open-shelf
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of open-shelf
First recorded in 1815–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To stimulate all students, Ransom thought up the university's now-abuilding $4,000,000 "academic center," containing an open-shelf library of 250,000 books.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is from this common-folks-education point of view that the advocate of the open-shelf system looks upon the question of library administration.
From A Library Primer by Dana, John Cotton
When the open-shelf library was first introduced we were told that one of its chief advantages was that it encouraged “browsing”—the somewhat aimless rambling about and dipping here and there into a book.
From A Librarian's Open Shelf by Bostwick, Arthur E.
The books were taken from the open-shelf room.
From The Nation Behind Prison Bars by Herr, George L. (George Lewis)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
