short-lived “wow factor” at the expense of long-term pragmatic and functional use of the facilities.
Stella: This new edition addresses all of this in some detail as well as seeing the need to have buildings that last, but can be adapted as community needs, technology and facilities evolve. Changes to library design were evolving but the pandemic had accelerated these.
Can you talk us through Better by Design – what did you want to achieve and how did you go about doing that? Stella: We wanted to bring information up-to-date, of course, but also to retain the idea of a practical handbook for library professionals and students. We were conscious that we did not want this edition to go out of date in the same way, and to this end introduced, instead of case studies, a series of “Library Links”. Each of these was a brief box of informa- tion on a relevant recent library build- ing or refurbishment, giving bite-sized information about its unique features and then referring to key online sources of information for readers to pick up. This gets round the issue of information becoming out of date. Similarly references were often to online sources now. We brought in more information on ways to create flexible spaces, the relative ease of refurbishing complex historical buildings now that technology has moved on to make this easier than it was 10 years ago. This also chimes with the issues brought about by the Covid pandemic, and we were mindful of the likelihood of future pandemics of Covid-like or other highly infectious diseases, where adapt- able spaces might be required to allow for social distancing or isolated spaces.
36 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
Stella Thebridge.
Ayub: Another key expanded part of the book was the need for community engage- ment from the outset of a new build or refurbishment project, and there is a lot of detail showing ways to do this creatively and meaningfully, taking account of the whole community not just those who used facilities in the past, nor of those who an- swer surveys. The examples in the library links show how usage has increased ex- ponentially when there has been effective community engagement across the board. This should happen whether the library is a national icon or a local facility.
Who is it for. What will readers take away from it? Ayub: The book is for members of the library profession and students but also for architects, who may not have much experience of the wide-ranging needs of libraries and archives in terms of being both repositories, lending facilities and hubs for a wealth of creative and commu- nity activity. Readers should take away an overview of the latest thinking in library design and the need for whole community
consultation throughout the library’s life, from planning through the build, opening and years of its use.
Budgets are likely to face a squeeze over the next few years, so what steps can hard-pressed library services take to improve design to meet new user-needs? Stella: Where library professionals feel they need new or updated facilities, they would do well to get the commu- nity behind them with creative and workable ideas. This is more than “save the library” questionnaires, and takes time, but doing homework first to see what the whole community wants, and what is feasible in terms of re-designing space without major structural altera- tion is key. Finding out what works and does not work is time spent well. It is costly to change design later in the pro- cess, so time spent planning will save both time and money in the long run.
New builds take the headlines, but what can be done for re-fits and repurposed buildings?
December 2022
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