Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/222

198 is of similar size to the lending department, over which it is placed. It has a domed roof in the centre, supported on ^columns, and is lit by windows in the clerestory, as well as by others in the side walls. The books are shelved all around the walls, and the tables for readers are placed in the centre. A room for magazines, 41 feet by 24 feet, with a ladies' room, 20 feet by 16 feet, and a committee room, 24 feet by 16 feet, complete the accommodation provided on this floor. A residence for the librarian is provided on the second floor; and in the basement a book-store for about 30,000 volumes, together with the usual rooms for heating, &c.

The Bishopsgate Institute was erected in 1894, from the plans of Mr. C. Harrison Townsend. It provides a lecture-hall, lending library, and reading-rooms for the inhabitants and employees of the eastern portion of the City of London.

A plan of the ground floor of the portion of the building devoted to library purposes is given in Fig. 90. It will be seen that the lending library is in the front of the building, a reference reading-room at the back, and an office for the librarian forming a connecting link between them. On the first floor the whole of this area is devoted to a large reading-room for newspapers and magazines, which seats 130 persons, and also provides reading stands for seventy newspapers. The basement is excavated for a bindery and book-stores, and the total shelf capacity of the building may be estimated at 60,000 volumes. All the public rooms are 15 feet 6 inches in height. The corridors and staircases