Circulation Day Book, 1858-1862, 1868

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can be used reliably for only some of the numerical listings due to additions following the publication of rapidly outdated catalogs and changes in numbering that preceded new ones.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.