Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Third General Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Waukesha, Wisconsin, July 4-10, 1901
Science
Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Third General Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Waukesha, Wisconsin, July 4-10, 1901
American Library Association; Library science -- Congresses
Architects of experience, who have been students of library development
in its every branch, who have followed the changes in the relations of
the library to the people, have reached the same conclusions along broad
lines, as have the librarians, with respect to lighting, access,
oversight and administration, as well as the general correlation of
universally important departments, and it is therefore my purpose to
state our relationship rather than attempt the raising of issues on
details of library arrangement, and to show if possible, that the
skilled architect's method of procedure tends to settle mooted points by
weighing values and considering relations of parts in a logical and
broad minded study of the particular set of conditions pertaining to his
problem.
Either owing to the size, shape or contour of the site, its particular
exposure, local climatic conditions, the particular character of the
library itself or the people whom it serves, the problem presented to an
architect by a library board is _always_ essentially a _new_ one.
Certain fundamental rules may obtain through their universal
applicability, but every step in the working out of a successful plan
must be influenced by the particular conditions referred to, and here
the co-operation of the librarian is of inestimable value to the
architect, no matter how wide his experience may be.
Desired correlation, like most results, can be achieved in divers ways,
and in most cases nothing of utility need be sacrificed to secure a
dignified plan, which is as much to be desired as a dignified exterior.
Realizing the importance of accomplishing successful results, a
scholarly architect will strive to mould his plan with an eye to
symmetry, without losing sight for an instant of the conditions of use,
and never sacrificing practical relationship to gain an _absolutely_
symmetrical arrangement of plan.
The French architect will, if necessary, waste space or inject needless
rooms into his plan to secure perfect balance, while his American
student will gain all the value of the _effect_ without diminishing the
practical value of his building one iota.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account