For the public, a convenient umbrella stand (automatic locks will improve it), and rubber pigeon-holes near the entrance will prevent dripping around. There are various makeshifts—racks for hats under chairs, coat rails behind chairs, or at the end of tables (see Tables, [p. 344], and Chairs, [p. 346]) or hat racks in passages, and the like. In the larger libraries, where coat rooms become necessary, they can be slipped into narrow rooms under staircases or in passages near the vestibule.
“Every reading room should have hooks or trees for coats and hats, and stands for umbrellas.”—Eastman.
“In small libraries coat rooms should open from the delivery room, overlooked from the desk.”—Marvin.[252]
Lavatory. Need of frequent wash bowls on all floors has been spoken of elsewhere. A common lavatory for women and a separate one for men, open both to public and staff, is a great convenience, and may render fewer separate wash bowls necessary,—a desideratum as far as cost goes, for plumbing is a great expense, and part of planning is to concentrate and reduce to a minimum “stacks” of plumbing. For this reason water fixtures on separate floors should be superimposed rather than scattered.
Sanitary Facilities
These must be furnished separately for men and women of the staff, but whether or not they need be provided for the public is a question both here and in England. Miss Marvin[253] is positive that public toilet rooms are a great nuisance, and should be omitted always, at all events from the main floor. Burgoyne[254] reports opinion divided, but thinks them advisable where a separate attendant can be afforded. Is it not mainly a matter of size and location? Large libraries must provide them for large throngs; libraries of medium size must offer some refuge for serious readers who have to spend many hours over their books; small local or branch libraries, whose users live not so far away, may omit them. The trouble and expense are against them, convenience and health are in their favor. If the park board or public health authorities will provide them somewhere near, the problem is solved. Where they can be avoided in small libraries, and where children throng, much trouble of personal oversight will be saved. If they must be installed, here is certainly a problem to be solved in convenience, separation, and casual supervision of entrances and exits.
Vehicles
Automobiles can be ranged at the curb in front of the library; they lock or care for themselves. Hitching-posts in rural districts will tether horses. Bicycles, not so much in evidence as they were once, may be left in racks in front, or in some place provided for them in lobby, or inside the rear entrance in the cellar.