Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Ottawa, Canada, June 26-July 2, 1912
Science
Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Ottawa, Canada, June 26-July 2, 1912
American Library Association; Library science -- Congresses
The sending of books from a library to a school, a club, or some other
place where they are to be used or circulated may be regarded in two
ways by librarians. It may be held that the sending of the books from
the library is itself an act of circulation or that the place to which
they are sent for use or distribution is a temporary station of the
library, and that sending books thereto is no more circulation than
if they were sent to a library branch or delivery station. Obviously,
if the former view is accepted, no use that is made of the book after
it reaches the station can be recorded by the library. When we have
lent a book to a reader we do not inquire how many persons in the
family use it or whether a neighbor borrows it. The library borrower
is responsible for it and it simply counts as one in the issue. But if
the place to which it goes is to be treated as a station, then the use
of the book at or from that station is part of the library record. If
it is used in the school, club, or other place where it is deposited,
such use is not circulation, however, but hall or library use, as if it
had been used in a branch library. If it is issued from the station for
home use, such issues, and every such issue, is properly counted with
the circulation.
It seems to your committee that the second of these alternatives is
the one that should be recognized, both from theoretical and practical
reasons. The sending of a collection of books to a place where it is
to be used resembles much more closely the temporary transfer of such
collection to a branch than it does ordinary circulation. Practically
also, it is desirable to take account of whatever use is made of the
books in such places and logically this can be done only on the second
theory.
On neither of the theories is it allowable to count the original
sending as one issue and then to count or estimate issues from the
station; or to count uses in the station as home issues.
Some libraries report that they are unable to secure proper statistics
of use at the station and that they must therefore either count the
original issue or guess at the use in some way, or fail to report it at
all. In cases of this kind, whatever is done should be made plain by a
note in connection with the published statistics.
To recapitulate, we recommend:
(1) That the act of sending books from the library to a station of
any kind, no matter how temporary, be not regarded as an issue to be
counted in the circulation, although separate account of books thus
sent should be kept and may be published if desired.
(2) That books used in the station be counted as hall or library use
and that books issued from the station be counted as home use.
(3) That where it is found necessary to depart from this method in any
way, such departure be plainly stated in a foot note to the published
report.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman.
ETHEL F. McCOLLOUGH,
HARRY M. LYDENBERG.
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