The article "Best Practices - School Library Design" seems to take on the engineering side of library design. Lighting is not something that I would have thought about right away, but it makes sense to take this into consideration when planning a library. Now that I think about it, the lack of lighting in my school library kind of bothers me. It is in the interior of the building, so there are no windows and the lighting is not especially bright. I also wouldn't have thought about the electrical outlets, but again, that definitely makes sense because of all of the technology.I think an open space is important to be able to provide plenty of space for groups to work and for learning to take place.
The next article, "Library Design - Flexibility and the Future" is all about keeping the layout of the library flexible as possible. I love that the electrical outlets in Dakota Meadows Media Center, the school in the picture, are in the floor. In my school, the electrical outlets are either located on the wall or the techs installed power poles that go from floor to ceiling. I power poles give you a little more flexibility than wall outlets, but they still make it difficult to arrange the computers. I somewhat disagree with Johnson about not planning for technologies that do not yet exist. I think that you have to plan ahead to an extent. Don't go overboard, but still be prepared for the changes that will inevitably come.
As I was reading Doug Johnson's article, "Theory Into Practice - Rolf Erikson on Third Place Libraries," I was thinking that the new Chelmsford library sounds like a dream library! I am glad that Rolf Erikson mentioned that not all libraries have that much space to work with because that it very true, especially in smaller schools. The first school I worked in had a library that was not much bigger than a regular classroom! That doesn't provide a lot of space for changes!
The next link contained many links to existing libraries. I really enjoyed looking at the photos and reading about the existing libraries. I did notice some similarities - most of the libraries had plenty of tables and varied types of seating. Many of them also had comfy chairs. Another thing I noticed in several libraries and fell in love with was the diner-style seating. I can imagine that would be a hit with the students! I loved the window seating in the Allen Centre library! What a wonderful area for kids! I also really loved the "Once Upon a Time" entrance at the Brentwood, TN library. However, it looked like there were mainly shelves and not a lot of open space. I was also shocked by the drastic changes to the Chelmsford library! I mentioned before that this library seems like a dream library, and the pictures didn't let me down! I was shocked to see all of the gates that were there before the remodel! No wonder the students didn't want to visit! The libraries in the School Libraries Project reminded me of bookstores. They all looked so neat and put together.
Reading these articles made me anxious to get into a library!
I think the lack of natural lighting is probably the librarian's biggest complaint.
ReplyDeleteI hate what power poles do the aesthetic of the library. I know that a lot of times there isn't a choice but it really looks like an after thought.
Libraries often started out as a classroom or two classrooms put together. Needless to say, that doesn't lend itself to a production area or much flexibility at all.