A great starting point for cramming up on library design
AS the title would suggest, this is a very compre- hensive overview of the history and development of libraries, which covers all the elements today’s library designers need to consider.
Divided into two main sections – the principles of library design and example projects – the book is a collection of essays, or chapters, by the USA-based co-authors and other well-qualifi ed, international contributors. Rudorf and Wong are both architects who specialise in “interi- or architecture” whilst the late Nolan Lushington, who contributed to the project before his death in 2013, was a library scientist turned library design consultant.
Adapting to a digital world
The authors’ basic premise is that libraries have had to redefi ne themselves in an increasingly digitised world. The 34 international case studies – dating from the late 1990s to the “present day” (2015) – were chosen “to demonstrate multi-directional strategies to stave off extinction, maintain and even strengthen this institution”. The assumption is that libraries will continue to adapt and change, as they have done throughout their history. The chapter on library refurbishment suggests that library buildings need major interior makeovers between four and 10 times during an average lifespan of at least 80 years. These are necessary to meet changing “customer demand and client behaviour” and to “keep the library vivid, visible and vibrant”. The manual looks at diff erent types and sizes of library – national, public and academic – and at how they have developed over time. In addition, the book is both a prac- tical guide to construction or refurbishment – covering everything from lighting and layouts to structural loads and working with architects – and a consideration of the social context and widening role of the modern library. Taking a historical sweep at the subject works well. However, it takes such a long time to get a library design from the planning stage to completion that the thinking can be fi ve years old or more by the time it’s fi nished. And some of the most recent libraries are not included – notable examples being Aarhus in Denmark or Worcester- shire’s combined university and public library – The Hive.
More post-occupancy refl ection
What really matters about new or redesigned libraries is how well they work, so it would have been good to see a bit more refl ection on post-occupancy behaviours and patterns of use and sustainability. I would also have liked more on designing libraries as joint use centres or community hubs. That said, if you need to cram up on library design, for whatever reason, this book would be an ideal starting point. The book itself is beautifully presented and is a halfway house between a technical manual and a cof- fee-table book with some gorgeous illustrations of modern and historic libraries.
Ayub Khan Vice President CILIP (President 2018), member of IFLA Library Building and Equipment Committee, former Principle Project Offi cer, Library of Birmingham
December-January 2017/18 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 43
Lushington, N., Rudorf, W. & Wong, L. Libraries – a design manual. Basel: Birkhauser, 2016. ISBN: 978 3 0346 0827 5. £81.99. Also available as an e-book.
The Arabian Public Library in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Santo Domingo Library in Medellin, Colombia.
Book Reviews
pp41-43.indd 5
07/12/2017 14:43
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