He made it easy to grab books. Franklin, a bibliophile, assembled one of the largest personal libraries in the colonies. To accommodate his books, he had to install shelves he could not reach. A born adapter, Franklin reconfigured a chair, adding hinged steps a user could swing into place and ascend as if on a ladder. Franklin sat in the chair while presiding over American Philosophical Society meetings in his library, leading acquaintances to call the piece of furniture “the president’s chair.” Another of Franklin’s book-related creations was the “long arm,” a board fitted with a cable that controlled two “fingers” at one end. A tug on the line caused the wooden appendages to close like a thumb and forefinger. Now largely absent from libraries, this device, in metallic form, sees use as a highway cleanup tool. (Library Chair with Folding Steps, 1760-80/Attributed to Benjamin Franklin/Mahogany, leather and metal/American Philosophical Society. Gift of Richard Bache, 1792/Photo credit: Brent Wahl)