“However much the architect may be inclined to let the owners have their own way in planning their own residences; when it comes to public buildings, it is his duty not only to advise but to insist on proper arrangements for heating, ventilation, drainage and plumbing. If it be his misfortune to deal on such matters with ignorant committee-men who with a limited appropriation persist in omitting, for, the sake of cheapness, some of those points in construction which are essential for keeping the building in proper sanitary condition, it is his duty as a skilled professional man to decline to have anything to do with the matter rather than suffer himself to be used as a tool to execute work which he knows will be dangerous to the health and life of his fellow-citizens or of their children.”
These are ringing words to be addressed to an architect. How much more do they apply to the librarian who is the expert adviser not only as to effective methods of work, but also as to the comfort and health of all his staff and for all the public who are to use the building.
A paper by Dr. Billings, on the special subject of Library Heating and Ventilation, after his experience in New York, first in old buildings and now in a new building, should be of very great value.
Plumbing, Drains, Sewers
This is another group to be provided for satisfactorily before any money is allotted to frills. The architect ought to be expert in all three specialties; but a householder wants to know just what the architect is going to do in building his house. The librarian is in this instance the housekeeper, at least, and has not only a right, but a duty, of inquisitiveness; for carelessness or mistakes on the part of draftsmen, ignorance or worse on the part of workman, might seriously affect the health of a large number of people.
Underdraining. Is your lot dry down below the foundations of the building? See to this before you start to build, for a damp basement for a library leads to book-tuberculosis, if nothing worse.
Drains. Gutters send a lot of water down from the roof, and unless this is led away by tight conductors, leading into drains that are sure to carry it off, the resulting moisture will gather along the foundations and show on the inside walls. I have had experience and expense with this trouble on my own premises.
Sewers. In cities, drains and sewers usually combine in joint drainage. Here you have to watch your own grounds, your neighbors’, and the town’s connections; avoiding interference, and watching for loose joints, careless workmanship, and downright dishonesty. Watch your architect, watch the contractors.