The filing system used for drawings should be the one you find to be most satisfactory-meaning that there are no specific rules on the subject. For a discussion of recommending filing practices, you should review chapter 16 of the EA3 TRAMAN. An individual should be assigned daily to the task of logging in, card indexing, and filing any drawings or prints received. Tracings should be filed separately, and there should be a standing rule that tracings must never be removed from the file except with your approval as the supervising EA. About the only time removal is necessary is for reproduction purposes.

As you know well by now, ammonia vapors are highly toxic; therefore, for any room containing ammonia-vapor reproduction equipment, ventilation is of vital importance. Check with the battalion safety chief to see if the ventilation in your reproduction room is adequate.

In addition, the reproduction room should be kept as dust-free as possible. Air conditioning is helpful in this regard; however, it does not take the place of good housekeeping practices.

The overall battalion technical library contains reference publications related to construction and to subjects like ordnance, communications, military planning and training, medical and dental, professional development, and supply. Of concern to you is the engineering technical library. It should be consigned to the operations department on a subcustody basis by a designated central control office. That central control office may be the plans and training department, educational services office, or the supply department. Publications that are required in the engineering technical library, as well as the entire battalion library, are listed in Section 12 of the TOA. Some of the NAVFAC publications that must be in the engineering library are listed below.

P-437    Facilities Planning Guide, Volume I and Volume 2

In addition to NAVFAC publications, numerous standards and military handbooks are also required. A few of these that you must have in the engineering library are as follows:

Besides the aforementioned publications, the engineering technical library contains various commercial publications of interest to the EA, such as the current edition of Architectural Graphic Standards by Ramsey and Sleeper.

Maintaining the engineering technical library is another important collateral-duty job that you should delegate to a responsible EA3 working the drafting room. In this capacity the EA3, as the librarian, is responsible for arranging the publications, indexing, inventorying, and checking in or out publications. He should also be tasked with packing the entire library for embarkation to overseas deployment sites.