[PW] Origin of the term "stacks" (in the library)

[Douglas Anderson]

There is a chapter on "Bookstack Engineering" in Henry Petroski's "The
Book on the Bookshelf" (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999).  A quick
scan of it doesn't seem to turn up any concise explanation for the use
of the term, though my general impression from having read the book
some years back is that the term refers not to horizontal stacking of
books, but to the general idea of stacks of books (held up by
shelves), if that makes any sense.

The OED entry gives 1879 as the first occurrence of the usage in
English, but Petroski on p. 169 says "The idea of keeping books in
stacks out of sight of general library patrons arose in Italy and
Germany as early as 1816, but it was in the Bibliothèque
Sainte-Geneviève in Paris that the concept of a closed bookstack was
first fully realized" [in 1843].

Not a clear answer, I'm afraid, but perhaps it sheds some light on
some history of the notion.

-- Doug A.


On 8/7/07, ALAN GREEN <green.200 at osu.edu> wrote:
> One of our professors would like to know, why do we call them "stacks" (i.e., the book stacks)?  Did libraries formerly stack books flat in piles on the shelves (or the floor, or on tables), before moving to the current vertical shelving system?
>
> The "Stack" entry in OED provided no help for this question.  Please copy replies to my address, as I am not a list subscriber.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Alan Green
> Music Librarian, Ohio State University
> green.200 at osu.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> Project Wombat
> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
>


-- 
Douglas E. Anderson, Reference Coordinator
Ashtabula County District Library
335 W. 44th St.
Ashtabula, OH 44004 USA
440/997-9341
http://www.acdl.info/