I.D. Checks Cut Widener Crowd

The number of unauthorized persons using Widener Library has gone down considerably since periodic identification checks were instituted last November, Foster M. Palmer, Associate Librarian for Reference and Circulation, said yesterday.

The percentage of people turned away in the checks has been reduced from 12 per cent to 3 and 5 per cent, according to three surveys taken Nov. 19, Dec. 11, and Jan. 6. More than half of those turned away were high school and college student.

Palmer attributed the drop to the fact that news of the check "was getting around." He said that simultaneous surveys in Lamont had turned relatively few people away, but noted that Lamont had a reputation for conducting door checks.

Though a fourth Widener survey last Saturday resulted in denying admission to nine per cent of those checked, Palmer explained that the Saturday crowd is different from those on weekday evenings.

New IBM Cards

Palmer also revealed that more efficient IBM cards will replace the onces now being used to sign books out of the library. The new cards will eliminate the need for carbon copies and will be put into use as soon as the supply of old cards is exhausted, sometime within the next week or so.

The new cards will make it possible to request and check books out on the same card.