Ligue des Bibliothèques Europeénnes de Recherche, Groupe des Cartothécaires de LIBER
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Remodelling of the Map Department and Globe Museum of the Austrian National Library
Franz Wawrik, Map Department, Austrian National Library
© LIBER and author
Published from: Bulletin Ligue des Bibliothèques Europeénnes de Recherche, 28(1986)
The year 1984 has brought a long awaited and urgently needed expansion of library facilities and a remodelling of rooms for the Austrian National Library. The Map Department, which is also bulging at the seams, profited from these changes too. Founded in 1905, the department first consisted of only one room -the old reading room- but had to be enlarged several times because of the steadily growing stock. At present it takes up all the fourth (top) floor of the part of the Imperial Palace situated between Josefsplatz and Augustinerkirche. The public entrance leads up a flight of 137 stairs, the last part being a narrow iron spiral staircase, which is to be closed for public use as it no longer meets the requirements of the building codes. In future the Map Department will be approached via the staircase that now leads directly from Josefsplatz to the Manuscript Department. Very close to that staircase a new elevator is being built which can also be used for transporting maps and other large objects. All this, however, necessitates a re-arrangement in the Map Department both of the use of the rooms and of the organization of work.
The three functional areas peculiar to a library -public, working and stock areas- should be separated as far as possible, but this can only be partly achieved in the Map Department because of the existing arrangement of rooms. The Globe Museum and the reading room are to move to new rooms close to the elevator. We have been lucky to gain a lot more space because the whole working area of the Department of Printed Books is being removed to the Neue Hofburg, and part of the attic above the Map Department will be adapted for our use. This permits the enlargement of our storerooms and the erection of a branch of the Institute of Restoration belonging to the National Library. On the whole, the floor area of the
Map Department (including the Globe Museum) will grow from 1,120 m2 to 1,600 m2 (Fig. 1). However desirable for the accommodation of the collection, it must not be overlooked that a larger department, situated on two different floors, with longer distances to be covered (for example when locating objects) and more difficult observation of readers, will lead to a serious shortage of staff.
The remodelling described here can, however, only be the first phase of a long-term extension of the Map Department which will take several years to complete. The final aim should be a geographical collection that is up to the present requirements but also able to meet future needs.
After this general review let me give you some details:
Distances in the public area should be as limited as possible, and the arrangement of the rooms designed for public use should have some logical sequence. Directly after the entrance into the Map Department there is a small room with coin-operated lockers as well as toilet facilities. The next room is the catalogue room, in which the generally accessible catalogues and reference books will be available. An exception will be those bibliographical references that exist only as manuscripts or only in one single copy. These are to be placed in an adjacent room in which a permanent information service will also be located. The reading room provides space for 24 readers, taking into account the fact that users of maps generally need more space than readers of books. Sufficient illumination (2,000 Lux) must be provided. In order to maintain the same standard of efficiency, two library assistants will be required, one to supervise readers and issue books and maps, and the second to collect and put back the items in the storerooms. He must also operate the copying machine, assist with library routines, and maintain the shelves in the reading room in off-peak times. The assistant in charge of the reading room will also have to supervise the entry area and the catalogue room via a television monitor. A two-way radio system would be desirable for the two assistants.
An information service, provided on a rotational basis by the professional librarians, will be located next to the catalogue room. The professional journals will also be shelved there, so that readers can look up articles themselves under the supervision of the librarian on duty. The professional librarians will remain in their present facilities, as these have good lighting conditions. The room has three big windows to the south-west which makes it possible to work without artificial light for several months of the year. This large office has working space for four officials, in addition to sufficient temporary storage space and map drawers for storing new acquisitions while they are being processed, although modernization of the room is essential for current requirements. The adjacent room can no longer be used as the reading room, as it is too far away from the elevator and the entrance to the department; instead, it will be converted into an office for the deputy head of department. The spiral staircase will remain in use for staff access and for the photo studio accommodation above. The head of the Department will have a room in the so-called 'Stöckl', behind the present Globe Museum. A conservation workshop is planned for the adjacent big hall, which has running water available. The corridor where the room of the director and the workshop are to be located will also accommodate duplicates.
Further desks for special readers or temporary additional staff as well as library trainees will be provided in the storage room and in the former reading room.
Principally, the bulkiest materials as well as those in most frequent use will be shelved closest to the reading room. Large-format books will be placed in the reading room though these will not be directly accessible to readers. The next smallest sizes, namely folios, will be placed in a storage room next to the reading room ('Depot 3'). By the way, most of the antiquarian atlases fall into this category. Further details about the arrangement of the collections of the department can only be worked out after the determination of the strength of the floor. It must be taken into account that map cabinets which cover an area of about 1.5 m2 weigh about 800 to 1,000 kilograms. That requires a floor strength of 600 kilos per m2. Three storage rooms are proposed: two repositories for new maps and for topographical views; and the present reading room for: antique maps of the former Fideikommiss-Bibliothek (i.e. maps of the former Habsburg family library), maps presented to the Map Department after World War I by the Graphische Sammlung Albertina, and maps of the Institute of Military Geography dissolved after World War I.
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A large safe is required for valuable items which could be built into the existing alcove in the present reading room. The present globe museum will be converted into a book store. A
new store, probably for maps, possibly also for pictures, will be available in the reconstructed attic, which will be connected by staircase to the Map Department. Smaller collections of specific materials can be shelved in the 'Stockl'.
The expansion of the library requires more staff. I have already mentioned a second library assistant, but one more assistant librarian will also be needed, whilst a professional restorer should also be employed. Library hours should be extended to include one open evening each week.
At the Globe Museum a guard will be stationed at the entrance during opening hours, at present Monday to Friday, 11-12 o'clock; here, too, longer opening hours would be desirable. The exhibits will be arranged so that visitors will proceed from the newer to the older globes. An additional storage room for new and less attractive objects will be located in the attic and will be reached via an iron staircase within the museum. An adjacent room could be used for the relief models which were recently incorporated into the Map Department.
We are fortunate in that the rooms of the future globe museum receive almost no natural light, so that with artificial lighting, which has very little ultraviolet content, optimum light levels can be achieved. In order to obtain the required temperature and humidity, an air-conditioner is required, as summer temperature can be more than 30º C in the attic, and the relative humidity can become too low. We have to guard against air pollution, too, which can reach high levels in Vienna's inner city First District. Items requiring special protection, such as the fifty volumes world-famous Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem with its parchment bindings, or the portolan charts, will probably also be placed in the air-conditioned museum.
The total area of the Map Department and the Globe Museum will increase from the present 1,120 m2 to 1,597 m2, i.e. by 43 %. The reading room, now 119 m2 will be 157 m2 with an additional catalogue room of 30 m2. This additional space makes it possible to build up a larger reference library with important maps and atlases for the use of the reader. The Globe Museum will be increased to an area of 256 m2 from the current 175 m2.
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