Case Study: A small but well stocked library attached to an inner-city Anglican cathedral has an open-door policy.  Visitors to the cathedral are welcome to use the library at any time of the day, and there are no formalities on entering or leaving the building.  Because the library is infrequently staffed (there are insufficient funds for a full-time librarian), a visitor may often find that he is the only person in the library.  A card catalogue at one end of the library helps visitors to find particular books they may be looking for.  Other than that, there is little formal library guidance.

Much of the library collection is devoted to religious issues.  Not only Anglican material is housed in this library; there are also a broad range of books on Judaism, Islam, other Christian faiths, and other religions, as well as books on general management, travel, architecture, and history.  It is a small but well stocked library, rich in its particular subject matter, and of great value to visiting scholars.

If a visitor wants to borrow one or more books from the library he may do so by leaving each book’s index card in a chronological file near the card catalogue, and by writing his name and address on a separate card to be filed with the book index cards.  When he returns the book(s), the visitor simply finds the original index cards, replaces them in the book(s), and puts the book(s) back on the shelf.

The editors comment...

In a world of increasing vigilance it is perhaps surprising to find a library with open doors, particularly in this urban location.  Whilst we cannot fault the intention of trust placed on visitors by the library’s directors, we question the priorities and wonder whether the directors have considered the wider implications.

This is a small library although the cost of acquiring the collection through purchases and donations, and of maintaining it – albeit on a skeleton staff – must be considerable.  Visitors to the library, whether they be scholars or just passing tourists, expect to find a collection in a state which reflects the cost and care which has gone into creating it.  For this the directors have a moral obligation to preserve the library, which means including appropriate controls to prevent its loss through theft or wilful damage.

It is not known whether the directors have carried out a proper risk assessment of the library, but it seems that they have given scant thought to the protection of the collection.  We agree with one suggestion, that the directors consider accepting volunteers, possibly drawn from the cathedral community, to look after the library during its opening hours.

We suspect also that some visitors may be put off borrowing books because they are asked to leave their name and address (and details of the books they are borrowing) on simple index cards which any visitor can see.  Or perhaps they are encouraged to leave a fictitious name/address lest someone what they are reading.  Here too there appears to be a lack of control put in place by the directors.  Not only are borrowers’ personal details compromised, but it seems that there is no intention to protect the privacy of borrowers.

Created: v0.1 07-Nov-07 : JG-T

Revised: v0.2 30-Dec-07 : SS   v1.0 30-Dec-07 : JG-T