15 Not So Known Library Facts

Trivia is a guilty pleasure of mine.  I'm not always great at it, but if you ask me who the nurse was that survived three sinking ships (the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic) or what the name of the first music video aired on MTV was, I can tell you (answers at the end)!  So, as I continue to lead you further into my recent design book, Libraries - A Design Manual by Lushington, Rudorf and Wong, I thought you might enjoy the history a bit better in a fun fact format.

There's really so much great information in this text that covers the history of Libraries.  And in order to better understand how a modern day Library can be built more efficiently and effectively, it's important to grasp how far we've come.  So without wasting another moment, here's my list of 15 Not So Known Library Facts:

FACT #1

In 1442, it was thought that home Libraries should be adjacent to the husband's bedroom and also facing the direction of the "sunrise at equinox".  I'm sure the first belief was because men were assumed to be the more prominent readers then but the latter was said to be important because the sunlight was most useful for reading in the mornings.

FACT #2

In 1524, Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to build a Library to house all the manuscripts collected by the Medici family.  Up until that time these documents were kept safely in one of their family buildings.  Now this fact may not intrigue you as much as it does me, but I am fascinated by the Medici family and all their devious shenanigans.  So knowing they had such a large Library and that it was protected and housed by the Pope at that time gives all the more evidence to how far-reaching their political hand was.

FACT #3

The Trinity College Library in Cambridge was built in 1676 and modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.  

FACT #4

In the early 19th century, it was thought that the outside of a building should "suggest as much as possible, its designation and interior function."  This theory has been hard to sustain over the centuries but in some cases can still be seen with some structures.  Classic architects thought it made sense to design from the inside out.  But most buildings need to consider their surroundings in such a way that lends itself to the overall external appearance whether that indicates the internal uses or not.

FACT #5

Also in the early 19th century, an architect named Nicholas Durrand proposed plans for multiple buildings to be made available to the public.  These were to include museums, theaters, hospitals, schools, courts of law and of course the Library.  Before that time, this had never been done.

FACT #6

History shows that the primary design for Libraries for many centuries was that of a central reading room, large and open, with embedded wall shelving.  By 1930, this style changed dramatically since large open reading rooms were no longer convenient to shelved book storage, hence the birth of the modern-day Library style.

FACT #7

In 1776, there were only 15 publicly accessible Libraries in the colonies and they were located mostly in Pennsylvania, New York and New England.  By 1800, that number grew to 64 Libraries with a collection of about 50,000 books. 

FACT #8

By 1876, there were 3,674 public Libraries in the US with a collection of around 12 million volumes.

FACT #9

It was in 1886 that the Carnegie Libraries were created and made possible through funded grants from Andrew Carnegie who was a very wealthy man.  It was his tremendous wealth (created by his hand in the steel industry) that not only funded Libraries but also paid for thousands of church organs in both the US and other countries.  He was also responsible for establishing many colleges and other schools.  And fun fact, upon his death, he was buried in Sleepy Hollow, NY!

FACT #10

The Boston Public Library was established in 1848 and was the first to offer books to the public to borrow and take home.  This caused a huge demand for more books and subsequent buildings were constructed to house the collections.

FACT #11

Around 1897, the "great Library innovator John Cotton Dana" spoke on what he felt was good Library design.  His thoughts were as follows:  "make your buildings adaptable to new conditions . . . avoid permanent partitions . . . stairs are bad in any library . . ."  You gotta love that last one!! 

FACT #12

In 1926 Joseph Wheeler (director of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore) and architect Githens created a revolutionary Library layout design that is somewhat similar to what we use today.  "The large open book collection of 150,000 volumes was organized by subject matter departments that surrounded a central hall."  The main floor was accessible by street access and lots of windows drew in patrons.  This gave the feeling of downtown department stores.  An information desk was centrally located inside the building.

FACT #13

Next came the modern Library in 1933 brought about by architect Angus Snead Macdonald who created his idea of the Library of the Future based on modular and flexible design and movable furnishings.  "He emphasized flexibility, economy, informational comfort, and a reliance on artificial illumination and ventilation."  The problem with this was that different Libraries had different uses and needs for those spaces so the recommended one-size-fits-all column grid didn't work for everyone.  There would still be work to be done on Library design standards.

FACT #14

In 1948, the ALA put together a publication called, "A National Plan for Public Library Service" which covered how to build effective Libraries.  I imagine this would be very dated information now but if you could get your hands on a copy, I'm guessing it's a pretty interesting read.  I've also found where in 1943 they wrote a "Post War Standards" book for public Libraries.  

FACT #15

By 1950, the minimum adequate tax base for Libraries was 100,000 people and this became the standard for Libraries all over the nation allotting for "3 to 5 books per capita and 5 seats for every 1,000 people served."  These numbers are astounding to me.  Probably because in the design business, calculating occupancy loads gives people a LOT more room than these numbers accounted for back then.

That's all the historical facts I have for this week.  I want to dive further into the breakdown of where Library design is headed and how this relates to the past standards for Library design as I continue to work through this text.  But for now these historical facts should give you a brief glimpse into how far we've come. 

As always, the best way to stay connected is to join your colleagues that have already become members by joining my DIY Library Design group.  Ask questions!  I would love to help in any way that I can.  And I've left the book reference below in case you need it.  

Join the Conversations Today - DIY Library Design Facebook Group

 *Book Reference - Libraries A Design Manual by Lushington, Rudorf and Wong

P.S.  It was Violet Jessop that survived all three of those notorious sinking ships and the first ever music video to hit the MTV airwaves was Video Killed the Radio Star.