Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
In order to keep any library in good order it is essential to maintain an accurate record of the accessions of periodicals, of their positions on the shelves, when they are overdue, on loan, etc. For this purpose, records are usually maintained on some form of card index, consisting either of loose cards in a drawer or some form of visible card index, for example the wellknown Kardex System. The location of the journals is usually recorded separately the loan of journals forms another system of records. Any form of card index, however, suffers from the disadvantage that it is not possible to extract more than two or three types of information variables at the same time. Thus the cards may be arranged in alphabetical order of the journal and on the face of the card will be indicated the date of accession of the journal it will be necessary to use an auxiliary device, for example, a coloured tag, to indicate such further information as when the journal is overdue or is on loan, etc. Furthermore, even with a visible card system it is only one type of information, usually the journal title, which is visible without effort, and even this usually entails opening a drawer or a folder of some sort. In addition to such considerations, the difficulties encountered nowadays in regard to the postal services from abroad, not to mention political impediments, render it essential to know at the earliest moment when journals are due, or, rather overdue, in order that claims for them may be entered. A great deal of permanent information can be recorded in a card system, as, for example, described by Miss Jacobs, but the mixing of permanent and variable information leads to congestion, cramped records and possible confusion. Moreover, a comprehensive card index is suitable for use only by the library staff and not by readers to whom the variable information is, however, frequently valuable. Such readers require a system with easy inspection for ascertaining all types of current details. None of the usual recording systems is able to cope with the provision of all these types of information in a single, openly visible unit.
Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives – Emerald Publishing
Published: Mar 1, 1951
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.