Have you tried to explain why we ask clients not to re shelve books from the Reference and Open Access collections? This excerpt from the Report of the Sydney Free Public Library for 1870 - 71, Page 4, provides the perfect explanation.
"Following the example of other Institutions of a similar kind, the selection from the shelves of the Library of books by adult visitors is unrestricted, but they are not permitted to replace the volumes. This course was adopted with the view of familiarizing the officers of the Library with the class of Literature in daily use, and of assisting them to report accurately to the Trustees on the educational uses of the Library; and it was also of great importance in preventing books being misplaced and thus disturbing the order of the Library."
Well said and still true to this day!
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The very proper librarian in me nodded approvingly at this quote. Of course we must monitor collection use as one of the several ways we understand client needs. Then, clicking back to to 2008 and it reeks of the covert and not-so-covert surveillance which track much of our movement (keeping the dominant order in place?). So yes - it's still true to this day and no - we won't have mashed-up shelves in our libraries!
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