CHAPTER XII

FURNITURE

=159.= The effect of shabby fittings and furniture on the minds of visitors is not such as will tend to the promotion of discipline, nor will it instil respect for the library into the minds of ratepayers and readers. A fine building, appropriately fitted up, will not only impress the average visitor, but it will cause the citizens to take pride in the library as a civic institution. A fine building shabbily fitted up inside will probably have quite a different effect. While a strong distinction is to be drawn between luxury and propriety in such matters, a much better purpose will be served by procuring good and substantial fittings and furniture than by wasting on extravagant exteriors most of the money available for building.

[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Two-sided Desk Topped Table (Section 160).]

=160. Reading Tables.=--For general reading rooms the tables should not be too long, nor, if readers are to sit on both sides, too narrow. A table to accommodate, say, eight persons, four on each side, should be 8 feet long × 3 feet wide × 32 inches high. The rails of reading-room tables should not be made so deep as to interfere with the comfort of persons using them, and cross rails connecting the table legs near the floor level should never be used, as these only serve as foot-rests. A certain number of tables should be made with desk or sloping tops, as shown in illustration (Fig. 43). Oak, walnut or other hard woods should be used for library furniture. Pitch pine is not recommended, as it invariably splits as the resin dries out.

[Illustration: FIG. 44.--British Museum Reading Table with Desk and Rack (Section 161).]

[Illustration: FIG. 45.--Reference Room Table (Section 161).]

=161.= In reference libraries, especially in those designed for students with open access to the shelves, quite a liberal space should be allowed. It has not hitherto been the practice, save in large libraries like the British Museum, to give reference readers as much table room as is desirable, nor to give students the amount of isolation which they require. The general policy has been to seat readers at long tables and separate them from their opposite neighbours by means of a screen, as is done at the British Museum, and in libraries like the Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. This method, which is depicted in Fig. 44, gives a certain amount of seclusion, but it does not provide a sufficiency of room for books and materials. Then, of course, no municipal library can hope to compete with the British Museum in the provision of expensive furniture. To ensure that each student reader will obtain a liberal share of room, combined with comfort and isolation, a system of separate tables in the form illustrated (Fig. 45) is strongly recommended, or some way which will secure the same accommodation. The plan of making the table the unit of space instead of the readers will automatically solve the problem of how much room to give each reader.

[Illustration: FIG. 46.--Periodical Rack on Elevated Platform (Section 162).]

The table illustrated (Fig. 45) gives the following accommodation:--

Six square feet of free table-top with a sunk ink-well.

A back board six inches or nine inches high to prevent overlooking by neighbours, and provide space for ruler and pen racks, shelves, clips, etc.

A sloping writing desk can be added if required.

Shelves under the table for holding extra books, materials or an overcoat.

An extension slide to pull out and form a book-rest or supplementary table for papers.

In addition, if space permits, an umbrella holder can be fitted to the left-hand support of the table, so that each reader will be isolated and self-contained.

=162. Periodicals, Tables and Racks.=--The question of the methods of displaying periodicals and magazines is discussed in