Library stack: Difference between revisions
Ehrenkater (talk | contribs) |
→Open vs closed stacks: there's a bit too much detail on Dana and Carnegie |
||
| Line 27: | Line 27: | ||
Stacks were typically envisioned for access by library staff fetching books for patrons waiting elsewhere (a "closed stack system") and so their design was often unsuitable for public access. A wish to make stacks more accessible to the public,<ref name="ELH" /> the desire to construct buildings adaptable to changing uses,<ref name="petroski" /> and concerns over the feasibility of storing comprehensive collections of books{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}, contributed to the decline of the 19th century Snead design. [[Angus Snead Macdonald]], president of the Snead Company from 1915 to 1952, advocated for the transition to modular, open plan libraries.<ref name="ELH" /> The National Library of Australia holds its reserves in various buildings, while offering a user-friendly "interface" area. It is typical among libraries in the 21st century in operating a Collection Delivery Service whereby readers lodge requests, which are delivered to a reading room.<ref>https://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-servicehttps://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-service</ref> |
Stacks were typically envisioned for access by library staff fetching books for patrons waiting elsewhere (a "closed stack system") and so their design was often unsuitable for public access. A wish to make stacks more accessible to the public,<ref name="ELH" /> the desire to construct buildings adaptable to changing uses,<ref name="petroski" /> and concerns over the feasibility of storing comprehensive collections of books{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}, contributed to the decline of the 19th century Snead design. [[Angus Snead Macdonald]], president of the Snead Company from 1915 to 1952, advocated for the transition to modular, open plan libraries.<ref name="ELH" /> The National Library of Australia holds its reserves in various buildings, while offering a user-friendly "interface" area. It is typical among libraries in the 21st century in operating a Collection Delivery Service whereby readers lodge requests, which are delivered to a reading room.<ref>https://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-servicehttps://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-service</ref> |
||
== Open |
== Open versus closed stacks == |
||
Until the late 19th century, almost all public libraries worked in a closed stack system. In the late 19th century, open stack libraries began to grow in popularity, partially due to the efforts of well-known librarian and former President of the [[American Library Association]], [[John Cotton Dana]]. |
|||
In the design and administration of any library, a key decision is whether its stacks will be ''open'' or ''closed''. In an open-stack library, patrons are free to enter the stacks to browse the collection and retrieve items that interest them. In a closed-stock library, only library staff are allowed in the stacks; patrons must use the catalog to identify books they want, and request that staff retrieve them. Until the late 19th century, most public libraries had closed stacks system, but toward the end of that century open stacks increased in popularity. |
|||
When Dana became the librarian of the [[Denver Public Library]] in 1889, the first thing he did was abolish the closed-stack system and make the library's materials accessible to all library patrons. While there were other libraries instituting open stacks in their buildings, Dana was the first in the history of public libraries to bring open stacks to a children's room. In 1894 Dana created a children's room with open shelves in the library.<ref>{{Cite book|last=1966-|first=Mattson, Kevin,|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/64770874|title=The librarian as secular minister to democracy : the life and ideas of John Cotton Dana|date=2000|publisher=[University of Texas Press]|oclc=64770874}}</ref> |
|||
A notable proponent of the open-stack system was [[John Cotton Dana]], who became head of the [[Denver Public Library]] in 1889.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mattson|first=Kevin|title=The librarian as secular minister to democracy: The life and ideas of John Cotton Dana|year=2000|publisher=University of Texas Press|oclc=64770874}}</ref> |
|||
Dana also introduced changes to the [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] public library and the [[Newark Public Library]]. |
|||
The first few [[Carnegie libraries]] used the closed-stack system, but later Carnegie libraries were designed to operate with open stacks.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murray |first=Stuart|title=The Library: an illustrated history|year=2009|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-62873-322-8|oclc=855503629}}</ref> |
|||
Besides Dana, another big proponent of open stacks in libraries is [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=1948-|first=Murray, Stuart,|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/855503629|title=Library, the : an illustrated history|date=2009|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-62873-322-8|oclc=855503629}}</ref> He is known not only as a steel magnate, but also as a philanthropist who over the course of his life donated over 90 percent of his wealth to charities, much of which went into the building of libraries. |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
Revision as of 00:08, 28 November 2021
In library science and architecture, a stack or bookstack (often referred to as a library building's stacks) is a book storage area, as opposed to a reading area. More specifically, this term refers to a narrow-aisled, multilevel system of iron or steel shelving that evolved in the 19th century to meet increasing demands for storage space.[3] An "open-stack" library allows its patrons to enter the stacks to browse for themselves; "closed stacks" means library staff retrieve books for patrons on request.
Early development
French architect Henri Labrouste, shortly after making pioneering use of iron in the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve of 1850, created a four-story iron stack for the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[4] In 1857, multilevel stacks with grated iron floors were installed in the British Library.[3] In 1876, William R. Ware designed a stack for Gore Hall at Harvard University.[1] In contrast to the structural relationship found in most buildings, the floors of these bookstacks did not support the shelving, but rather the reverse, the floors being attached to, and supported by, the shelving framework. Even the load of the building's roof, and of any non-shelving spaces above the stacks (such as offices), may be transmitted to the building's foundation through the shelving system itself. The building's external walls act as an envelope but provide no significant structural support.[4]
Library of Congress and the Snead system
The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress was completed in 1897. This is where this type of book storage was first used. The engineer in charge of construction was Bernard Richardson Green. He made a number of alterations to the Gore Hall design, including the use of all-metal shelving. The contract was won by the Snead and Company Ironworks, which went on to install its standardized design in libraries around the country.[1] Notable examples are the Widener Library at Harvard and the seven level stack supporting the Rose Reading Room of the New York Public Library.[3]
The Library of Congress bookstacks were designed and patented by Green. Although the structure was of cast iron, the shelves were made from strips of thin U section steel, designed to be as light as an equivalent pine shelf. The top surface of the U section was ground, polished and 'lacquered' (the constituents of the lacquer are not known). Green designed the stacks to be modular, able to be erected several stories high as a single freestanding structural entity incorporating staircases and floors, and even capable of supporting a roof structure. He designed the shelves so that they could adjust to book sizes using a simple lug system without the need for any bolts or fixings. Although the bookstacks were decorated and very simply embellished, they are of machine-age industrial design.[5]
Stacks were typically envisioned for access by library staff fetching books for patrons waiting elsewhere (a "closed stack system") and so their design was often unsuitable for public access. A wish to make stacks more accessible to the public,[4] the desire to construct buildings adaptable to changing uses,[3] and concerns over the feasibility of storing comprehensive collections of books[citation needed], contributed to the decline of the 19th century Snead design. Angus Snead Macdonald, president of the Snead Company from 1915 to 1952, advocated for the transition to modular, open plan libraries.[4] The National Library of Australia holds its reserves in various buildings, while offering a user-friendly "interface" area. It is typical among libraries in the 21st century in operating a Collection Delivery Service whereby readers lodge requests, which are delivered to a reading room.[6]
Open versus closed stacks
In the design and administration of any library, a key decision is whether its stacks will be open or closed. In an open-stack library, patrons are free to enter the stacks to browse the collection and retrieve items that interest them. In a closed-stock library, only library staff are allowed in the stacks; patrons must use the catalog to identify books they want, and request that staff retrieve them. Until the late 19th century, most public libraries had closed stacks system, but toward the end of that century open stacks increased in popularity.
A notable proponent of the open-stack system was John Cotton Dana, who became head of the Denver Public Library in 1889.[7] The first few Carnegie libraries used the closed-stack system, but later Carnegie libraries were designed to operate with open stacks.[8]
See also
- Bookcase
- Harvard Depository
- An example of recent proposals regarding 21st century library stacks
- A controversial undertaking by the New Zealand National Library to dispose of half a million books from its stacks (a little over half of its reserves).Reactions and opposition.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Snead Company (1915). Library Planning Bookstacks and Shelving. Architecture Press. pp. 11–12, 152–158.
- ^ Lane, William Coolidge (May 1915). "The Widener Memorial Library of Harvard College". The Library Journal. 40 (5): 325.
- ^ a b c d Petroski, Henry (1999). The Book on the Book Shelf. Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 167–168, 170–172, 184, 191.
- ^ a b c d Wiegand, Wayne, ed. (1994). Encyclopedia of Library History. Garland. pp. 352–355.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Snead cast iron bookstack features at Hindman's Chicago sale (18 November 2018)". salvoweb.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ https://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-servicehttps://www.nla.gov.au/collection-delivery-service
- ^ Mattson, Kevin (2000). The librarian as secular minister to democracy: The life and ideas of John Cotton Dana. University of Texas Press. OCLC 64770874.
- ^ Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: an illustrated history. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-62873-322-8. OCLC 855503629.
| Production | |
|---|---|
| Consumption | |
| By country | |
| Other |
|
| Related | |
