Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-19
Science, Fiction and Philosophy
Shooting the Chutes.
MOVING TEE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY
Novel Processes Adopted in the
Transfer of Valuable Volumes.
MODERN METHODS IN VOGUE

tol just now. 1t Is really not INDUCED in
1or pastime, however. but is done in strict
i ly serious business sense, as the books
are being removed from the old Congress
sional Library in the Capitol building to
the new library. The work of removal was
begun this week, but is just now tempor-
artly delayed owing to the necessary prepa-
ration of the volumes in the Capitol before
| they can be transferred to their lew home
Books. like people, cannot be moved helter
skelter. They must be prepared for the
transferral, and this work is going on at
present. so the ''chutes" are having a
temporary rest.
One of these chutes extends from the
east portico of the Capitol to the plaza, and
! IS simply long, narrow wooden trough, in
| which the specially constructed boxes are
placed with the volumes inside and slid
down to the plaza. Then they ere lifted
from the chute and placed in the wagons
and taken to the lew library building.
Most of the mataria! removed so far has
oeen copyright material, all musical COM
positions, unbound periodicals and dupli-
Gates of books
The Chutes Described.
The chutes extend at first from the old
| library floor to the fourth floor. When the
books from these floors have been taken
down in the little boxes, with handles,
which just slide easily in the troughs, the
| chute will be dropped to the floor beneat th
and the same process is INDUCED in The
arrangements are most complete in every
particular.
All of the books to be transferred receive
| first an outside label. The work of prepar-
| ing them for their new resting places is
a job both arduous and particular. Great
! care has to be taken to have this done ex-
actly, or the results would be a woeful
mixing of volumes. Almost the same effect
hn ,lr,,~<
| nails on trunk line railway 1t would hard
| ly do for congressman piously inclined
to send message through the pneumatic
tube for the latest edition of Cushing's
manual and receive in return beautiful
book in red. white and blue, on How to
Beat the National Game-An Up-to-Date
treatise on Poker as Played Through Six
teen Administrations. Therefore it can be
seen that the ticketing of the books takes
| special care. There is no truth however
In the rumor that every volume is opened
with prayers.
| .a- The Process of Labelling.
All of the volumes receive. an outside
label This label is firmly glued to the
back The grand division is marked en-
each and also the subdivision. This is to
| show where they will CO. in order to be ar
| ranged with all books on the same subject
They will further receive the figures of dis
tinctfve deck or floor of the new building
| to which they will go for permanent ar
| rangement. They are marked with sepa-
rate number for each shelf besides color,d
| labels, assigning the volumes to their
proper shelves in the new library building
The shelves in the new library building
| are of rolled steel, light and firm, instead
| OF cumbrous iron, and are nearly as
smooth as glass, the surface being galvan-
| lied by the Bower-Barff process.
Work of the Experts.
The library experts are at present busiy
| engaged in ticketing the volumes. AS they
are finished they are placed in the boxes
| shot to the floor, where they are lifted 10y
hand and carried through the Capitol cor
rldors to the east front, where the process
of shooting the chutes is again gone
through with. When the volumes reach
| the bottom they are lifted into the carts
and removed direct to the new building. A
Waterman accompanies each cart, so that
by no possibility can a volume be taken
or lost.
When the cart with the boxes arrives at
the new building the boxes are lifted out
and taken inside, where the pneumatic
hose is turned on them. This is an original
idea with Superintendent Green of the new
! library. Down stairs in the basement is
the huge compressed air tank for the au-
tomato pneumatic service through the trH-
mel connecting the library with the Capitol,
its length being about 1,30O fee. This is
to convey messages for books from the
Capitol the cable which takes them being
in the same place.
VIII Keep the Books Clean.
The air tank has been utilized fo- the
purpose Of busting the books. A long hose,
with nozzle on the order of that on
watering pot, has been come ,ted with the
air tank. The nozzle is turned on the boxes
of books, and the visitor, unaware of the
method to be employed stands aghast at
the idea of the volumes being drenched
with water.
A stopcock is turned There Is a
sound like that made by the air brakes on
a car when it slows up at a station. The
dust is everywhere in second-but on
the volumes, which are taken to their final
resting places.
The only insect which has been discov-
cred so far In removing the books is the
cockroach, which never troubles the old
books, but is attracted by the paste on the
new ones. The old volumes are all dry
as dust and there is no insect which could
find anything about them to subsist on.
The work of transferring the volumes
will take at least five or six weeks. 1t is
thought At different times there will be
employed daily from twenty to sixty tenn
porary persons until the removal is COM
pleted. The day laborers will be employed
by the superintendent of the building.