The New Reading Room.

The plans for the new library reading room, to be built of the money recently given to the university for that purpose, have already been roughly sketched by librarian Justin Winsor and given to the architects, Shepley, Rutain and Coolidge of Boston to plan.

According to these preliminary plans, the building will consist of a rectangular reading room, 100x70 feet, which will seat comfortably 400 persons at one time. About the walls of this room will be placed, in suitable cases, the reference books which the different alcoves now hold.

projecting from three sides of this central room will be a series of small rooms to be used as consulting places for the instructors of the different departments. This series of outlying rooms will be entirely upon the ground floor, a sloping roof, about 15 feet above, forming the ceiling. Above this roof will be placed the large windows, thus making a kind of clerestory, and affording an abundance of light.

On the third side of this central reading room, and connecting it with the stack of Gore Hall, there will be a semi-circular delivering room, where books from the library may be called for and returned.

The whole building will cover a space of about 20,000 square feet. It will be constructed of light colored brick, and its general external appearance will be that of a plain, light and very commodious building.

This rather plain form has been adapted in order that at some later day an opportunity will be given for other additions, since this building is intended to be as the nucleus about which, suitable to the wants of the university, a great library can be built.

The estimates already made provide for an electrical plant by which this reading room as well as the other college buildings may be lighted. This will then make the reading room accessible in the evenings, thus doing away with the necessity of taking reference books out for over night.

The new reading rooms when completed and furnished will without doubt be the finest in respect to space, light and convenience in the country. The work in the building will be pushed as fast as possible as soon as the necessary plans have been completed and it is hoped to have it ready for use a year from the present time.

As soon as this building is under way the corporation of the university will attend to the remodelling of Gore Hall. The old reading room will be altered and additions will be made to convert it into a bookstand, relieving the present overcrowed one and thus making room for the great number of books which are constantly being added to the library.