Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/316

292 example, that when the temperature 1 foot from the floor was 64 degrees, it was 74 degrees 10 feet above, and 82 degrees 19 feet above. Of the Cincinnati Library it is similarly reported that when the temperature 6 feet from the floor was 65 degrees, it rose to 124 degrees in the upper gallery.

The skylight portion of the centre of the hall is domed, and about 15 feet higher than the highest alcove; no doubt this helps to keep the alcoves cool, as the hot air would naturally ascend to the centre first, and there escape through the exits. The provision of a separate reading-room, instead of placing the readers at tables in the open centre of the library hall, is much more conducive to their comfort, although it increases greatly one defect of this kind of building, viz., the distance the attendants have to travel for some of the books required.

The cost of the entire building, which includes a conservatoire of music, a gallery of art, and lecture-rooms, was $517,000; the cost of the library portion is reckoned at $342,000.