Usuario:Pato apático/Librero
Un librero es un mueble con estantes horizontales que sirve para almacenar libros.
Historia[editar]
Cuando los libros eran escritos a mano y no eran producidos en grandes cantidades, eran almacenados en pequeños encases que los dueños (generalmente los ricos y el clero) llevaban consigo. Al acumularse los volúmenes de manuscritos en las casas religiosas o las casas de los ricos, se almacenaban en estantes o alacenas. Estas alacenas son los predecesores directos de los libreros actuales. Después las puertas de estos muebles fueron desechadas y esto dio inicio a la evolución del librero. Sin embargo los volúmenes no eran acomodados como se hace ahora. Si estaban en posición vertical se acomodaban en montones, si estaban en posición vertical se acomodaban con el lomo hacia la pared y su otro extremo hacia afuera. La banda de cuero, vitela o pergamino que cerraba el libro a menudo tenía inscrito el título, por lo que este parte daba hacia el exterior del mueble.
No fue sino hasta que la invención de la imprenta redujera los costos de la producción de libros, por lo tanto dando a más gente acceso directo a tener libros, que se empezó a escribir el título del libro en el lomo y a acomodar los libros con el lomo hacia afuera en los libreros.
Los primeros libreros fueron hechos de roble. Este material es considerado por muchos el más apropiado para la construcción de libreros en bibliotecas elegantes.
It was not until the invention of printing had greatly reduced the cost of books, thus allowing many more people direct access to owning books, that it became the practice to write the title on the spine and shelve books with the spine outwards. Early bookcases were usually of oak, which is still deemed by some to be the most appropriate wood for an elegant library.
Oldest bookcases[editar]
The oldest bookcases in England are those in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, which were placed in position in the last year or two of the 16th century; in that library are the earliest extant examples of shelved galleries over the flat wall-cases. Long ranges of book-shelves are necessarily somewhat severe in appearance, and many attempts have been made by means of carved cornices and pilasters to give them a less austere appearance--attempts which were never so successful as in the hands of the great English cabinetmakers of the second half of the 18th century.
Designers and manufacturers[editar]
Both Chippendale and Sheraton made or designed many bookcases, mostly glazed with little lozenges encased in fretwork frames, often of great charm and elegance. In the eyes of some, the grace of some of Sheraton's satinwood bookcases has rarely been equalled. The French cabinetmakers of the same period were also highly successful with small ornamental cases. Mahogany, rosewood satinwood and even choicer exotic timbers were used; they were often inlaid with marquetry and mounted with chased and gilded bronze. Dwarf bookcases were frequently finished with a slab of choice marble at the top.
Library shelving[editar]
In the great public libraries of the 20th century the bookcases are often of iron, as in the British Museum where the shelves are covered with cowhide, or steel, as in the Library of Congress at Washington, D.C., or of slate, as in the Fitzwilliam Library at Cambridge.
Systems of arrangement[editar]
There are three stationary systems of arranging bookcases: Flat against the wall; in stacks or ranges parallel to each other with merely enough space between to allow of the passage of a librarian; or in bays or alcoves where cases jut out into the room at right angles to the wall-cases. The stack system is suitable only for public libraries where economy of space is essential; the bay system is not only handsome but utilizes the space to great advantage. The library of the City of London at the Guildhall is a peculiarly effective example of the bay arrangement.
For libraries where space is extremely tight there is yet another system, usually called mobile aisle shelving or high density storage. In such systems rows of bookcases are mounted on wheels and packed tightly together with only one or more aisles between them. It is possible then to visit only two bookcase sides at a time, all the others being pressed close together. A gearing mechanisim allows users move the bookcases and open the aisle in the desired location. Because of the danger of tripping on the floor mounted rails or being squashed between bookcases these systems may have electronic sensors and/or recessed track, or are reserved for closed stacks where access is restricted.
Literature on bookcases[editar]
The construction and arrangement of bookcases was learnedly discussed in the light of experience by W. E. Gladstone in the Nineteenth Century for March 1890.
The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski also discusses the shelving of books in some detail.
See also Sympson the Joiner and the early glazed bookcases made for Samuel Pepys.
References[editar]
Este artículo incorpora texto de una publicación sin restricciones conocidas de derecho de autor: 
Varios autores (1910-1911). «Encyclopædia Britannica». En Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Encyclopædia Britannica. A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, and General information (en inglés) (11.ª edición). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; actualmente en dominio público.
