23. The practice of RESERVING BOOKS has been adopted in many libraries, and within certain limits it is useful. The chief points connected with the matter are whether all books should be reserved, and how many orders for the same popular book should be booked at once. As regards the first point, it is wise to exclude current popular, but not classic, fiction from the operation of the rule, partly for the reason that in this class duplicates of popular novels are generally stocked, and also because it is necessary to restrict as much as possible any privilege which may seem to favour one class to the exclusion of another, as there is no doubt that the charge of 1d. will practically exclude many poor people from participating in this method of book-reservation. It is simple to make a rough distinction between classic and current fiction, by adding the classic symbol (some arbitrary sign) to the class-mark of all books which have been published more than ten years. Such works are not necessarily classic, of course, but all that is contemplated is to prevent the holding-up on reservation lists of the latest works. As regards the second point, librarians will have to exercise a nice discretion as to how many readers they will place on the rota at one time, as it is quite conceivable that to reserve any popular work twenty or thirty times ahead is simply to cut it off from general circulation for an indefinite period. In the case of very popular books, the possibility of buying a special copy for reservation should be contemplated. As regards the method of working the system of reserving books, the usual plan is to sell a post-card to the borrower, who addresses it to himself and enters the name of the book wanted. These post-cards are then returned to the librarian, who arranges them in order, and, as the books are stopped on return, sends out the post-card next in order. A usual form for the post-card is as follows: “Please note that the book ............................. reserved by you, has now been returned, and will be kept for you till the evening of ..........................” The assistant fills in the date by which the book should be claimed. Of course, borrowers who fail to claim miss their turn. A separate register of these reserved books can be kept in addition to the cards, if thought advisable. A receipt should, of course, be given for each post-card, and in some libraries the numbers of the books reserved are written on the counterfoils.