a question: whaddaya call those small ladders for home libraries?

I'd call 'em "ladders".

brodart.ca supplies all things for home and public libraries, including "ladders". I just searched their site for 'ladders' and here's a sample:

Maybe not as good as you want, but very serviceable:

Did you try google?

Here is one in mahogany:

Like this?

Jo Ann

Thanks, but what I'm looking for would be a little more upscale -- you know, carved mahogany or oak, with a little elegance to it for use in the library of my home. I have enough trouble keeping my house from looking like a warehouse as it is! Thanks for the link, though.

Jim Beaver

All of the suggestions have been nice, but I'm looking for something quite specific. I've seen them in bookstores. They're wooden, with two or three steps, and on one side is a pole of carved wood for holding onto for balance. I've seen them so often, I thought they'd be easy to find online, but no luck so far. Maybe I'll just hit a few bookstores until I find one and steal it...I mean, look at the label and see who makes them.

Jim Beaver

Like this one?

(Not cheap)

Carol S.

Yipes. Yeah, that's basically it, though, except the ones I've seen were not curved. Thanks.

Jim Beaver

Bookstores have to buy them somewhere -- find one you like and ask the shop where they got it. A lot of times that's the best way to get industry-specific fixtures. The shop might even sell you one for a very low markup, considering the margins they're used to getting on books.

You could just clamp a length of EMT to the side of a regular stepladder.

Here's one from Rockler.

Jerry