[7] Its namesake was based on The Tabard Inn, located in Southwark, South London, depicted on some of its bookplates.

Its unique appearance was a tall wooden revolving bookcase with a square hip roof including two link dormers.

It had a message at the top, just under the roof, wrapped around each side with the text: "The Best Reading Rooms In the United Staes Are the Homes of the American People".

The rotating display stand, or spinner rack, could be turned by hand to see books available on each side.

Shields and subjects are engraved on two opposite sides including Fiction, Politics, Mechanics, Biography, Poetry, Religion, History and the front door has a brass slot, and says "The Tabard Inn Library – Exchange Station".

A plaque on one side is engraved with the motto "With all the Red Tape on the Box" in shaky arts & crafts lettering.

In Front Royal, Virginia, a Tabard Inn library had been setup in 1903 by Mrs. B. M. Cone with the initial plan of $1.50 for membership with exchange tickets (aka book checks) for 5 cents each, or six for 25 cents when a Library was not present in the rural mountain town.

[19] The exchange station was illustrated in many newspaper ads across the country for both shop-keepers and potential members, often describing how the library system worked.

Bookplates were found inside the front cover displaying the address of the home offices in Philadelphia, PA on Chester or Walnut Street.

Others displayed information in how the Library System operated, Seymour Eaton as the librarian, or a rendition of the Old Tabard Inn.