Page:Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture.djvu/165

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CHAPTER VII

BRITISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES: ABERDEEN, BELFAST, BIRMINGHAM, BLACKBURN, BOOTLE, BRISTOL, CHELTENHAM, DARLINGTON, DERBY, DUBLIN, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW

In the following chapters short accounts are given of the architectural features of about sixty libraries in England, America, and on the Continent. The descriptions are brief, and are in nearly every case illustrated by plans, which will give a good idea of the arrangements of the buildings and disposition of the rooms. In the selection of the libraries to be described, an attempt has been made to choose representative examples of the different types of buildings likely to be of most use to the librarian and architect.

The Aberdeen Public Library was erected in 1892 from the plans of Mr. Alexander Brown of that city. It consists of three floors, the ground floor being chiefly occupied with the news-room, which is 66 feet by 45. It has been provided with stands for thirty-four newspapers, and has accommodation for 120 readers at the tables. The specifications of patents are also stored on this floor, and may be consulted in a small room opening out of the news-room.