistant.=--The work of the assistant in his first library years is largely mechanical: the preparing of books for circulating; labelling, card-writing, tagging; keeping shelves in order and replacing returned books; charging and issue-desk work of the simpler kind. There is much work in every library of this unskilled character which forms a useful training in business habits, order, regularity, etc. It is unfortunate, however, that the smallness of staffs often makes it necessary to put the work of issuing books to readers in the hands of juniors. The actual charging of books is indeed a mechanical process, but its performance is carried out at one of the main points of contact with the public where knowledge and experience are of great value. Larger libraries have, as a rule, departmental staffs which are confined to the work of the particular department to which they are accredited. This is undoubtedly the most business-like and economical method; but every assistant should be given the opportunity of learning the work of every department and should be required to do so. This may be done by transferring the assistants at not too lengthy intervals. In smaller libraries this departmental division does not exist, and an assistant may work in the lending library in the morning, in the reference library in the evening, and at a branch to-morrow, just as the exigencies of the service dictate.

=88. Senior Assistant.=--The name senior assistant is bestowed upon assistants with a few years’ experience and training, including as a rule the possession of two or more certificates of the Library Association. They occupy a position somewhat analogous to that of non-commissioned officers, and act as reliefs to the librarians-in-charge. Often they are made responsible for some branch of the routine, as, for example, book-binding, defaulters, registration of borrowers, etc., and this is a good method, provided that any one assistant is not confined rigidly and for too long to one task. A sense of responsibility is a useful quality which can be fostered in this way. Usually senior assistants are promoted from the junior staff, but not always; and it is becoming a general condition of promotion to this grade that the candidate shall have taken some part of the Library Association course. Promotion should never be made unless the candidate has shown a disposition to qualify in some such manner.

=89. Work Book.=--It is a good plan to use a work book or duty book, in which the daily duties of each assistant can be entered. By means of such a book it is easy to change the work about, in order to give every assistant an opportunity of doing everything in turn; and it is necessary because of the changes worked on the composition of the staff by the time-sheet. A good form of work book for a library where the staff is not departmental is shown in the ruling below, which can be adjusted to meet the conditions in large libraries. The names or numbers of the assistants are written or printed in the margin, and against these the particular duty, or set of duties, to be performed that day are written. This book is generally made up by the deputy-librarian and checked by the librarian. In small libraries the librarian can write up this record. Apart from its value as a simple means of distributing and fixing duties, it makes a capital record of visitors or callers, errors, absences of staff, progress of certain pieces of work, checks of various kinds, and may even be used as a staff time-book. The form given on page 92 (Fig. 7) is a guide to the work of a library and a check upon results. For convenience’ sake the assistants are numbered in order of seniority.

=90.= The method of using this book is very simple. If there are ten assistants or under, one page only is used, each member of the staff receiving an appropriate number. If there are more than ten assistants two pages must be used, the numbers on the second page having the figure 1 prefixed to them, and the 10 being altered to 20. Thus page 2 will appear as 11, 12, 13, 14, etc. If there are more than twenty assistants a third page can be used, the existing numbers having 2 prefixed as before.

Each assistant on arriving or departing enters on the “Time-Sheet” his or her exact time in the spaces reserved, beginning the day with the first column. The assistants who check and tidy _a_ to _d_ in the mornings write their initials opposite the particular duty, while those who attend to the charging system, date stamps, overdues and cash for change also initial the item, the amount of change being stated. Against each assistant’s number is written his or her duties for the day. The first page or pages of the work book should be reserved as a key, and the names of the assistants should be written against the numbers which represent them. The column “New Orders” is for new instructions for all the staff. These should be entered briefly in red ink from the bottom towards the top of the page. The Notes lines will receive all items specified and any other notable incidents occurring in the course of each day, such as “Breakdown of Electric Light,” “Drunken man expelled,” etc. The work book must be kept in _one_ recognized place, and every assistant should be held responsible for entering up his own notes and time. Any note of a general kind must be entered by the senior officer present on duty. The work book should be submitted to the chief librarian every morning.

<-------------------------------9″-------------------------------> ^ +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | Date ............................. | | | | | | Time-Sheet. Daily Checks. | | +--+----+----++----+----++----+----++-------------------+--------+ | | |Arr.|Dep.||Arr.|Dep.||Arr.|Dep.||Department. |Initial.| | +--+----+----++----+----++----+----++-------------------+--------+ | | 1| | || | || | ||_a_ Reference | | | | 2| | || | || | ||_b_ Lending | | | | 3| | || | || | ||_c_ Reading Room | | | | 4| | || | || | ||_d_ Juvenile | | | | 5| | || | || | ||_e_ Overdues | | | | 6| | || | || | ||_f_ Charging System| | | | 7| | || | || | ||_g_ Change (money) | | | | 8| | || | || | ||_h_ | | | | 9| | || | || | ||_j_ | | | |10| | || | || | ||_k_ | | | +==+====+====++====+====++====+====++===================+========+ | | | New | | | | Orders.| | | 1 | | | | | | 14″| 2 | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | | | 6 | | | | | | | | 7 | | | | | | | | 8 | | | | | | | | 9 | | | | | | | |10 | | | +=======================================================+========+ | |Notes.--[Callers, Complaints, Errors, Lost or Found Property, | | |etc.] | | | | | | | V +----------------------------------------------------------------+

FIG. 7.--Staff Work Book (Section 89).

=91. Salaries.=--Salaries are the most difficult question the library profession has to meet. Up to the present few library workers have been paid more than a living wage, and many have received barely that. It is obvious that increases in this direction are essential in the new conditions; but it is equally obvious that no library should spend so much in salaries that it is unable to purchase new books or to administer them. We saw in Section 31 that the average amount spent on salaries in the United Kingdom was about 42 per cent. of the entire income; and the staff, including the chief librarian, must be recompensed from the sum represented. The following figures show what was paid in the various positions in 1911:--

+-----------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+ |Income of Library|Librarians in| Senior | Junior | | Authority. | Charge. |Assistants.|Assistants.| +-----------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+ | £ | £ | £ | £ | | 500- 1,000 | 73-100 | 46- 80 | 19-52 | | 1,000- 1,500 | 54- 65 | 58- 90 | 19-52 | | 1,500- 2,000 | 84-120 | 77-125 | 24-65 | | 2,000- 3,000 | 78-180 | 84- 95 | 20-60 | | 3,000- 4,000 | 122-250 | 65-100 | 26-80 | | 4,000- 5,000 | 107-160 | 90-130 | 26-65 | | 5,000-10,000 | 148-225 | 100-170 | 29-78 | | 10,000 and over | 95-160 | 108-170 | 26-56 | +-----------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+

FIG. 8.--Salaries paid in 1911.

It will be seen that these “actual” figures are full of anomalies and divergences, and the inadequacy of payment they reveal is in some grades positively remarkable. The European War has produced conditions under which it is impossible for many of these payments to sustain life, and the case for better payment is an imperative one. At the same time the argument is not for increased salaries out of _present_ library means, but for increased library means wherewith to pay increased salaries. Any other course, in present circumstances, would lead many libraries into bankruptcy. Salaries are subject to deduction, in the case of assistants earning less than £250 per annum, for National Health Insurance; and in some towns having superannuation schemes, contributions, amounting on the average to 2½ per cent., are exacted for that purpose.

The following salary scale for junior and senior assistants has been used in smaller libraries whose incomes exceed £1000:--

Juniors--1st year £26 0 0 2nd „ 31 4 0 3rd „ 36 8 0 4th „ 41 12 0

Seniors--1st „ 52 0 0 2nd „ 62 0 0 3rd „ 72 0 0 4th „ 82 0 0 5th „ 92 0 0 6th „ 104 0 0

(Thus, an assistant must, as a rule, wait ten years in order to earn two pounds a week!) All salaries, whether paid monthly or weekly, should not be subject to any deduction on account of absences from illness (except in so far as the matter is governed by National Health Insurance rules), holidays, or other causes. The annual increases should only be granted provided the report of the chief librarian is satisfactory. No assistant should be allowed to hold the view that increases in salary are automatic and not dependent upon satisfactory service. It is a good plan to arrange for the whole of the staff increases to become due at the same date, so that they can all be considered at one meeting of the committee.

=92. Vacation.=--The time granted for annual holidays ranges from three weeks or more for deputy librarians and departmental librarians to one week for juniors. A week or ten days is not sufficient for rest and change, and a fortnight is the minimum that should be allowed.

=93. Staff Training.=--In present circumstances every library should have a definite official system of training for its staff, and every assistance in and inducement to study should be given. The low salaries paid in libraries demand that assistants shall at least receive in part return the best equipment that can be given them. The first essential is general education approximating to matriculation, and definite study of _literature_ should be required from the first year. Where such training has not been acquired previously, junior assistants should be required to read in such manner that they may at the age of sixteen take the Preliminary Test offered by the Library Association, and no assistant should be retained permanently, in his own interests as well as in those of the library, who is unable to pass that Test. Not until the Test is passed should assistants be encouraged to study the more technical divisions of the Library Association syllabus. Chief librarians should supervise the training of the whole staff and hold periodical brief examinations to convince themselves that it is being pursued systematically. Every librarian-in-charge should be held responsible for directing the studies of his subordinates, and in small libraries the deputy-librarian should assume this duty. Some libraries have staff guilds which hold regular classes, sometimes with outside teachers in special subjects; and the plan is to be commended. All books that may be required should be provided by the library, and class fees and examination expenses are paid in many towns--a method which deserves universal adoption. Every professional certificate won should command some financial recompense, however small; and, other things being equal, promotion should be given only to assistants who hold certificates. In a few libraries, but in an increasing number, a certain amount of study is allowed in official hours; this is a matter of time-sheet arrangement, as sporadic reading in ordinary library hours is not to be encouraged.

=94. The Library Economy Library.=--The foundation of all training is a collection of works on library economy and bibliography. A library without this is not properly equipped, and some libraries have much to seek in the matter. Every recognized text-book on the theory and practice of every department of librarianship, all library periodicals, the best examples of catalogues, bulletins, reading lists, annual reports, and the standard bibliographies, should be available on the freest conditions to the whole staff. Some libraries set apart a definite fund for the purchase of such works; and its expenditure is one of the best ultimate economies in which a committee can engage. Moreover, the institution which ostensibly provides the literature of all other professions is obviously in a ridiculous position if it does not provide the literature of librarianship. In Appendix II. we give a list of the works which should form the professional collection of every library of average size; and even small libraries should endeavour to become possessed of the majority of them.

=95. Women Librarians and Assistants.=--The employment of women in libraries is not universal in this country, and very few women hold the position of chief librarian, and these only of small libraries. In the United States the proportion of women librarians and assistants is nearer 95 per cent. than the 14 or 15 per cent. of Britain. There can hardly be a doubt, however, that women will be more extensively employed in British municipal libraries than they have been hitherto. In large towns it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and retain the services of intelligent lads who will devote themselves to the work, and it is unnecessary to affirm nowadays that a well-educated, intelligent girl is just as suitable for public library work as a well-educated lad. If women are employed in libraries, they should be paid at the same rate as men or lads performing similar duties. There is no reason why a woman should be paid less than a man for doing exactly the same work. Everything recommended regarding qualifications, duties, etc., should apply to women as well as to men. It is the opinion of some librarians that, if women are employed, the staff should be composed entirely of them, as a mixed staff requires various kinds of separate accommodation.

=96. Caretakers.=--A satisfactory janitor or caretaker, generally speaking, is a valuable member of staff, and is rare. A good man seldom stays very long, so easy is it for him to seek and obtain promotion. Caretakers’ wages vary all over the country, according to the size of the library, amount of work and perquisites. In cases where a residence is provided, it is usual to secure the services of a man and his wife, and furnish him with a uniform and the usual light, coal, etc. In such cases the wages are usually less than when a man has to find his own residence. From 25s. to 30s. weekly is the wage given when a house is provided. In other instances, according to circumstances, the wages vary from 27s. 6d. to 50s. weekly. In large libraries extra assistance should always be provided, and the cleaning should be done early in the morning, before the hour of opening. A sufficient staff of cleaners should be provided to enable this to be done without interfering with the service of the public. Three hours every morning should suffice to clean any library, and it is important to employ plenty of help. The wages of cleaners vary from 9d. an hour downwards, but it is more often the practice to pay so much a week according to circumstances. Rates for this class of work differ so much that it is impossible to do more than roughly indicate a possible basis.

A caretaker should be made responsible to the librarian for the cleanness and order of the building, and his duties should include a certain number of hours’ attendance in uniform as general overseer of the rooms and their frequenters. It is imperative that this official should not be allowed to develop the attitude of a Jack-in-office, and in all his patrol work courtesy and firmness should be required. Eight or nine hours daily should be considered full time for a caretaker, and suitable arrangements must be made to enable him to remain off duty at hours when the business is quiet. In large libraries it is customary to employ more than one janitor or caretaker.

=97. Staff and Public.=--It is most important that good relations should exist between readers and the whole of the staff. It is a well-known fact that one or two overbearing assistants can render a public library more unpopular than almost anything else. Assistants should school themselves to endure with philosophy the impertinence of the small number of the general public who contrive to make themselves objectionable in every town, and not visit on the heads of the inoffensive majority the sins of the inconsiderate few. The staff of every public library should learn as a first lesson that they are the servants and not the masters of the people, and that mutual self-respect can be maintained without undue familiarity on the one side or aloofness on the other. The supercilious “official” attitude, with which public servants are so frequently credited, is to be completely repressed and kept under, and the public should be taught to appreciate their own libraries, and to understand that the doors of a municipal library are always open to receive and welcome every class of citizen. At the same time, preference should not be shown for any particular frequenter or group of frequenters, and gossiping must be suppressed.

=98. Staff Accommodation.=--In libraries of every size private rooms of suitable dimensions should be provided for the librarian and the assistants; with work- and store-rooms for the staff and caretaker. The librarian’s room in small libraries may be made large enough to serve as a committee room, and in all cases should have separate lavatory accommodation. A large safe or strong room is often attached to the librarian’s room, or in a secure part of the basement, in which to store valuable documents and books. It should be shelved to contain such documents as registers, minutes and other local records in a convenient manner, and should be kept well ventilated and dry for the safe preservation of its contents. Strong rooms vary in size from 4 feet × 6 feet × 8 feet, to large apartments 20 feet × 20 feet and upwards. The usual furnishings of a librarian’s room comprise a desk, table, bookshelves, chairs, hat and umbrella stand, and other office furniture. Staff mess-rooms should be fitted with tables, chairs, cupboards, with a locker for each assistant, cooking apparatus and other appliances. Work-rooms for staff use must be fitted to suit the class of work carried on, whether cataloguing or preparing books, binding or filing. Store-rooms for general purposes and for the use of the caretaker should also be provided, fitted with all necessary cupboards and shelving. Separate staff rooms and lavatory accommodation should be provided in libraries with staffs composed partly of men, partly of women.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cowell, Peter. Public Library Staffs, 1893, L.A. Series, 3.

Library Assistants’ Association. Report on the Hours, Salaries, Training, and Conditions of Service in British Municipal Libraries, 1911. L.A.A. Series, 4.

Brooklyn Public Library. Rules for the Guidance of the Staff, 1906.

Michigan University. Library Staff Manual, 1912.

Bodleian Library. Staff Manual. Annually.

For articles, see Cannons, E 20-43, Staff Management.