Tools of the trade. Cleaning out the old library’s closets in preparation for the big move this summer, we found this nifty vintage “library fine calculator.” It’s complete with a kickstand and slide-out drawer for storing the date tiles.

How it works: The librarian updated the calculator each day by taking the tile with the current date out of the sliding drawer, then inserting it at the bottom of the column of tiles on the right. This would push all the other tiles up to align with the typewritten chart of overdue fines. The oldest tile popped out from the top of the column, and was replaced in the drawer for safekeeping.