Library shelves

[MikeG.]

One of my forthcoming jobs includes designing a private library. This will be in solid timber, and I am curious as to whether or not there are timbers to avoid. Do any timbers (or any finishes) react with books?

 

[Doug71]

MDF can be a bit saggy.......

 

[MikeK]

I am interested in this as well, now that I've convinced my wife she doesn't need a bunch of book wheels. Until you asked the question, I was leaning towards cherry or walnut, since I have a local source for these.

 

[MikeG.]

MDF can be a bit saggy.......

I don't think there will be any MDF within about 5 miles of the project, literally.

 

[Coyote]

How much time would there be between finishing and it being used? I'd imagine any oil based finish could be drawn into the paper unless enough time could be left for it to cure completely.

 

[MikeG.]

I don't know the answer to that, but I have no doubt that we could control that to an extent. If we specify a beautiful library and agree a finish with the clients but tell them they'd need to wait X amount of time before filling the shelves, that would obviously play into the decision.

 

[Eshmiel]

The major factor for library shelving is likely to be the flexure of the timber employed to make shelves unsupported other than at their ends. The degree to which various timbers flex under a load depends not just on the species but on its individual characteristics such as it's density, straightness (or otherwise) of grain, how the grain runs in a shelf component, thickness of timber used, loads to be carried per length of shelf and so forth.

You can find technical information about all this is Hoadley's "Understanding Wood" and probably in several other learned tomes of that ilk. "Cut & Dried" by Richard Jones for example, recently published by Lost Art Press, is likely to have a lot of information about timber flexure as well as a hundred other properties of wood used in cabinet making.

Few timbers are going to off-gas or otherwise emit something likely to interfere with paper in books. Camphor, cedar and similar maybe ....... Pines might ooze resin on to an expensive item, I suppose.

Eshmiel

 

[custard]

I've seen library shelving in Oak, Pine, Walnut, Cedar, Sycamore, and Sweet Chestnut, there's probably others that I've forgotten about! They all seem to have worked out well enough.

Regarding finishes, there a dizzying range of possibilities. For the shelves themselves I personally like a really simple 1/2lb or 1lb cut of shellac brushed on. It also gives a decent, inert barrier between the books and the wood. I tend to use this for the inside of desk drawers for the same reason.

 

[AJB Temple]

Most of the original library shelves in the Oxford libraries were oak. Including the few remaining ancient examples where books were chained to shelves and reading slopes. Traditional I know, but will last forever and accept wear and wide range of finishes.

Book conservators seem happy with oak.

 

[thetyreman]

I love the look of open grained woods like oak, ash and elm for bookshelves...

 

[MikeG.]

The major factor for library shelving is likely to be the flexure of the timber employed to make shelves........

That bit I can manage.

 

[AJB Temple]

We are probably seeming unimaginative. In my mind the books are the star attraction. How about making all the shelves out of glass, with ground edges.

 

[Yojevol]

Avoid anything that's got bookworm

 

[Doug71]

Will it have one of those ladders on wheels, it's on my bucket list to build someone a library incorporating a ladder on wheels.

 

[Jake]

British Library does not have that strong feelings apart from enamelled metal is the gold standard. The only real concern it mentions is VOC concerns and it makes that sound a bit perfectionist and suggests a solution. Preservation guides | Conservation | British Library (library and archive storage furniture).

Then I drifted out of curiousity into pages on museum cabinets etc and wood is BAD in those circles, particularly acidic or resinous ones, and coatings are another minefield.

How valuable are these books? British Library advice of an acid free paper shelf liner (over whatever you want to use) sounds down to earth.

 

[MikeG.]

That's excellent Jake, thanks.

 

[MikeG.]

Will it have one of those ladders on wheels, it's on my bucket list to build someone a library incorporating a ladder on wheels.

It might do.

 

[MikeG.]

We are probably seeming unimaginative. In my mind the books are the star attraction. How about making all the shelves out of glass, with ground edges.

No, it's going to be solid wood in a heavy classic style.....breakfront units with glazed doors, big carved pediments, and so on. I think the clients will probably suggest mahogany. The budget would probably build a small house.

 

[PAC1]

Many Barristers Chambers have Mahogany or Oak Bookcases full of the heaviest books you can imagine. I have never seen problems with them. The books are invariably hard covers so the paper is elevated slightly off the shelf. Some of the books will be 150 years old as many law reports started circa 1870s (some much older but rare). The American (Norm) design of "Barristers Bookcase" does not chime with any I see in the UK, more like the description of the one you are making.

 

[MikeG.]

To be clear, I'm not making this. I'm wearing my architect's hat and designing it (and I haven't even got close to starting it yet). I just know it's on the horizon, and wanted to be informed of the issues before having conversations with the other architects and with the clients. This project is a collaborative one, but I've put my name on the library....I've always wanted to design one. Just as a clue, it is going to be along the lines of this sort of thing, grabbed from the internet:

.........but maybe with glazed doors along the lines of this one: