Some problems in the administration of a medical library / by James F. Ballard.

  • Ballard, James F. (James Francis), 1878-
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Some problems in the administration of a medical library / by James F. Ballard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    The arrangement in the stack is a combination of the class and alphabetic systems. We keep together all our society and institutional publications, also those relating to dentistry. The directories, hospital reports, public documents and theses are arranged by classes. All other serial and periodical publications are arranged alphabetically under the first word not an article or preposition. In the reading room the arrangement is according to classes as this is the be.st plan for reference purposes. 11. The value of a reserve collection. A reserve collection is an important adjunct to the regular files. It should be carefully selected and be composed of periodical publica- tions of high merit and valuable reference works. In case of accident to the regular files it is an important source of supply. We now have over 7,000 volumes in our reserve, 75 per cent, of which are high grade periodicals. The other 25 per cent, is duplicate material received on deposit which it seems necessary to retain in the librarv. There are Old}' some twenty odd books in the collection. Only such books as Dalton’s “Topogra]rhical atlas of the brain,” and McEwen’s “Pyo- genic diseases of the brain,” are put in the reserve. This collection is not included in the regular library count, but is accounted for separately. 12. Uniformity in library statistics. This is another topic which was added to my list and as my friend Dr. Garrison has very kindly consented to discuss this question, I shall confine myself to an exposition of the Boston procedure. To my mind a volume is a volume whether it is bound or unbound. Binding is generally a matter of finance. The important question is the dividing line between volumes and pamphlets. It is better to have nnbound material than no material, and the fact that a book is unbound should not bar it from consideration in the summary of the resources of the library. We call everything of 100 pages or over a volume whether bound or unbound, all unbound under 100 pages are pamphlets. If under 100 pages and bound in good stiff binding, not a home made affair, it is called a volume. We do not place covers on pamphlets and call them volumes. If a pamphlet is valuable enough for a cover, we give it a good binding. In this matter of statistics I should like to suggest the appointment of a Committee to consider the subject in full and to report at the next meeting of the A.ssociation.
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