Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/168

144 in the front of the building, is placed a reading-room for ladies, 20 feet square, and on the right the librarian's office.

The second floor is occupied with rooms for art gallery and museum, which are lit from the roof. Residence for a caretaker is provided in the north-east angle of the building, and the heating apparatus is placed at the rear of the building, the chimney being carried up inside a ventilation shaft, with which the reading-rooms are connected by conduits in the walls.

The central library at Birmingham was destroyed by fire on 11th January, 1879, and rebuilt and opened in June 1882. The new building is much larger than the one it replaces, although the site and elevation are practically the same. In the old building provision had been made for a patent library and a museum and art gallery. These are now housed elsewhere, and the space thus obtained is wholly occupied by the library proper. It is situated on a corner site, with its principal entrance placed at the end farthest from the corner. The vestibule is 32 feet by 12, and opens into a hall 28 feet by 60. Entrance is obtained here to the lending library and news-room, which are in one room, divided by pillars. The news-room is 100 feet in length by 64 in width, and 26 feet high. The lending library portion is a wing 82 feet by 75, and forms a square projecting from the longest side of the news-room, part of the space being occupied by a private staircase and rooms for the staff. The books are