The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-06-22
HOW BOOKS GO AsTRAY.
The Various Ways In Which Public Libra
ries Lose Many Volumes.

Inc various ways In Which Public Libra
ries Lose Many Volumes.
There are forty-nine public libraries
in this city, all of which do larger
or smaller circulating business. 1t is
safe to say that the aggregate number
of volumes ON the shelves in these
forty-nine libraries will amount to at
least one million, five hundred thou
sand. 1t is no wonder, then, that
with this large number of books, and
the many who draw them and either
take them to their homes or use them
in the libraries, great many should
be lost.
''It would be a matter of surprise to
a layman, said the librarian of one of
the large libraries recently, ''if he
could know by actual count the num-
Der of books which are lost, strayed or
stolen in all the libraries of the city.
Do not understand me to mean that all
of the books which disappear from the
library shelves and never find their
way back again are Intentionally
stolen; great many people take books
to their homes, and although their in
tention is good and they mean to re-
turn them they forget to do so. OF
course we keep an account of all the
books that are taken from the library,
and If member is derelict we write to
him and ask for the return of the book.
In many instances we get them back.
In some cases, however, they have been
kept so long that the fines which we
impose for keeping n book after II
is overdue have grown to such
an amount that they exceed the value
of the book, and SO the borrower can
not afford to return it. This in some
instances is made good by the borrower
replacing the book, in which case we
say nothing about the fine, being glad
to get the book back again, even
though we do nave to put on new
cover and a new library label. In
other cases however. and these are
very many, the borrower has moved
and left no address, and has probably
gone out of town to take up residence
in another city. Then the book is lost
to us forever You can readily see how
1t would not pay for us to spend any
very large amount of time or money in
looking up book which is worth per-
haps dollar or two"
"Among what class of books are the
disappearance largest?'
go, fiction of course, because the
largest number of disappearances are
in consequence of the reasons l have
given you. And I'll tell you very
singular thing. 1t may astonish you.
l say it with a due respect to the in
tegrity of clergymen, but whenever we
let clergyman take a book from the
library we keepa more particular watch
upon that book than upon any other
1t seems hard to say it, but there are
more valuable books lost by reason of
lending to clergymen than by lending
to any other class of people. This does
not argue that they are exceedingly
absent minded. 1t is certain that there
is no class of people who are so UNI
businesslike in their methods as min
| listers. Their intention is good enough,
but the books get on their shelves, and
they are chiefly books of reference, and
after they have worked up the particu-
lar sermon for which they wanted the
book they forget all about it. If they
are regular members of q library it is
easy enough to recover the book. be-
cause we can jog their memories when
they come in for other books, but many
clergymen come to libraries who are
not members, and their cloth is sufi-
cient to secure for them the courtesies
of almost any library in the city. No
body cares to refuse a minister book.
Very frequently their cards bear no adj.
dresses, and sometimes even clergymen
move.
"Then there are the women. Forget.
full and without an idea of business
methods. We write, and write, and
write, and get no response, and often
have to send one of our employees to
call in person and secure the book"
| valuable books?'
"Well it is sometimes a very easy
matter for persons who are mean
enough to steal books to steal these. A
man comes in with package or a
satchel. In very few libraries is there
| man stationed on watch on the exit
whose business it is to see that nobody
comes in or goes out with package.
| 1t is the easiest thing in the world
| where a man gets book to use in the
| library, for him to wrap it up in the
| package which he has been carrying,
and which, perhaps, contains two OF
| three other books, or to drop il
| into his satchel and carry it ont, and
| this is the way that most of them are
| stolen. Ev n law libraries, which are
| the best guarded libraries in the city,
G., ffar CON Si1nra blv from this met h. nd