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BOOKS for the MILLION
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Page 107
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RE was a time, and not so long ago at that, when the local public library, a Victorian-Gothic edifice of gloomy
splendour, was notable principally for its warmth and proof against the rain. It was used largely by the old-age pensioner, the unemployed and the student. It was supervised by a highly qualified and dispirited person, well able to advise on any reading material, from Abelard to Zola, and the turnover rate was remarkably low.
In nearly every case, the atmosphere of the past, an unpleasing compound of board school and under-capitalized institution, has given place to bright reading rooms, with well-stocked and wellindexed shelves. In spite of, or perhaps because of, television and the compulsion of the flickering screen, more books are read today than ever before.
Wide Selection
Most issues come from the fiction shelves hut the non-fiction sectors, biography, travel, history and technical works are being used increasingly. Libraries and county education authorities work in close touch.
With the more enterprising local authorities, the service of bringing the library to the reader was a post-war development. It followed, naturally enough, the Service tradition of welfare, in which most things, including cinemas, canteens, Ensa Follies and blood banks, came on wheels. It was appreciated that funds would scarcely stretch to providing every village and new housing estate with B38 a library. But a mobile library, for most authorities, was a practical possibility.
Many of the earlier mobile libraries were somewhat crude conversions of vans or single-deck buses. Some of them are still in action, but many more fell by the wayside because there is more in their successful construction than meets the eye. The basis of trouble is normally that the .load is carried on the walls ofthe vehicle and not on the floor: a conversion is seldom tough enough for the job, except at the cost of weight.
Each local authority has its own ideas about the right vehicle for the job and takes a number of factors into consideration before producing a specification for tender. Few mobile libraries, even in remote country districts, are required to eoVer an annual mileage of more than about 10,000. What is of more importance is the nature of the routes they travel in all weathers. Thus, wheelbase, turning circle am power available to carry a load o between 2,000 and 3,000 volumes are du most important requirements. Tht degree of luxury of the interior fitting depends entirely on the money available Librarians appear to be fairly evenl! divided as to the desirability of tht baronial ball" and " contemporary ' styles.. Coachbuilders are happy tt produce either.
Several chassis have been fount entirely suitable for this type of body work. The Austin 2-3-tonner, Bedfort 3-tonner, Karrier Gamecock, Guy Vixen Morris and Thames are all giving goot service in different counties. Somt examples have extended chassis, but, on the whole, drivers prefer the improved lock of the standard wheelbase.
Certainly, a quantity-produced chassis of 2-4-ton capacity appears to meet requirements admirably. Outside this range, at least one authority is using a Leyland Comet and others favour the 10-15-cwt. van conversion, which normally carries about 800 volumes.
So far as the layout of the interior is concerned, it is a matter of quot homines, tot semen:lee. The most important feature to decide is where the borrowers' -door is going to be placed, for that will largely determine the location of the librarian's counter and the shelving.
Today, there appears to be some agreement that the main door should be on the near side and to the rear of the cab, allowing sufficient space for a transverse counterbehind the seats. Alternatively, the door can be placed in
front or behind the rear axle, with the counter installed in front of the rear panel. For reasons of movement within the vehicle, it is desirable to have the counter adjacent to the entrance-exit.
In view of the problems associated with carrying weight on the walls, bodybuilders prefer to make the shelving,' an integral part of the wall-roof structure. Books, on an average, weigh 1 lb. per thickness, and vary in depth between 8 in. and 14 in. The shelving must be inclined to prevent the books cascading on the corners and a fairly deep retaining lip is essential.
Translucent Roofing Most libraries being built today make use of one or other of •the translucent materials available for roofing. Natural light is supplemented by fluorescent tubes. Coach-type ventilators,are Mounted in the roof and a good heater. is supplied,
Doors can be arranged to slide into the wall panelling or to hinge outwards, for fixing to tjle body exterior. Refinements appreciated by. readers include draught screens built up' from. the steps and grab rails of the bus type.
Most local authorities, in their specifications, make the job . of a mobile librarian and the driver . as comfortable as possible. Cab seats can be arranged to reverse to form office chairs behind the folding counter and corner cupboard space can be designed as a wardrobe and wash-basin unit.
Matching cupboards are usually required to carry reserve stocks of about 600 volumes. The counter houSes stationery and filing cabinets, and a firstaid kit should be readily accessible.
In other minor respects the 'mobile library should be finished to bus standards. The quality of the flooring material and the safety of the entrance steps are important, for the vehicle Will be used by children and the elderly in
much the same way as a bus. Arrangements should also be made for an emergency exit, normally at the rear.
County librarians who have wide experience of the operation of travelling libraries are emphatic on three things: they use a vehicle of sufficient power and size to do the job, they employ a coachbuilder of repute, and they greatly increase their turnover of hooks issued. The mobile library is a rural service with a bright future.