Indeed, bearing in mind the feeble men and women who have a right to use a library, I plead for a “practical” handrail for all stairs. Many flights have no rail at all; the more ornamental they assume to be, the more dangerous they are. Many flights have only marble “rails,” too massive for hand use. All “architectural” staircases are in fact deterrents of use.
Landings. More than a dozen steps are tiresome to most people, and in long flights landings ought to be provided. If a seat can be provided on each, it will be welcome to old persons. A window seat, in the windows used to light flights of stairs, can be made a decorative and also useful feature.
Circular Stairs. About the most inconvenient, useless, dangerous, and unnecessary feature which has come down to us from antiquity is the corkscrew stair, which still persists—I saw one in a plan only yesterday. It is inconvenient because only half of each tread is available. I measured one recently in a library: the wide outside of each tread was twelve inches deep, and it narrowed down to two inches at the central post. The nine-inch width (about the least allowable for a stair tread) was fifteen inches from the post, and only eight from the outside. The usable part of the tread was eight inches wide, the wasted segment was two-thirds of the width, and served only as a trap to stumblers.
This dangerous and inconvenient futility was unnecessary, because a straight stair, with short flights doubling on narrow landings, could be planned to occupy no more floor area, with much greater practicable width, and be infinitely more convenient and less dizzy.
Try to carry an armful of books up or down such a flight, and remember the lesson. A ladder would occupy less space, and be just about as useful as a winding-stair. Why such a traditional inconvenience persists in modern libraries is an enigma.
Stories and Rooms Generally
Height of stories is a main factor in planning. The fewer and lower they can be, bearing in mind full light and ventilation, the less cost will go into unnecessary bulk in building.
Tell the architect what rooms and floors you want, with definite area and height for him to try to suit together. Never let him dictate what dimensions you must pack the rooms into.
In small libraries and in most branches, one story with practicable basement, is the standard. The height of this story is suggested by Miss Marvin as 12 feet, or better, 13 feet; or 16 feet if a second tier of floor cases must be provided.[174] She very sanely says that higher rooms are not necessary from any point of view, and this remark might be extended to most rooms in most libraries.