found in the use of the new "sliding-presses,"[1] which are hung in front of the old ones as they fill up. This, of course, is not the only purpose served by them, as they will in course of time enable an increased number of books on every subject to find a resting-place, and make the number of books contained in the library nearly twice as large as the original presses were expected to hold; nearly, we say, as in many parts of the library there is not room for an additional press in front of each old one.
If we pass to considerations of space we shall find that the fixed-location system wastes space horizontally, but economises it vertically to an enormous extent. The subject-classification being of necessity a rough one, the books in each division will obviously be numerous, and may be sorted according to size into a large number of classes, each of which can have a shelf or shelves allotted to it, nicely calculated to fit. If constant shifting had to be provided for, this would of course be impossible. It will be evident too that the larger the library, the larger will be the number of sizes into which the books may be sorted, and the greater the proportionate gain of vertical space. In the British Museum the arrangement of the shelves and the pegs that support them allow of a change of ½ inch up or down; anything more minute would be of no practical advantage.
The Relative-Location system is almost universal
- ↑ For a detailed description of these the reader is referred to Mr. Burgoyne's book on "Library Architecture," in this Series.
