Shelving for folios and quartos should be provided in every book room.

Straight flights are preferable to circular stairs.

The form of shelving which is growing in favor is the arrangement
of floor cases in large rooms with space between the tops of the
bookcases and the ceiling for circulation of air and the diffusion of
light.

Modern library plans provide accommodations for readers near the books
they want to use whatever system of shelving is adopted.

Single shelves should not be more than three feet long, on account of
the tendency to sag. Ten inches between shelves, and a depth of eight
inches, are good dimensions for ordinary cases. Shelves should be made
movable and easily adjustable. Many devices are now in the market for
this purpose, several of which are good."

Don't cut up your library with partitions unless you are sure they are
absolutely necessary. Leave everything as open as possible. A light
rail will keep intruders out of a private corner, and yet will not
shut out light, or prevent circulation of air, or take away from the
feeling of openness and breadth the library room ought to have.

For interior finish use few horizontal moldings; they make traps for
dust. Use such shades at the windows as will permit adjustment for
letting in light at top or bottom, or both. The less ornamentation in
the furniture the better. A simple pine or white-wood table is more
dignified and easier kept clean than a cheaply carved one of oak. But
get solid, honestly-made, simple furniture of oak or similar wood, if