Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/94

70 to the shelves, it is necessary to have shelf guides or labels to indicate the contents of the cases and divisions. These are best made of tin or brass, sufficiently long to slide on and fit tightly to the shelves. The front portion, which alone is seen when the shelf is full of books, has a turned-over edge, into which printed cards containing the classi

fication can be slipped. These are readily removable, and by their use the books can be closely classified upon the shelves.

A handy contrivance is shown in Fig. 24, which is used in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. It is a movable table-shelf, which can be fitted to any bookcase where required, and taken away again. In front of each case, at a height of about 3 feet 6 inches, is fixed a length of gaspipe, a similar length being also fixed about 6 inches from the ground and 4 inches from the case. An iron stay at each end of the table-shelf is provided with hooks, which fit on the bottom rod and over the top one, so forming a comparatively firm support. It is rather costly, as each bookcase must be permanently fitted with the two rows of gaspipe, and the bottom row, from its