REPLANNING OF LIBRARIES

Though special libraries are now accepted as an integral part of most commercial and industrial‐concerns, most societies and institutions, they are rarely housed in premises suited to their needs. Few special librarians have the opportunity of planning a new library, but more frequently are they faced with the problem of adapting premises which at the outset are totally unsuited to library purposes. Special librarians should be very critical of premises which are offered to them. Anxiety to get a few extra square feet of room should not sway the librarian to accept a room where the windows are badly placed, the radiators taking up wall space needed for shelving, buttresses breaking up the wall surface, uneven floors, inadequate ventilation, etc. The practice of housing the library in the Board Room or Conference Room is fortunately passing, but should be resisted very firmly as impracticable.