A careful record should be made of all books received.  Use for this purpose what is called an accession book.  This is a blank book, ruled and lettered and numbered especially for library invoices. (See the Library Bureau catalog.) It is the library’s chief record, and should contain a complete history of every volume on its shelves.  The items entered in the accession book concerning every volume in the library are commonly the following:  date of entry; accession number; class number (religion, sociology, etc.); author; title; place of publication and name of publisher; date of publication; binding (cloth, leather, etc.); size (octavo, quarto, etc.); number of pages; name of dealer from whom purchased; cost; remarks (maps, plates, etc.; books rebound; magazines, etc.; lost, worn out, replaced by another book, etc.).

[Illustration:  Accession book, left-hand page. (Reduced size.)

Date 29 5 ’92

ACCESSION
F.T.            CLASS   BOOK   VOL.   AUTHOR         TITLE
7581   428     B88           Bunce, O.B.    Don’t
7581.93   82           Z713          Zola, E.      Soil
Scr.15.92 83   973.1   F54    v.1    Fiske, J.     Discovery of Amer.
84   973.1   F54    v.2       "             "
85                                                         ]

[Illustration:  Accession book, right-hand page. (Reduced size.)

PLACE AND PUBLISHER   DATE   BINDING   SOURCE    COST    REMARKS
N.Y.            App.   1885    pa.       Scribner     28   Bind No. 354
L.        Vizetelly   1888    cl.        "          81   "    "   355
B.            Ho.M.   1892c    "         "      } 2.97
"               "       "      "         "      }                    ]

Each book and each volume of a set has a separate accession number and a separate entry.  Each entry occupies a line; each line is numbered from one up to such a number as the library has volumes.  The number of each line, called the accession number, is written on the first page after the title-page of the book described on that line.  The accession book is a life history of every book in the library.  It forms such a record as any business-like person would wish to have of property entrusted to his care.  It is also a catalog of all books in the library, and a useful catalog as long as the library is small.  Never use an old accession number for a new book, even though the original book has disappeared from the library.

Record should be made of all books, pamphlets, reports, bulletins, magazines, etc., received by the library as gifts; and every gift should be promptly and courteously acknowledged in writing, even if previously acknowledged in person.  Keep this record in a blank book, alphabetizing all gifts by the names of the givers, with dates of receipt.  Books given should appear on the accession register the same as books purchased.

CHAPTER XX