Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/70

 58 The Library. secured by a brass catch which anyone could undo. There is nothing novel in its principle, and I only mention it to show tha-t I am not passing over anything worthy of notice. The principal disadvantages of the " Sheaf" system are these: The volumes do not lie open so well as could be desired, indeed there is an automatic shutting tendency not yet overcome, but this is a gain when careless readers leave them lying on the tables, instead of replacing them in the rack. There is also the danger of mis- placement, which, by the way, applies equally to any form of portable catalogue. But the great danger to every kind of catalogue, whether guard-book, card, or sheaf is DIRT, and there seems no possible way of getting over this difficulty. Nevertheless, I think the slip books suffer less than cards. At least it has been the case in Clerkenwell, as you will easily observe by comparing these cards for recent additions, now with- drawn, with the little slip book which I showed before. I will not detain you over the " Broadside " or "Placard" system of displaying catalogues, because I know every librarian has invented one for himself. The glazed frame with movable back on which we stick sheets with lists of additions to the library, is such a universal library appliance, that I must ask pardon for mentioning it. But it was the forerunner of more elaborate devices, such as the Liverpool one, with divisions for holding movable blocks on which were pasted and arranged entries of new books. At Middlesbrough, Cardiff, and else- where in England these "Placard" systems have been adopted in various forms, chiefly for lists of additions. At Boston, in the United States, I saw nearly one side of a wall covered with long grooved slats arranged in vertical columns, which had once been used for displaying cardboard slips bearing entries of new books. They were not being used while I was there, so that I assume they had proved a failure on such a large scale, no doubt because of the enormous labour and difficulty of transposing and adding to such a great collection of columns of single entries. The plain glazed frame with columns of type-written entries arranged in rough alphabetical order, seems to be all that the public desires in the way of a temporary catalogue of additions. Personally I have always found it just what is necessary. I do not think the "Broadside" or " Placard "form of catalogue is desirable, save for temporary purposes, lists of additions, special class lists, or similar lists. The " Panoramic " system of cataloguing is of comparatively