designm-shain

August 11, 2016 × designm-shain

Charles E. Shain Library, Connecticut College, New London

Schwartz/Silver Architects renovated a mid-1970s building to create a thoroughly modern academic library. A glassy new exterior with large windows replaces an imposing façade, creating an inviting entrance that allows more light to enter the library. The renovation also added a new research commons and a digital scholarship and curriculum center.

Project: Renovation and expansion

Architect: Schwartz/Silver Architects

Size: 100,000 square feet

Cost: $9.9 million

Photo: Paul Burk

Charles E. Shain Library, Connecticut College, New London

Latest Library Links

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Robin Camille Davis writes: “So you want to hear from real people who use your library! There are many user research methods to choose from. Interviews let you get at the why and the how, not just the what. You could easily use surveys to ask a large number of your users which library services they use. But only an interview can tell you why your patrons seem to use virtual references services often but never the in-person information desk.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Jan. 6
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Katherine Knox writes: “Linked data is a system of organizing information with the goal of making it easier to share and find new information, something which is very appealing to libraries. But methodologies for cataloging library materials are very slow to change. Converting libraries to a linked data system is complicated. Catalogers typically don’t have the capacity, authority, or software to test out new cataloging methods. Not all integrated library service discovery platforms used by public libraries have incorporated linked data into their search results. Nevertheless, libraries around the world are converting to linked data, especially archival repositories.”

Public Libraries Online, Jan. 6
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Chris Perez writes: “The Louisiana Supreme Court is allowing a defamation lawsuit filed by Amanda Jones, a Livingston Parish librarian accused of promoting pornography and ‘erotic contents’ to children, to be reheard, saying she has a right to have the ‘very specific allegations’ hurled against her two years ago proven in court by her accusers after the case was tossed out due to a late appeal. Jones sued Citizens for a New Louisiana, the group that brought the allegations forth, in 2022. Jones says she was attacked after speaking up at a public meeting about library censorship that year.”

Law & Crime, Dec. 30; American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct. 2023
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Andy Peters writes: “A recent trend in mixed-use developments is to center the project on a distinctive property to provide a sense of character and place, be it a sports stadium or a historic structure. One Texas town is taking a different page from that book. In the growing Austin suburb of Cedar Park, city leaders and their private development partner chose a new library as its central focus. Other cities are considering whether to make a library a central point in redevelopment efforts.”

CoStar News, Dec. 31
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The US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas declared Arkansas Act 372 unconstitutional December 23 in an opinion indicating that the law is overbroad and void for vagueness. The law would have subjected librarians and bookstore owners to criminal prosecution for making materials available on library and bookstore shelves that could be deemed harmful to younger minors, and mandated a procedure in public libraries whereby individuals may challenge books based on “appropriateness” (an undefined term). The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition that included Arkansas libraries, ALA’s Freedom to Read Foundation, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and readers. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said he will appeal the ruling.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Dec. 23; Associated Press, Dec. 23
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Cindy Hohl writes: “A tradition of many Native American tribes is to observe the winter count—a visual record that depicts the important events of the year. An elder acts as a historian, chosen by the people to act as the recorder of the year’s activities as they select the top memory that will tell the story of their people. We as library workers may also recall the many special memories experienced by our staff members and patrons. What favorite memory—personal or professional—would you add to the list?”

American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
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In Episode 99, the Call Number team presents exclusive clips from conversations with authors we interviewed this past year, including Hanif Abdurraqib, Kwame Alexander, Connie Chung, Kate DiCamillo, Max Greenfield, Vashti Harrison, Maggie Nichols, and Jesús Trejo. They each talked to us about the role that books, libraries, and library workers have played in their lives.

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 18

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