Sectional view of the New York Public Library

Sectional view displays the seven main floors of bookstacks in the heart of the library, freely perused by wandering readers. Above sits the main reading room. Contrary to usual library practice with the ground floor serving as the main reading space, the NYPL reversed orientation for improved light and ventilation. And at the center is the new building’s pièce de résistance: a complex system of elevator pulleys and pneumatic tubes moving a steady stream of books up and down through the mammoth structure. Now that’s what we call a circulating library!