Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/95

Rh position, is liable to be bent and damaged by being trodden upon. A better adaptation of the principle would be to screw on each upright of all the book5, at a suitable height, a metal ferrule, and a similar one at the base of the upright. The top of the iron stays nearest the table-shelf should be bent at right angles to drop into the ferrules, and the bottom of the stays would similarly slide into the ferrules fixed to the uprights. If the table-shelf is not intended to support a great weight, a cheaper and better plan would be to screw beneath it a bracket of iron or of wood sufficiently deep to hold it at right angles to the bookcase, and merely hang it on to the metal ferrule by a straight hook. The convenience for many purposes of such a movable miniature table will be apparent to any one who has had to work in the narrow gangways of a book store.

In some towns branch lending libraries are open for a few hours only, generally in schoolrooms, on certain nights of the week. The system of folding bookcases designed by Mr. Charles Virgo for the Bradford central library seems well adapted for use in such cases. It is, of course, necessary to have the books under lock and key during the daytime, and this is generally done by providing an ordinary door to the bookcases. In Mr. Virgo's plan the inside of the door is itself shelved for books, and when shut is closed against the fixed portion of the bookcase, thus keeping the books secure from prying fingers and damage from dirt and dust. The bottom of each shelved door is