37 



abolish it altogether, and have recourse to the signature 

 system, which would strengthen his official hands, and 

 proportionately embarrass the " destructives " and the 

 stealers. Let him put up a long desk in the passage to 

 the Reading-Room, and require every reader on entering 

 the room to sign his name in a visitors' book. The lawless 

 person who would not hesitate to use a ticket, which he 

 had found, would be shy of writing a name, real or spur- 

 ious, on such record. The guardian of such a visitors' 

 book would, of course, have at hand a list of all persons 

 entitled to read in the Library, and also specimen signa- 

 tures of all qualified readers ; and he would be prompt to 

 use this simple machinery for the discomfiture of any 

 intruder who should venture, at the risk of almost immed- 

 iate exposure, to sign the ledger. The trouble of signing 

 would, in reality, be nothing to readers who must sign a 

 ticket for every book ordered from the Library ; and even 

 if it were slightly troublesome, they would, of course, 

 gladly take the trouble, for the security and welfare of 

 their place of study. By acting on this suggestion, the 

 Librarian would provide himself with an efficient barrier 

 for the exclusion of persons not authorized to enter the 

 Keading-Room ; and, in so far as they are the deeds of 

 such intruders, the thefts and injuries of which so much 

 has been recently heard, would cease to be perpetrated. 

 For the rest, in his fight with the stealers and other mis- 

 demeanants, we should advise the Librarian to rely more 

 on the vigilance of his subordinates than on restrictive 

 measures which are vexatious to the readers whom he 

 should seek to please, and only amusing to the offenders 

 whom we should gladly see him punish." 



It will be seen that the evidence goes to prove ; First, the 

 incompetence of the Chief Librarian in the performance of 



