Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/62

 50 The Library. unlimited means of expansion and intercalation, must have occurred very early to persons habitually engaged in the mainten- ance of alphabetical order. The simple plan of keeping cards on edge in boxes or drawers is quite common in business houses all over the world; and the Bank of England may be mentioned as a conspicuous case, having introduced them in 1852 ; after which other banking houses adopted them. When general access to these nests of alphabetical order became common, various safe- guards were introduced to prevent intentional or accidental misplacement, and so in course of time arose the wire, the bar, the rod, the shoulder, and other methods of obtaining security. I am not going to weary you with a dissertation on the nature of " Card " catalogues, nor am I proposing to explain what they are, as I assume every librarian with an elementary knowledge of his profession must at least have heard mention made of this appliance! The " Card " catalogue stored in cabinets with fixed drawers, is probably the most familiar in this country. It may be seen in London in different forms, at the Guildhall, Royal College of Surgeons, St.-Martin-in-the-Fields, Whitechapel, and Clerken- well. The cards are secured by a rod which passes through holes punched in them, and the rod is either locked or screwed into the back or front of the drawer. This is the form almost universally used in the United States, but I am disposed to think the American cabinets excel our own in manufacture, and in greater uniformity as regards sizes of cards, guides, and the provision of slides, on which the drawers can run out quite clear of the cabinets without falling or sagging. 1 Before passing to other points connected with the cabinet variety of " Card " catalogue, I should mention the fixed drawers which are in some libraries fitted along the front of counters, either in single or double rows. This seems to be peculiar to this country, and I may mention examples at Battersea, Lambeth (Tate Central Library), and Shoreditch. My impression as regards the " Card catalogue " in cabinets of fixed drawers is that its popularity is greatly on the decline. The reasons for this are obvious to any one who gives the sub- ject a single thought, but it may be as well to mention a few of its drawbacks. In a cabinet of six drawers to the tier, it is impossible to adjust it so that both tall and short persons 4 See Catalogue of the Library Bureau, Boston, 1893, PP-