Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/140

116 A comfortable chair should be provided for the reference reading-room. One without arms is to be preferred for use in the news-rooms. In some libraries, where space has to be greatly economised, chairs are furnished with revolving tops, and are screwed to the floors. This allows a narrower passage between the tables than can be obtained if the chairs are movable. A word of caution may be

given against the use of benches or forms in newsrooms. They are unsightly in appearance, and a great nuisance to those who have to use them. Several attempts have been made to render the movements of the chairs noiseless. In rooms whose floors are covered with thick cork carpet the noise is not noticed to any great extent; but in large reading-rooms, where the boarded floors are bare, the constant movement is a nuisance. Rubber