[Illustration: FIG. 4.—METAL SHELF FITTING.]
Shelf fittings for wooden book-presses are required in all modern
libraries where movable shelves are almost universally used. Cases
with fixed shelves are much cheaper than those fitted with one of the
button or other spacing arrangements now in the market, but the serious
disadvantage of having to size the books to fit the shelves disposes
of any argument that can be urged on behalf of fixtures. There are
many varieties of shelf fitting designed to assist in the necessary
differential spacing of shelves, from the old-fashioned, and by no means
cheap, wooden ratchet and bar arrangement to the comparatively recent
metal stud. The fitting which is most often adopted in new libraries is
that of Messrs. E. Tonks, of Birmingham. It consists of metal strips,
perforated at 1-inch intervals, let into the uprights of the cases
and small gun-metal studs for supporting the shelves. As is shown in
the illustration, the studs fit into the perforations and support the
shelves on little points which sink into the wood, and prevent tilting
or sliding. The strips should not go either to the top or bottom of
the uprights, and at least two feet can be saved in every division by
stopping 6 inches from both ends. Though rather more expensive than
pegs, or the studs mentioned below, it is very desirable to have Tonks’
fittings, because of their superiority to all others in the matters of
convenience and ease in adjusting. Another form of stud often used is
the one shaped like this [Illustration] which fits into holes drilled
in the uprights and supports the shelf on the lower rectangular part.
These are most effective in operation when let into grooves as broad as
the studs, otherwise the shelves must be cut shorter than the width of
the divisions; and in that case end spaces are caused and security is
considerably sacrificed. The peg part of this stud is very apt in course
of time, to enlarge the wooden holes, and when any series of shelves
have to be frequently moved, the result of such enlargement is to make
the studs drop out. If perforated metal strips are used, of course the
price immediately goes up, and there is then no advantage over the Tonks’
fitting. Another form of peg for use in the same kind of round hole is
that similar in shape to the pegs used for violins, and, like them,
demanding much judicious _thumbing_ before they can be properly adjusted.
There are many other kinds of shelf fitting in the market, but none of
them are so well known or useful as those just described.