The Business Library: What it is and what it does

by Louise B. Krause

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.

Single face unit wood shelving showing adjustable features. By courtesy of the Library Bureau.

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.

Adjustable metal stack, 7 feet 6 inches in height, with shelves 3 feet long and 8 inches wide. By courtesy of the Library Bureau.

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.

Plan No. 1 (850 square feet) has three windows at one end of the room and the librarian's desk, reading table, vertical files and card catalog cabinet are placed advantageously near these windows for good daylight. There is room also for additional desks near the windows.

Book stacks are placed at right angles to the windows at the rear of the room but require artificial light. The remaining wall space is used for wall stacks.

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.