CHAPTER VII

MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE BUSINESS LIBRARY

It is the purpose of this chapter to give an outline of the equipment required by the business library to do its work adequately. Some business men make the mistake of thinking that the mechanical equipment which they purchase will make a satisfactory library, while others put their faith in employing a librarian who they expect will create library service with the expenditure of very little money for facilities and tools for carrying on the work.

Both opinions are wrong, for the business library needs adequate equipment with which to perform acceptable service quite as much as it does a skillful librarian.

Floor Space and Shelving

No business firm should consider establishing library service unless it is willing to provide suitable space for it, for the best librarian in the country cannot give satisfactory service with books and material scattered in various places, wedged in tightly and stored on top shelves or in storerooms where there is not quick access to them.

The writer knows of several business firms, who from lack of sufficient library space store their periodicals, and as far as any real use is concerned they might as well not have them. Often the plea of lack of floor space is a superficial reason and only indicative of the fact that the firm is following a short sighted policy and has not really waked up to the tremendous value of having such material in order and readily accessible.

In selecting the floor space for a business library a square or oblong portion of space without columns or jogs in the walls is preferable, as it permits of the most economical arrangement in putting in the required fixtures. Good daylight is of course most desirable but if this is not possible, care should be taken to have artificial light of high grade which can easily be provided by a system of indirect electric lighting supplemented by drop lights wherever necessary.

The library floor space should be completely covered with cork carpet both for cleanliness and quiet, and it should be laid before any shelving is set, in order to avoid cuts and seams which catch dirt and also look bad if the carpet is laid after immovable fittings have been installed.

In placing shelving for books, the most economical and compact arrangement is the stack plan, i.e., double faced bookcases set at right angles to a wall space and as close together as possible, but allowing ready access by narrow aisles not less than thirty inches wide between the tiers. The remaining wall space may be utilized by vertical files or wall shelving to supplement the capacity of the stack layout, but no business library of any considerable size should be laid out on the plan of wall shelving only, as it is a most unnecessary waste of space.

The space assigned for the business library should be primarily selected to accomplish best the work the library is designed to do, and this principle is entirely compatible with a dignified and attractive library layout, if it is done by someone who has both a knowledge of the work of the library and of the most approved library equipment. The floor plans of three business libraries are shown to illustrate the economical placing of shelves, vertical files and furniture in a given space.

Shall the library stack be wood or metal, open or enclosed with glass, and shall it have fixed or adjustable book shelves? Open metal stack, 7 feet 6 inches in height, with 7 adjustable shelves, 3 feet long, eight or 10 inches wide, in each tier, or open wood stack of the unit type, 6 feet 10 inches high, with adjustable shelves are both suitable, with a preference for wood, because it ordinarily costs less and looks better in a small library room. Some business offices which have only a few books are using wood bookcase units with sliding glass doors. These answer the purpose for very small collections in private offices, but if there is to be any real growth they constitute too great an expense in proportion to the number of books shelved, and are not economical in saving floor space. Even when such wooden units are placed together in double stack form they are not comparable in economy with metal or open wood stack because they are less durable, hold a less number of books per shelf, can not safely be built up to as great a height and do not save space by having adjustable shelves for books of varying heights. Glass doors to bookcases in a live business library are a pest and the only service which they really perform in keeping out a little dust does not compensate for their added expense especially when dust can be readily removed from open shelves by the use of a vacuum cleaner.

The best method for a business firm to pursue in acquiring the most suitable and best arranged shelving for a library is to have their librarian ask one or two reputable firms making a specialty of library fittings to furnish drawings, descriptions and prices of their stack, and also make suggestions as to its best arrangement in a given floor space. The trained librarian who has been educated in the details of good and poor equipment and who knows what an adequate layout should be, will readily point out the merits and weaknesses of the specifications in regard to standardization, simplicity and price. It is always economical to equip even the smallest business library with a high grade standard make of shelving, which will never have to be discarded as the library grows, and which can always be matched when additional shelving needs to be purchased.

It must be remembered also that the business library is often not permanently located in a particular space because the layouts of all offices of business organizations are subject to change, due to growth in the business, and therefore library shelving which is well made, and of standard parts and which can be moved readily as occasion demands is most desirable.

Vertical Files

The floor space for the business library should not only provide for adequate shelving, but should allow for vertical files and their growth. The value of adequate vertical filing equipment can not be over-estimated, because so much of the working material in the business library must be kept in vertical files. It is essential that drawers move easily and quietly and do not get out of order, as this affords a great saving in labor as well as quick service for the busy man who wants the contents at his immediate disposal.

There are a large variety of makes of vertical files which are bewildering to the average purchaser in their rival claims for superiority. What the purchaser needs as a guide is not a long list of all the makes of filing cabinets on the market but a brief comment on the kinds of cases which are worth while and the reasons why they are satisfactory.

In order to allow for growth, filing cabinets of the unit type only should be considered, as this type provides for expansion by the addition of new units, for flexibility, in that the units may be easily rearranged as new units are added, and for economy of space in that the greatest variety of drawers or files will occupy minimum floor space.

There are two kinds of unit filing cabinets, namely, the horizontal type in which cabinets are placed one on top of the other, with removable top, and the vertical type in which units are placed side by side, with detachable ends.

Excellent illustrations of the various useful combinations possible with both types may be found in the trade catalog of the Library Bureau, entitled "Unit Filing Cabinets in Wood."

The mechanical operation of all file drawers should be the best obtainable. Trays should be rigidly made and yet light enough to be easily handled. Vertical filing drawers should be mounted on roller bearing slides in order that they may run easily when loaded, for as one manufacturer states, "The efficiency of every card and filing system depends directly on the ease and precision of the mechanical operation."

If wood cabinets are selected, care should be taken that these are purchased from a manufacturer who will guarantee that the woods used are well seasoned and perfectly kiln-dried so that there will be no shrinking, swelling or warping. These are necessary qualifications which can not be assured when purchasing the lower priced cases on the market.

Wood cases are preferable to steel for library use, not only because of the appearance, but also because they are less noisy. Steel cabinets, despite the rubber protectors or buffers which do not wear for any length of time, are noisy. The fire resisting qualities of steel are negligible as an argument for their use in the average business library.

Card Catalog Cabinets and Cards

All card cabinets for library use should be made for the standard centimeter size library catalog card which is approximately 3 by 5 inches and should be purchased with round rods to pass through the lower margin of the card, so that the cards can not be accidentally spilled out or carelessly removed and misplaced.

A good quality of card should be selected, for experience proves it is a waste of time and money to put permanent records on a poor grade of cards; guides with celluloid tips are more durable than bristle board ones.

The best cards on the market have both evenly cut edges and sufficient stiffness to permit rapid fingering and are made of durable stock. These points are particularly emphasized because one of the faults of many business offices is the buying of cheap card supplies without taking into consideration the reason why more expensive cards are really the most economical.

No matter by whom the equipment and supplies of a business organization are ordered, the business librarian should always have the privilege of specifying grades and makes if the best results are to be obtained. It is never advisable for the sake of general office uniformity to force supplies upon the business library which are not best suited for its work, and the librarian is always the best judge of the most suitable ones by reason of trained judgment, and experience.

The ordering of books and periodicals should always be done by the librarian, who is thoroughly acquainted with the publishing field, and under no circumstances by the general purchasing department of an organization.

A few well known firms dealing in library supplies are as follows:

Democrat Printing Co., (supplies) Madison, Wis.

Gaylord Brothers, (supplies) Syracuse, N. Y. This firm makes a variety of pamphlet binders which are much used by many business libraries and are well worth investigating.

Library Bureau, (equipment and supplies) New York City, Chicago and branches in other cities.

Art Metal Construction Co., (equipment) Jamestown, N. Y. and branches in other cities.

Refer also to advertisers in the periodicals, "Library Journal" and "Public Libraries," which may be seen at the Public Library.

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING

=Leffingwell, W. H.=

The office through a microscope. National efficiency quarterly August 1918, p. 85-111.

=Library Bureau=

Library supplies catalog no. L1018.

Unit wood book shelving catalog no. 70314.

Unit filing cabinets in wood catalog no. 8929.

Steel book stack catalog no. 70814.