Newberry Library. Order Section.

Beginning with the incorporation of the Library in 1892, booklists were submitted by the Librarian to the Trustee Committee on Books for approval.

Upon the retirement of George B. Utley, the Committee on Books approval for routine purchases became more of a formality. During Pargellis's administration, 1942-1962, booklists were termed "List of Books Added to the Library." Beginning in 1962, L. W. Towner submitted a "Monthly Acquisitions Report" which continued to list all purchases. After October 1967, this lengthy format was abandoned for a report that included statistics and an itemization of interesting acquisitions only.

The ordering of materials for the Newberry Library collections has been the responsibility of the Librarian (1887-1894); the Business Office (1894-1919); a separate order department (1919-1930, 1937-1958, 1962-1965); and the Technical Services Department and its predecessors (1931-1936, 1959-1962, 1965-present).

William F. Poole, the Newberry's first Librarian, supervised ordering until his death in 1894. Noah Brooks and Jesse Moss, Financial Agents, handled ordering from 1894 to Nov. 12, 1919, when it was transferred, along with files dating from 1917, back to the Librarian who formed a Book Selection, Ordering and Receipt Department headed by Pierce Butler. From 1931-1936, the Technical Departments with Esther Paul as Head Order Librarian, handled ordering. In 1937, Mabel Erler, Head Order Librarian since 1936, was made head of a separate Order Department which excluded book selection. From 1942-1959, Erler headed a department responsible for both ordering and book selection. Erler retired in 1965, when her department was merged in a newly created Processing Department (now Technical Services).

From time to time special order records were kept to document a specific activity or collection.

These records do not reflect daily ordering routines, but document specific projects or practices followed only briefly.

Accession records for Library collections kept until 1972 by the Order Section of the Technical Services Department and its predecessor departments.

From 1877 through 1917, general accessions were recorded in manuscript volumes. In 1918, typed slip accession records were begun and maintained with various numbering systems until 1972, when accession records were merged with order records in a new volume format. Special Collections accessions including Ayer, Greenlee and Wing were maintained separately in volumes until 1965/66, when they were merged into the general accessioning system. Wing Collection purchases, gifts, and exchanges were also maintained separately on slips from 1933-1965, as were gifts, 1933-1967.

Beginning in November, 1919, the responsibility for book ordering at the Newberry Library was transferred, along with current files, from the Business Office under Jesse Moss, to the Librarian, who created a Book Selection, Ordering, and Receipt Department to handle ordering transactions. Since 1919 ordering has been supervised by Pierce Butler, Esther Paul, Mabel Erler, and the Technical Services Librarian.

From the Library's founding in August, 1887, until 1956, invoices received for book purchases were pasted according to collection (e.g. general, Ayer, Oakley, Wing, Greenlee) in large scrapbooks, indexed by source, and assigned a sequential number corresponding to accession number.

In 1956, this practice was abandoned and invoices were filed for each collection by dealer name.

Each month and annually, the Order Department compiled statistics regarding book purchases from the endowment and from special book funds.