CHAPTER XI

SHELVING AND ACCESSORIES

=143.= The chief requirements of book-shelving are accessibility and adjustability. All authorities on library architecture are agreed that high shelves are an obstruction to quick service, and a danger to books, by placing them in a vitiated atmosphere with a comparatively high temperature. The old-fashioned wall-cases, twelve or fifteen feet high, which could only be reached by means of long ladders, are no longer recommended or installed, because of the labour they place upon the staff, their danger, and the fact that all the books on the upper shelves are not only inaccessible, but liable to a certain amount of harm. Modern librarians prefer to enlarge their floor area for the purpose of book-storage, and to provide wall and standard bookcases which are within easy reach of the floor, thus placing the entire stock at the command of both staff and readers without the labour or danger of climbing long ladders. It may be said, generally, that high wall-shelves should never be provided, unless with the provision of an iron gallery half-way up, which can be reached by means of stairs.

=144.= The question of adjustability is just as important as get-at-ability. In every method or appliance which is introduced for library, or, indeed, any other work, the great principle of movability or adjustability should be preferred to fixity. The power of moving or changing without altering the character or shape of anything is of enormous advantage in every operation, and a very good illustration of the application of this power is furnished by the card catalogue, with its infinite capacity for expansion in every direction. Book-shelves should be as mobile as cards in their own way, and should be so adjustable that a new shelf can be introduced or an existing one removed at any point where such a course is possible. The only advantage which fixed wooden shelves possess is that of comparative cheapness, but this is an advantage which, in a short time, is completely swallowed up in the inconveniences which arise through the impossibility of placing books of varying sizes in strict classified order on the shelves. Besides a great sacrifice of vertical space in some places, it will be found in a rapidly growing library that the carefully gauged shelves, at eight, nine, ten, or twelve inches apart, in every tier, cannot be made to contain all the books which ought to go on these shelves in their order. The day comes when the eight-and-a-half or nine-and-a-half inch book arrives which must go on the eight or nine inch shelf, and, because there is no means of making a slight adjustment, such books must either be shelved out of their order, or placed on their fore-edges. If such shelves are arranged throughout a library at a distance of ten inches apart to provide for contingencies, they will take all sizes up to demy 8vo, but at a great sacrifice of space, especially in the fiction shelves, where most of the books average about seven and a half inches. Any attempt at varying the distances between shelves in every tier will lead to confusion in a strictly classified library. On the other hand, liberal spacing will result in the loss of a shelf in every tier, thereby reducing the total storage space by about one-eighth or one-ninth, according to the number of shelves in a tier. The balance of advantage lies, with movable forms of shelving, and it is strongly recommended that no other kind be specified or ordered.

=145.= The following diagrams give the usual dimensions for ordinary standard and wall bookcases, and may be taken as the unit from which a library stack can be built up according to any plan of arrangement. Fig. 31 represents a double-sized standard iron bookcase, 7 feet 6 inches × 3 feet 2 inches × 15 inches, which can be joined end to end to form cases of any length, or used in halves to form cases against walls.

Exactly the same dimensions can be used with wooden presses fitted with adjustable brackets or catches. In reference libraries the dimensions may be slightly varied, as the average book which must be stored is rather larger than in lending libraries. But the chief provision for folio and large quarto books should be in special cases arranged round the walls, and it is well to have presses intended for music and quartos fitted with uprights about eighteen inches apart, in order to distribute the weight of the books and facilitate their handling.

It should be noted that this variety of shelf fitting does not give absolute adjustability, but only a movement of about an inch up or down, as may be required. Smaller adjustments are impossible by this or any other similar system.

=148.= There are various other methods of fixed shelf adjustments for wooden bookcases, English, American and German, but none of them possess any particular advantage over Tonks’ variety.

Absolute adjustability in shelf fittings, as applied to wooden cases, has been obtained in the English method, to be seen at various libraries in England. There are also various American systems.

Both of these forms are similar in principle to the absolute adjustments described under Section 149, but the English system was the first to be patented, and therefore ranks as the pioneer of this type of shelf fitting.

=149. Metal Bookcases with Absolute Shelf Adjustments.=--The best and most used English variety of metal bookcase with absolute shelf adjustment is that which has been installed in the public libraries of Worcester, Shoreditch, Huddersfield, Lambeth, Perth, the Patent Office Library, London, Islington and elsewhere. It consists, as shown in Figs. 31, 34 and 35, of strong steel uprights, in which are formed continuous grooves, which carry and support shelf brackets designed to grip at any point by automatic means. These brackets will slide up and down the uprights to any point, while a small controlling lever is depressed, but the moment this is released the bracket will become firmly fixed in place, and will remain there till again moved, whatever weight may be placed upon the shelf which it supports. These brackets can be pushed up without touching the controlling lever, and will always grip at the point where they are left. To push them down, the controlling arm must be depressed as already described. The shelves for this type of case may be either metal or wood, but probably good oak shelves will be found as satisfactory as any. Standard cases made in the dimensions given in Section 145 are usually divided down the middle, at the back of each set of shelves, by means of a wire-work grill. This does not obstruct oversight, light or air, yet serves to prevent books on one face of the standard from being accidentally or otherwise transferred to the opposite face. There are points of safety, convenience and adjustability about metal bookcases which make them preferable to all other forms.

=150.= A special form of this type of metal bookcase has been designed for book-storage in small spaces, and as applied to the India Office Library, London, and Bodleian Library, Oxford, has been found convenient and economical. The same shelf adjustment is used, but the presses instead of resting on the floor are swung from iron girders, so as to slide easily whenever wanted. These presses are swung closely side by side and drawn out, one at a time, as required.

A somewhat similar plan for increasing the storage capacity was introduced into the British Museum many years ago, the chief difference being that the sliding presses go face to face with the existing standards, one here and there, instead of in solid rows as at the India Office.

=151.= It is not proposed to describe every variety of iron or metal bookcase which has been introduced, such as the Library Bureau, Smith, Lawrence, Cotgreave, etc., and it will be sufficient to mention that in Britain, Germany and America there are several interesting forms used.

=152. Special Bookcases.=--In Section 146 a form of special wall-case is described which is suitable for storing folio and quarto volumes. In very large libraries it may be necessary to provide additional storage space for bound files of newspapers, extra large folios and prints. Files of newspapers can be stored in a special form of double rack, as illustrated in Fig. 36. As small libraries will bind only the files of local papers, the provision by them of shelves for this purpose need not be a very serious matter.

=153.= Large folio volumes are best kept flat on sliding trays or shelves. When they are kept upright they are very apt to suffer through the heavy leaves sagging and dragging at the binding. Valuable folios should always be kept in flat positions. A suitable method of storage is to provide a large double-sided case, with a sloping top, which can be used for consulting the books. The shelves should be arranged to slide out and in on runners, and each shelf may have a brass handle on its fore-edge to enable it to be easily pulled out. The dimensions of such a case will depend upon the number of folios to be stored and their size, but the following illustration (Fig. 37) will be found suitable for all ordinary purposes.

This case will store about 150 to 200 folio volumes, according to their thickness, which is ample space for all ordinary municipal public libraries. The shelves of this case should be covered on their upper surfaces with leather or thick cloth. A similar style of rack can be used for storing large collections of prints, the only difference being that the prints would be kept in special boxes as described in Section 307, which would take the place of volumes.

=154.= In calculating the number of volumes which can be shelved in a given space, the following general rules will be found fairly accurate:--

Nine lending library books will occupy one foot run of space.

Eight reference library books will occupy one foot run of space.

Allowance must be made, in calculating from plans, for the space occupied by uprights, etc., and care must be taken to reckon dwarf bookcases only according to their capacity. If nine inches are allowed as the average height of books, which will give eight shelves to a tier seven feet six inches high, excluding cornices, plinth or thickness of shelves, then a single-sided case of the dimensions shown in Section 146 will store 216 volumes in a lending library and about 192 in a reference library. A double-sided case will hold 432 and 384 volumes respectively.

=155. Racks for Filing.=--Wooden racks or iron-pipe racks may be used for a variety of purposes, such as storing unbound newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets, and all kinds of loose papers or bundles. Such racks are best made in a light, open form, so as to reduce the collection of dust to a minimum, while admitting air and light freely.

=156. Galleries.=--Galleries of iron are sometimes added to reference libraries and in other departments to provide a means of reaching high wall-shelves, and also to give additional accommodation for storage. They are a feature of the large stack rooms of American libraries, wherein the books are all massed together, gallery above gallery and tier above tier. Unless there is some very strong reason, architectural or otherwise, galleries should be avoided in every public library where rapid service of readers is necessary. Save for storing little-used stock, galleries are not recommended in any situation, unless the pressure for book space is very great. When galleries must be provided, care should be taken to provide adequate approaches. If a straight staircase is out of the question, a circular iron one should be provided, wide enough to enable an assistant to go up or down comfortably with an armful of books. In some libraries the circular iron staircases are more like exaggerated corkscrews than proper means of getting up and down from a gallery or floor. It is much better to have stairways in a single flight, which will allow of two persons passing each other, and for this purpose they ought to be at least three feet wide.

In libraries with bookcases of the uniform height of seven feet six inches, long ladders will be unnecessary, but in cases where they must be used, step ladders are preferable to rung ones. A light form of step ladder which is used in many public libraries and shops is illustrated (Fig. 38). For all practical purposes this ladder will be found ample.

Short steps for enabling the upper shelves of seven foot six inch cases to be scanned easily are made in various forms, some being folding and others fixed. The variety as illustrated (Fig. 39) will be found useful.

=157.= In some open access libraries it has been found advisable, in cases where the top shelves are out of reach, to provide a continuous fixed step of wood or iron at the base of each bookcase, to enable readers to reach the upper shelves without using movable steps of the sort figured above. A strong, wide iron rail projecting about four inches or six inches from the case, about nine inches or twelve inches above the ground, has been found useful, especially when associated with a handle fastened to the upright at a convenient height above. The illustration (Fig. 40) will give an idea of such a continuous step and handle applied in wood.

=158.= Detached steps secured to the uprights of bookcases, combined with handles, are very often used for staff purposes in place of the ordinary movable wooden steps or ladders. There is one form with an automatic adjustment which enables the step to spring up flat against the upright out of the way when not wanted as figured in illustration (Fig. 41). It is not necessary to fit this into the uprights, and to cut away the woodwork in order to let it into its place. There is still another variety, used at Hull, Kilmarnock, etc., which is always in position for use, but which also possesses an automatic adjustment enabling it to be brushed aside harmlessly by anyone passing, and to return to its “ready” position at once. This form can be attached to any ordinary wooden upright by means of screws, without cutting away or fitting. The handle supplied with this has a superior shape and grip (Fig. 42).