forenames

Updated: May 27, 2025

Every hour in the day, and sometimes every minute in the hour, he has to recall the names of certain books, the authors of the same, including both their surnames and Christian or forenames, the subjects principally treated in them, the words of some proverb or quotation, or elegant extract in poetry or prose, the period of time of an author or other noted person, the standard measurements and weights in use, with their equivalents, the moneys of foreign nations and their American values, the time of certain notable events in history, whether foreign or American, ancient or modern, the names and succession of rulers, the prices of many books, the rules observed in the catalogue, both of authors and subjects, the names and schools of great artists, with their period, the meaning in various foreign languages of certain words, the geographical location of any place on the earth's surface, the region of the library in which any book is located and, in short, an infinitude of items of information which he wants to know out of hand, for his own use, or in aid of Library readers or assistants.

Ainsworth Rand Spofford - A Book for All Readers: An Aid to the Collection, Use, and Preservation of Books: and the Formation of Public and Private Libraries