Nine lending library books will occupy one foot run of space.
Eight reference library books will occupy one foot run of space.
Allowance must be made, in calculating from plans, for the space occupied by uprights, etc., and care must be taken to reckon dwarf bookcases only according to their capacity. If nine inches are allowed as the average height of books, which will give eight shelves to a tier seven feet six inches high, excluding cornices, plinth or thickness of shelves, then a single-sided case of the dimensions shown in [Section 146] will store 216 volumes in a lending library and about 192 in a reference library. A double-sided case will hold 432 and 384 volumes respectively.
Fig. 37.—Section and Elevation of Case for Large Folio Books ([Section 153]).
155. Racks for Filing.
155. Racks for Filing.—Wooden racks or iron-pipe racks may be used for a variety of purposes, such as storing unbound newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets, and all kinds of loose papers or bundles. Such racks are best made in a light, open form, so as to reduce the collection of dust to a minimum, while admitting air and light freely.
156. Galleries.
156. Galleries.—Galleries of iron are sometimes added to reference libraries and in other departments to provide a means of reaching high wall-shelves, and also to give additional accommodation for storage. They are a feature of the large stack rooms of American libraries, wherein the books are all massed together, gallery above gallery and tier above tier. Unless there is some very strong reason, architectural or otherwise, galleries should be avoided in every public library where rapid service of readers is necessary. Save for storing little-used stock, galleries are not recommended in any situation, unless the pressure for book space is very great. When galleries must be provided, care should be taken to provide adequate approaches. If a straight staircase is out of the question, a circular iron one should be provided, wide enough to enable an assistant to go up or down comfortably with an armful of books. In some libraries the circular iron staircases are more like exaggerated corkscrews than proper means of getting up and down from a gallery or floor. It is much better to have stairways in a single flight, which will allow of two persons passing each other, and for this purpose they ought to be at least three feet wide.