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     DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
vening floors intercept the greater portion of the light which enters
from above. It may be said in conclusion that the points made by the
expert, each of which is of considerable weight, are re-inforced by
the fact of the danger of great loss in case of fire: the danger arising
from the compact massing of the books, and the latter inviting the
flames along their backs and edges; although, on the other hand, it
must be admitted that the occurrence of fire is a remote contingency,
since the metallic cage of the stack is practically a fire-proof structure.
   Of the system just reviewed the Boston Public Library is the most
conspicuous example. Its merits in the service of the people have
been already tested by a term of years, and they have been found to be
many and great. Therefore, the stack system can not be condemned
in the face of its proven value; while additional confidence in its
worth arises from its adoption in this instance; the scheme of the actu-
ally existing Boston Library having been promoted by a highly en-
lightened public, fostered by wise legislation, largely aided by private
munificence, and developed by the most competent specialists: a com-
bination rarely paralleled in our country, and presumably sufficiently
strong to prevent lapse into grave error. As a work of architecture,
this great organism can not be dismissed without comment, which
must be reserved until later, in order to gain a basis of comparison
with another type of library, differing from it in methods of service
and consequently also in structural features.
   This opposing type, shown in the Newberry Library, in Chicago,
represents what may be termed a decentralized system of arrange-
ment, which is sometimes also named from the noted librarian, Poole,
who developed it into practical usefulness. It is of too recent origin
and employment to warrant valid criticism of its excellences or its
defects, which, like those of the stack system, must be subjected to the
judgment of time and service, the only authoritative tribunals. It is
possible, therefore, but to describe what advantages it aims to afford
and what errors to avoid, as well as to hazard an opinion as to its
effect upon the external appearance of the building in which it pre-
vails. To the centralized, compact masses of books characteristic
of the stack system it opposes a series of department libraries; plac-
ing each of these collections on a separate floor, or in a separate room,
in a building with fire-proof floors and partitions, by which fire can
be limited, and the loss occasioned through it confined to a single sec-
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