The decoration of the interiors of libraries should in all cases be severely simple, and kept subordinate. The book stores, to which the public are denied access, do not require much decoration, and if severe economy is necessary, the brick walls may be left exposed to view, without even covering them with plaster. It should always be remembered that the use and storage of books is the raison d'etre of the building, and that if the public rooms are so ornamented and decorated as to become show-places for sightseers, the readers will be disturbed, and the proper use of the library will suffer. In the new building of the Boston Public Library no expense has been spared to make the large reading-room, with its approaches, one of the finest in the world. The entrance hall and staircases have been decorated by Puvis de Chavannes, the greatest modern master of decorative design. Artists like Abbey, Sargent, and Whistler were commissioned to adorn the delivery and reading-rooms, and a magnificent temple of art is the result; but the rooms are more suitable for a museum or art gallery than for study, the purpose for which they were built. The beauty of the place attracts numbers of visitors daily, who audibly express their admiration or criticism, and careful reading under such conditions is impossible. It is a pity that the mistake should have been made of attempting to so beautify this noble building that it shall be regarded by the average man rather in the light of an art gallery than of a place for literary work and study.
