IN A WORLD WITHOUT CASTINGS


Would America’s Libraries House So Much Knowledge?


Andrew Carnegie, the American library system grew drastically around the start of the 20th


Supported in part by massive private investment from century. Not only


were hundreds of new libraries opening, the individual locations were larger than those organized and supported solely by local communities. Massive expansion projects demanded a new type


of bookshelf, different than the typical wooden model with fixed shelving. Te newly designed libraries needed bookshelves that could accommodate rapidly growing collections. For example, the New York Public Library, opened in 1911, installed a total of 75 miles of shelving. Snead & Company Iron Works, Louisville, Kentucky,


a manufacturing business that included an iron casting facility, designed, patented and manufactured a new style of shelf that became ubiquitous in the new libraries. Te shelves featured cast iron columns that provided struc- tural reinforcements to the building. Te shelves had a notched “Z” that allowed them to be moved up and down to accommodate different sized books.


The stacks featured cast iron columns and movable shelving to maximize capacity.


The New York Public Library installed 75 miles of shelving for its opening in 1911. 26 | MODERN CASTING March 2016


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