Lifts: Elevators
Lifts. By this phrase are designated booklifts—for single volumes or small lots, as distinguished from elevators to carry passengers and boxes. Lifts are chiefly used in stacks, and will be considered under that head. They are also needed between administration rooms on different floors, as from the unpacking room to the catalog-room, and from the desk or the stacks up to special reading rooms.
For small libraries, hand lifts can be made to run easily. In larger libraries, electric lifts save a deal of time, but these are more expensive in first cost and cost of operation and repair.
Champneys[220] says, “Line cages with leather or rubber. Attach clips for papers.”
Elevators. These are not at all needed in small libraries, and their use should be postponed as long as possible as a library grows larger, not only on account of initial cost, space required, and danger of furnishing upward drafts in case of fire, but because of the treble cost of running—power, manning and tinkering. They are one of the necessary nuisances of large buildings.
When used, they may be installed in dark inside corners, and should so accommodate passage up and down that less space need be put into staircases. They should open outside rather than inside rooms, even if special corridors have to be provided. The stir of operation, entrance and exit is very disturbing for staff as well as for readers.
The necessity of installing an elevator marks a debatable and epochal point in the development of a library. Indeed I have thought of classifying buildings,—those which can get along without elevators; and those that must have them. Here comes a great leap in the expense of operation.
The number of elevators in the building, their size, their position, the system of operating them, all have an immediate bearing on annual operating expenses, and in very large libraries need a vast amount of special study and conference.