The vertical hand should be used in all library work. The following
rules, with the illustrations, are taken from the Albany school
handbook above referred to:

Brief rules

1 Ink. Use only standard library ink and let it dry without blotting.

2 Position. Sit squarely at the desk and as nearly erect as possible.

3 Alphabets. Follow the library hand forms of all letters, avoiding
any ornament, flourish, or lines not essential to the letter.

4 Size. Small letters, taking m as the unit, are one space or two
millimeters high; i.e. one-third the distance between the rulings of
the standard catalog card.

Capitals and extended letters are two spaces high above the base line
or run one space below, except t, the character &, and figures, which
are one and one-half spaces high.

5 Slant. Make letters upright with as little slant as possible, and
uniformly the same, preferring a trifle backward rather than forward
slant.

6 Spacing. Separate words by space of one m and sentences by two m's.
Leave uniform space between letters of a word.

7 Shading. Make a uniform black line with no shading. Avoid hair line