College and Research Libraries r l By MARGARET L. HOCKER Punched-Card Charging System For a Small College Library T HE NEED for a new charging system at the library of Wisconsin State Col- lege, La Crosse, had long been recognized by the staff. With expanded college en- rollment and the subsequent heavier de- mands for library materials, it was noted that too much staff time was being con- sumed in circulation routines and that the occurrence of inaccuracies of the pres- ent system was increasing. In order to present more clearly the approach to the problem, a brief description of the old charging system is given. The college enrollment is 1,334; the library's collection of circulating ma- terials totals 63,388; the average daily home circulation is 82, and the charging period is for two weeks. Under the old charging system, a light-weight manila pad, 6" x 8", perforated into 2" squares, was kept at the desk for recording charges. A carbon was used with the pad so that the charges were made in dupli- cate. vVhen the borrower presented his book to be charged, the desk attendant wrote the call number in one of the per- forated squares and stamped the date due in the book; the borrower merely signed his name .. Thus, the actual charg- ing procedure was rapid, requiring per- haps not more than two minutes per charge. It was the time required for the remainder of the routines, as well as the inaccuracies, that prompted our search for a system that would better serve the librar y' s needs. Miss Hocker is reference librarian and assistant professor, Florence Wing Li- brary, Wisconsin State College Library, La Crosse. MARCH, 1957 With the old system, the tabulating of the day's circulation, done the following morning, consisted of the following pro- cedures: I. Dating all charges. 2. Separating original charges from those made by the carbon. 3. Tearing apart the perforated sheets into individual charges. 4. Filing original charges in date file. 5. Counting and recording circulation. 6. Filing duplicate charges in classed file. Discharging was a lengthy procedure, also, since there were two charging slips to · be pulled-one from the classed file, then the one from the date file. After all the previous day's returns were dis- charged, the last routine of the daily pro- cedure was to pull from the date file the charges which were just then becoming overdue. These charges were then filed in either the students' delinquent file or the faculty delinquent file, alphabetically by name of borrower. Thus, in discharg- ing, there were really four files to be con- sidered-the classed file which contained the duplicate charges, the regular date file which contained tne charges not overdue, and the separate student and faculty delinquent files. Checking for overdues was done once a week and consisted of the following procedures: I. Pulling original charging slips from de- linquent file and rearranging slips by call number. 2. Checking these slips with shelf list and writing on each overdue slip name of author and title of book. (Sometimes this checking revealed incorrect call numbers which left the checker wonder- 119 ing what the overdue book was.) 3. Searching shelves. 4. Checking overdue slips with classed file. (This procedure sometimes showed that the book had been returned and only the one charge pulled.) 5. Rearranging overdue charging slips by borrowers' names. 6. Writing overdue notices. 7. Refiling charges in delinquent file. The end of semester checking for over- dues was accomplished in the same man- ner as the weekly routine. Delinquent students may not re-register until their library records are clear. Charges for stu- dents not re-registering were filed in the "old" delinquent file. Thus, this made another place to search in the event that the book was returned a long time after the student had left school. Faculty over- dues were checked two or three times a semester, the procedure being the same, except that no fines were levied. Delin- quent charges for faculty members no longer employed at the college were placed in still another file. As stated at the beginning of this arti- cle, the need to facilitate and "speed up" the entire charging process, as well as to eliminate the seemingly inevitable errors, had become a chief concern of the staff. They therefore read about and inves- tigated various systems, one of which was that sponsored by International Business Machines. This seemed good, but it was much too expensive for our library's mod- est budget. Other experiences of libraries with punched-card systems were exam- . ined. In the meantime, our college re- ceived an appropriation for a new library building, and staff members visited new libraries within the three-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. At each library visited, the charge-system was noted, and, at the State University of Iowa library, the McBee Keysort punched -card system was seen in actual use. This seemed workable and practical for a large university library system. Was it applicable to a small college system? The staff concerned with this work be- gan to examine the literature on punched cards. The article by F. G. Kilgour in the Library Journal for February 15, 1939, was especially helpful. This de- scribed the punched-card system being used at Harvard at that time. Other li- braries which were using and approving McBee's Keysort cards were the Univer- sities of Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, and Brown. Although most of the libraries report- ing their experiences were large systems, the staff at La Crosse saw no reason why such a system would not be feasible for a small library. Contact was made with the McBee Company, and its area rep- resentative came to explain the Keysort card. Its charging forms were expensive, compared to the simple perforated ma- nila pad used for the old charging meth- od, but there was no expensive machin- ery to purchase-only the cards, either a simple inexpensive hand clipper or desk model groover, which is rented at a very modest cost, an alignment block, a sort- ing needle (resembling a blunt knitting needle) and a pack of card savers to be used for renewals. It was decided to try Keysort for two years and a supply of forms for that length of time, since the cards are less expensive when purchased in lots of 25,000, was purchased. The rep- resentative showed us samples of cards used in other libraries. Each had distinc- tive features although the general prin- ciples were the same. With the help of the representative, the card shown in the illustration was designed. The card is quite simple, and many of its printed items are self-explanat~ry. The "Do not write below" space at the top is used for the date due. Enough room is left here for renewals. Sometimes it is necessary to recall a book for reserve or other reasons, and space is so desig- nated for that. The "Hold for" space is used for recording a reservation on a book, with enough space left for name 120 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES • HOLD FOR t-------f 0 FAfULTY DO NOT WRITE BELOW BK FINE DUE FLORENCE WING LIBRARY ruu•c ~ WISCONSIN &TATE COLLEGE. LA CROSSE . . . "'' . • and address of person for whom the book is to be held. It is the holes around the edges of the card which give Keysort its flexibility and make the one-file system both possible and practical. At the beginning of the school year, each week of the semester is numbered "Week 1," "Week 2," or "Week 3" in consecutive order. This record is kept on a calendar at the charging desk. The holes for Weeks 1, 2, and 3 are used be- cause the regular loan period is for two weeks. Thus, books issued during "Week 1" become due during "Week 3"; those issued during "Week 2" become due dur- ing "Week 1," etc. The "Week 4" hole is used for irregularities in charging periods which result from school vacations, in which case students are not expected to return materials as when charged for the regular two-week period. The actual charging routine consists of the follow- ing: MARCH~ 1957 1. Borrower fill out charging card with call number, author, title, signature, ad- dress, telephone number, and campus status. (The "Other" space on the cam- pus status line is used for borrowers out- side the college community.) 2. Desk attendant checks card, espe- cially for correctness of call number, stamps date due on both charging card and date slip in book, and drops card in temporary charging box. This charging routine consumes more borrower's time than the old system, but its advantages, as will be noted, more than compensate. Tabulation of the day's circulation next morning is quickly done, as com- pared with the old system. This proce- dure consists of the following: 1. Desk attendant pastes card savers on renewal charges, then sorts by class, counts, and tabulates all student, faculty, and "other" charges. There may also be mending, binding, end of semester, or other special charges. In the case of end of semester charges, sometimes made to faculty and occasionally to students, the holes for 1st semester, 2nd semester, or summer session are used. Each type of special charge, which has not been so des- ignated on the printed card, is given a symbol, such as: The hole for 1 may be used for a spe- cial temporary recreation book shelf; or, the hole for 2 may be used for a tem- porary history collection. A code of such designations of special charges is kept at- tached to the charging desk calendar. When books have been lost and paid for, such recording is made on the charging card and the "Paid for books" hole is punched and the charge refi1ed until later when the withdrawal is noted on the shelf list. 2. Attendant clips holes of all charges according to their date-due week or other designation. Thus, charges made during "Week 1" are clipped in the "Week 3" space, except that special charges, such as 121 mending, binding, etc. are eli pped in their corresponding spaces. So far, the holes with the alphabet are not used for anything, but they, too, can bt' desig- nated for any other special charges need- ed. They may also be clipped to corre- spond with the borrowers' last names, if ever necessary. 3. Charging cards are then filed in classification file. Originally, . only one such file was kept, but, after the first few weeks, we decided to try two classed files, one for active charges, the other for inactive. This reduces the number of cards to be needled for overd ues, as well as the number to be checked for clearance records of students withdrawing from school. Both these procedures will be dis- cussed later. 4. Discharging of return books is very simple and fast, since there is only the one charging card to be pulled. Cards are checked at the same time for reservations and overdues. The name and address of the person wishing a book reserved has been entered in the "Hold for" space, and, upon the book's return, that person is notified by mail. For books returned late, the return date and the fine levied are so noted in the places designated, and the charging card then becomes the fine record. Upon payment of the fine, this card is marked "Paid" and is given to the borrower as a receipt. The weekly checking for overdues is simple when compared to the old sys- tem. The active file is checked once a week-eac,h Monday after the filing of the last of last week's charging cards. The first step is to "needle" the cards for all books which have become over- due. For this the Keysort sorting needle .is used with the alignment block which facilitates in getting the cards out in proper classed order. If the past week has been "Week 1," then the needle is pushed through the holes designated for "Week I" on the card. Since these charges were clipped "Week 1" at the time they were filed, all such charges left in the file drop in classed order, ready to be checked with the shelves. After searching for them on the shelves and in other likely places, the assistant then clips the holes for "Week 2," so that, if not returned during the fol- lowing week, these same overdue charges will again drop when "Week 2" is needled for overdues the next week. Notices are sent to all student borrowers having books which have been overdue for as long as a week. Keysort has made this part of the work much faster, since the charging cards contain all informa- tion necessary, i.e. 7 call numbers, authors, titles, and borrowers' addresses. There was some doubt, at first, as to the feasibility of the divided classed file. The one-file system has definite advan- tages in discharging and checking for the location of a book not on the shelves. However, the divided file makes it pos- sible to eliminate approximately half the cards to be needled each week. Since fac- ulty charges are often for longer than the regular two-week loan period, these are placed also in the inactive file. All faculty charges are clipped at the hole marked "Faculty"; thus, it is easy to needle these out of the inactive file when the time comes to check. In a similar manner, all special collections are checked from time to time by needling out such charges from the inactive file., This includes all end of semester charges, mending, bind- ing, and any special designations that have been made. Thus, the entire in- active file can be checked by "install- ments," eliminating the necessity for "tearing down" the whole file at one time. Keysort has been in use for almost two years. Its one disadvantage is a certain cumbersomeness when a student's library record when withdrawing from school has to be cleared. At the college all stu- dents withdrawing from school must have a clearance record signed by the var- (Continued on page 131) 122 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES and the book together without barriers. . The "good" or "alive" books could be made freely available to all patrons. At periodic intervals books in this collection should be retired to the "dead" collec- tion. Similarly books from the dead col- lections could be reactivated if in de- mand. CONCLUSION Many college libraries erected in the last decade contain poetry rooms, listen- ing rooms, rooms for group study and conversation, microform rooms, browsing rooms and lounges. All of these rooms were designed to further the educational value of the library. It is encouraging to see the college library become a sort of second home for students. One cannot quarrel with these features if they are needed and used. But the feeling persists that many of them got in quite a few building plans by no other process than that of imitation. In planning a college library the first and only obligation is to provide those services which are needed on a local level without any thoughts as to what is currently in mode nationally or professionally. A college is a unique institution, and in spite of the pressure for educational mass production and standardization, each college differs from all others. The college library must play its role within the framework of this in- stitutional individuality. Punched-Card Charging System for a Small College Library (Continued from page 122) ious departments, including the library. Since the only record for Keysort library charges is the classed file, it is still nec- essary to check through the entire stu- dent part of the classed file. This cum- bersomeness can be eliminated by clip- ping each day the initials of the borrow- ers' last names, which would thus reduce such checking to one letter of the alpha- bet, which could quickly be needled. However, thus far, withdrawals have been so few that the additional clipping each morning is not justified. Withdraw- als average less than one a week, and, by actual record, the average time for check- ing a withdrawal is 10 minutes. The ex- tra time, which would be spent if the initials of borrowers were clipped during the morning routine, would be much more than this. As stated earlier, at first the Keysort system was accepted on a two-year trial basis. After having used it for this period, its advantages and possibilities have be- come evident. Because of the complete borrower information given on the charg- MARCH} 1957 ing forms, errors have been greatly re- duced, and, when an occasional error in call number does occur, author and title are still available as guides. The entire circulation procedure under Keysort con- sumes much less than half the staff time used with our old charging system, and such a saving as this compensates many times over for the rather expensive charg- ing cards. Also, by dittoing the backs of the cancelled charging forms, satisfactory charging cards for magazines which cir- culate for overnight only are available. Just recently it was decided to rent the desk model groover from McBee. The use of the groover ·is an economy in time, since, with that, many more cards at a time can be clipped than with the hand clip that was first used. Reprinting of cards on which no changes are made can be done from the same plate, and these are less expensive than the original print- ing. Keysort has been so satisfactory that we are planning to take it with us in our new building which will be ready in a few months. 131