Series XI: Circulation Records, 1794 - 1879

Series

Identifier: MS002 Series 11

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The circulation records consist of bound volumes containing lists of books checked out. They typically list the name of the subscriber, the date, and some method of identifying the work along with various other details. For much of its history, the old library company identified books only by number, although titles and combinations of numbers and titles began appearing around 1845, with titles becoming commonplace after 1858.

The catalogs can be used reliably for only some of the numerical listings due to additions following the publication of rapidly outdated catalogs and changes in numbering that preceded new ones. They are relevant to some of the numbers for 1801-1807, 1815-1848, 1856-1862, and 1874-1879 (see catalog series notes and below). Because of possible renumbering, the 1801 catalog cannot be relied upon for records prior to its implementation nor after the point in 1807-1808 when its successor went into effect. Since there is no way to know if the 1815 catalog was an extension of the 1808 or if it was the first to change the numbering from the 1801, it likewise cannot be trusted prior to its implementation.

The 1815 and its supplement were used for a longer period and the 1834-1848 catalog used it as a base, despite altering its system of arrangement for later materials and leaving about 30 numbers unclear due to renumbering. The 1856 printed and 1858-1860 working catalogs cover much of the same material and are usable into the Civil War. Notably, the 1856 is available online in a searchable format. It was arranged to be browsed, while the working catalog is arranged by number only. The 1876 copy of the catalog implemented in July 1874 is missing the letters O-P, but is otherwise usable for the last few years of circulation records.

Even when numbers cannot be identified, useful information can be inferred from changes in the numbering system and preferences for numbers from particular periods, such as for new acquisitions. One can also use the records to quantify the level of patronage as a whole in various periods. There are no circulation records at the book level from the Alexandria Library Association (1897-1937) and later, although summary reports of circulation became common during the modern period and were often noted in minutes and annual reports.

There are significant gaps in the circulation records, which nominally cover the period from November 1794 to January 1880. These come in several different types. Some of them appear to indicate missing volumes, including July 1795-June 1801, May 1811-February 1814, January 1835-Feburary 1841, September 1848-October 1858, and 1868-1870, but there are also gaps of a few months between volumes in 1805, 1824, 1846, 1871, and 1874. Additionally, there is a month of pages missing from the middle of 1831, and two pages are missing after October 1862, even though returns were noted as late December, before resuming in April 1868 (on the Civil War see the historical note for this series).

Title numbers began at around 200, gradually rising to over 5,000 before the Civil War. After the war, numbers ran below 1,000 for the most part, before changing to numbers over 5,000 again on 4 December 1873 (p.279) and then dropping to lower numbers on 10 July 1874 (p.69), with some titles in the 5000s being renumbered to the 3000s.

Many of volumes contain lists of books in their front or back matter, usually including both titles and numbers. This is one of the only sources for matching that information for some periods of the library’s history and includes the only reference to the 1808 catalog outside the minutes. They include lists of missing books (the 1822-1824 volume), books sent to be bound (1824-1828 and 1828-1831) and of the Waverly Novels (1822-1824).

Changes in the hand recording the information signal personnel changes, and many of the volumes were inscribed with the names of librarians or members of the company, occasionally accompanied by other kinds of scribbling as in 1814-1816, 1831-1834, and especially 1858-1868. There is also some doodling, which appears inside the covers in a modest way in the 1814-1816 volume and far more extensively in the 1841-1848 and 1858-1868 ones. The 1841-1848 also contains doodles among the actual circulation records.

For the columns and specific information that varied over time see the arrangement note for this series.

Dates

1794 - 1879

Historical Note

The circulation records began with the original library company in 1794 and continued until its collapse in 1880. Some of the gaps in the records reflect periods during which its activity was disrupted.

During the War of 1812, British forces arrived in Alexandria on 29 August 1814 and remained there until 2 September. The library normally closed on Sundays, and remained closed from Sunday 28 August through Tuesday 30 August. It opened from 31 August to 2 September, during which time only four books circulated.

The library was also affected by the Civil War. Hostilities between the Union and Confederacy began at Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861. A vote on Virginia secession was held on 17 April and ratified by a referendum on 23 May. Alexandria was occupied by Union forces the following day. Confederate forces had briefly made use of the Lyceum building housing the library, but it later served as a hospital for the Union. Some books were moved out but others were not.

It is unclear were the library operated from in 1861 and 1862, but it did operate. There was a significant reduction in circulation leading up to the war, dropping to a single entry for 22 April 1861. Solitary patrons were recorded for 18th and 30th of May, and an individual withdrew a book every day through 21-25 December, although the May and December entries are in a different hand and initially broke with the format. In early June 1862 however, the library resumed semi-regular hours, usually opening only Tuesday and Thursday but occasionally other days. Records continue into mid-October, after which two pages are missing from the book before it resumes in 1868. Returns are dated as late as December 1862, and it is unclear when the library ceased operations.

Attempts to preserve the library in the late 1870s were unsuccessful, and the number of pages per year charts its decline and eventual failure over the second half of the decade.

Extent

From the Collection: 8.10 Cubic Feet (13 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 record carton)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The original circulation book of 1794-1795 contains two different systems for tracking loans and borrowers. The columns of the initial system included, from left-to-right: patron name, the time the book was out, book number, and book size. Each book size had its own column, which from left-to-right were folio, “4-to” (quarto), “8-vo” (octavio), “12-mo” (duodecimo or twelvemo), and “16-mo” (sextodecimo or sixteenmo).

This method was abandoned, and subsequently an attempt was made to record circulation by subscriber. Each subscriber was assigned a number and accorded a set of pages bearing that number instead of page numbers. An index of them appears at the back with some names crossed out. They are not in alphabetical order on the whole, and may represent the order in which they become subscribers. The left-hand pages list the books taken out and the right-hand pages represent returns. As such, similar years and dates are repeated on both sides.

By the start of the 1801-1805 records, the library had switched to a chronological format, which was flexible enough to accommodate increases in the number of subscribers and variations in their degree of patronage but at the cost of making an individual’s activity more difficult to isolate. Columns consisted of: patron, title number and volume number, date and day of the week, date returned, and the number of days late and fine (if any).

This remained standard through 1834 with minor variations, like the addition of a date at the top of the page in the 1814-1818 volume, which lasted into the 1830s, and a key for marks indicating returns and renewals in the 1822-1824 volume.

The 1841-1848 volume introduced a new system which separated each set of records into daily sections, with a heading for each day. The columns from left-to-right provided: title number, patron name, returned date, and subject section; the latter being a feature of the working catalog in use at the time.

Abbreviated titles started to appear near the end of June 1845, with some of them being numbered and others not. By July 1845, a majority of the entries were like that. This method disappeared and reappeared over the years that followed.

Between September 1846 and September 1848 the circulation records were kept in the second part of an account book (see notes for the subscription series). The subject system continued during this period under a new organization of columns, consisting of: subject, number (within subject), patron name (with volume number), and finally a column with either a note saying “return,” a date, or often a blank field.

The 1857-1858 volume has alphabetical tabs on which patrons are recorded chronologically under the first letter of their name. The columns are also different. From left-to-right they include: date, patron name (including institutions), title number, and return date. The year is given at the top. In place of a return note, some fields contain other notes like “mistake” or “transferred to Roxbury,” which are open to interpretation. Titles resume appearing in place of numbers in mid-1858.

The volume covering 1862-1868 shows considerable variation. Initially it featured columns on the left with headings for each day followed by the patron name, while on the right the columns showed the title number and return date. Starting on September 27, 1859 (page 114), the left-hand column was divided between patron name and title, while the columns for title number and return date on the right remained in place. From March 1860 (page 127) to March 1861 (page 175) it returned to the earlier format.

The 1870-1871 volume introduced the columns that would be standard for most of the remainder of the series ending in 1880. They consisted of checkout date, patron name, book title, title number, and return date. The exception was a period beginning in May 1871 and ending on 1 January 1872 of the 1871-1872 volume. During that period, the records provided sections by patron name, with columns for checkout date, title, and return date. There were no title numbers during that period. The arrangement of names was partially alphabetized, possibly reflecting the addition of new names to an originally alphabetical arrangement.

It can be difficult to tell what year it is in some of the later volumes. In the 1872-1874 volume year breaks occur on pages 113 (1873) and 292 (1874). In the 1874-1880 volume they occur on pages 137 (1875), 275 (1876), 345 (1877), 375 (1878), 434 (1879), and 454 (1880).

Preservation Issues

Many of the books have damaged bindings or missing covers. The 1801-1805 volume has both problems, while the 1809-1811 is missing a page and the front cover. The 1814-1816 is also missing pages, as is the 1858-1868 volume for the crucial period of 1862-1863.