The Library Overwhelmed
Seattle's public library is struggling to keep pace with an insatiable public, as staff and patrons debate the merits of a complex new cataloging system.
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The public library has not fallen off in popularity; on the contrary, it gives every proof that its use is only limited by its capacity. The rooms, which seemed so spacious when first opened, are now uncomfortably crowded. The sparsely filled shelves of a year ago are now occupied by 8,433 books, and the small, inadequate office is cumbered with magazines waiting to be bound and with books to be renumbered. As many as 450 books are passed out to borrowers on cards during the day—at the rate of one every minute and a half. A controversy has arisen regarding the library's renumbering system, with critics arguing that the new combination of the Cutter and Dewey decimal systems is unnecessarily complex, creating 'ponderous appendages' that confuse the public and slow down service.
“The rooms, which seemed so spacious when first opened, are now uncomfortably crowded.”
In 1892, Seattle was obsessed with the efficiency of its nascent civic institutions, including the public library. Today, our 'cataloging' battles have moved to digital infrastructure, but the tension between the public's demand for access and the bureaucratic systems designed to manage it remains a constant in Seattle civic life.
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