Reading room -Reader Activity Area in library building-library management

The reading room should be located nearest ° to the document collection concerned. The minimum reading space required upon the maximum number of people who may be using the reading room at a time. A thumb rule is to make provision for about 10% of the members or potential user community. Based on that, provision has to be made for suitable type and number of tables (much more space is needed for a newspaper reader as compared to a book reader)- and chairs have to be provided. There should be adequate space left for moving around without disturbing other readers. For books and periodicals reading rooms, roughly 1 sq. meter  area is to be provided for  each reader space in a public or academic library and the same may go upto 2.75 sq. meter in a special library, In other words, space per reader