Much of the fixtures and furnishings at Knight Memorial, including the built-in bookcases, wood paneling and glass panels that enclose the rear office space on the main floor, are original to the building The opaque stained glass panels installed above the catalog, and also found elsewhere around the building, have depictions of famous printers’ marks and publishers’ book plates from around the world.
The substantial card catalog was designed to hold up to 400,000 cards and features an ingenious locking mechanism, invented by the architect himself, that enables drawers to be pulled in either direction, either by a patron in the public area, or a library staff member in the cataloging room at the rear. Readers and staff would consult the card catalog to locate books and other materials stored in the three levels of stacks below, which would be transported between floors via a book elevator. The physical card catalog has long been replaced by an online digital catalog but Knight Memorial staff still find inventive ways to use some of the drawers, such as to store a free plantable seed library, or create displays.
The massive circulation desk, shelves and many of the other fixtures were produced by the Library Bureau of New York, which proudly featured Knight Memorial in a number of its advertisements placed in American journals during the 1920s. In the original Children’s Library downstairs, chairs, tables and benches of different heights accommodated young readers of various ages. All the original oak furniture in the library had a base band of Tennessee marble.
