‘‘ Library Design
Designing libraries for a digital age
W hile physical
collections of books and materials lie at the heart of any library, and the
space to accommodate them and make them accessible is always a major design consideration, librarians, architects, designers and suppliers alike are having to think creatively about the meaning and purpose of library spaces – for learning, creativity, interaction, collaboration, communication, performance, participation. The digital revolution, not only in terms of content itself, but how content, collec- tions and information are presented, has taken us well beyond what in the begin- ning might have been seen as ‘add-ons’ to core services – public computers, ebooks for lending, self-service terminals for con- venience – to a much wider integration of library functions, staff roles, technology and user habits and expectations of what they can actually do in a library and how much control the user has over how that is done.
That is one of the main consequences of the revolution – the move from guided or mediated transactions in clearly defined functional spaces to more open and barrier-free self-determined activity. I am thinking of some of the new libraries of Finland and Denmark, for example, where a library might host up to a thou- sand programmes a year led by users themselves and partner organisations, or the library is used for public meetings and discussions where citizens decide the agenda for themselves.
A creative industry
Looking, as I do, each year at the supply industry and the innovative networks
7 BG layout 2020
spare3.indd 5 23/01/2020 19:59
of creative people in the industry who genuinely believe in the power and importance of libraries, it is possible to reflect on some of the trends reshaping library services and library spaces. The first and perhaps the most important of these is accepting the need to integrate the user in the planning process from the beginning – as a given. And this means more than online surveys or a ‘have your say’ opportunity for half-finished, half-thought through design concepts. It can mean calling on the skills of social anthropologists, urban planners, creative consultants and using techniques such as the creative card games of Aat Vos (www.
aatvos.com).
The makerspace movement is now coming into its own, and new libraries are doing more than just attaching a makerspace function.
David Lindley (
david@designinglibraries.org.uk) is Executive Director of Designing Libraries, a Community Interest Company.
www.designinglibraries.org.uk.
open+ at Kalk Library, Cologne. Photo ©
bibliotheca.com
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