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The pencil dater pictured above was recently found by a
member of the Sandusky Library’s administrative staff. This piece of library
equipment was devised by the Milwaukee Public Library in the late 1800s. With
just a slight motion of the hand, library staff could jot down the patron’s
library card number, as well as stamp the date due on a slip of paper in the back
of the library book. The pencil dater sold for seventy-five cents (about $25 today) in the Classified Illustrated Catalog of the Library Bureau in 1891. This type of manual charging system was used at the
Sandusky Library well into the 1970s.
Today the Sandusky Library is a member of the CLEVNET Consortium. The SirsiDynix computerized charging and discharging system used by CLEVNET libraries allows for efficient and accurate charging, discharging, and searches for items by author, title, subject, or series. The online catalog further enhances searches by providing a graphical interface, links to new arrivals, award winners, and best sellers.
1 comment:
That is neat, but I'm trying to visualize how it works. Does the part with the date slip out and replaced each day? And it looks like it would be difficult to press against an ink pad without getting the ink on the pencil tip. Still, pretty cool, and I've never seen one before. Thanks for sharing this!
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