Medlar wanted his Charlemae Rollins President’s Program to celebrate the places the organization chooses for conferences and what’s special about them. “Among the special things here [in Orlando, Florida] are these theme-park spaces,” he said. With that, he turned the program over to Marty Sklar, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, who spoke about his … Continue reading Inspiring Creativity with Design and Space
Representatives from three university libraries gathered June 25 for the Library Leadership and Management Association–sponsored panel discussion “Front and Center: Designing for Special Collections and Archives in the Library” at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, to showcase new special collections libraries that buck the outdated model and look to the … Continue reading Bringing Special Collections into Today
We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Previous submissions have ranged from beautiful restorations of historic buildings to vacant structures that have been repurposed into libraries to colorful kids’ sections and high-tech facilities with audio and video production studios. … Continue reading Wow Us with Your New Library
Calculating the growth of spaces and collections can be a source of anxiety for library managers, who must evaluate the various factors that affect growth from their own perspective. Many times the calculations fail, resulting in a building that is too large or too small. The costs associated with predictive errors can bleed budgets and … Continue reading It’s All in the Numbers
Renovating History The John Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island Built in 1910, the John Hay Library at Brown University was brought into the present with recent renovations. In addition to enhanced research spaces in the main reading room and special collections room, the library added a new ADA-accessible entrance and safety and security … Continue reading 2015 Library Design Showcase
Ruth Baleiko, the Miller Hull Partnership Odegaard Undergraduate Library, University of Washington, Seattle “Digital downloads, ebooks, personal content, and live programming compete for space with books, periodicals, microfilm, audio, and video in today’s libraries. The library of the future will be shaped in ways that support and enhance navigation and exchange of these new forms … Continue reading The Future, Today
Academic libraries face immutable space problems. On most campuses, library shelf space is finite and even shrinking. Gone are the days when a proactive library director could argue successfully for a library expansion to house more books. Still, the books keep coming: Even with increasing numbers of e-journals and ebooks, US college and university libraries … Continue reading Winning the Space Race
In August 2013, Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, completed a large building project: a $14 million, 58,000-square-foot learning commons. I was library director at the time, and I learned a number of unanticipated lessons during all phases of the project. Any library looking to embark on a brave new building or renovation project will … Continue reading Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?
Welcome to the 2014 Library Design Showcase, our annual celebration of new and newly renovated libraries. These libraries are shining examples of innovative architecture that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Open Spaces Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons, Salem (Mass.) State University The new learning commons at Salem State is … Continue reading The 2014 Library Design Showcase
Progress has been made in closing the digital divide between computer-based tools and infrastructure, but an equally debilitating digital divide in internet literacy affects the American public, according to “Responding to the Second Wave of the Digital Divide,” a briefing of local government, public-policy, and library experts held May 6 at the National Press Club … Continue reading Responding to the Second Wave of the Digital Divide
American Libraries is now accepting submissions for the 2014 Library Design Showcase, our annual feature celebrating new and newly renovated or expanded libraries of all types. The showcase will be featured in our September/October 2014 issue. We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and that address patrons’ needs in unique, … Continue reading Library Design Showcase Submissions Open
I’ve never been to Ketchikan, Alaska, but I wouldn’t mind being there right now, contemplating the amazing vista of woods and mountains from the Ketchikan Public Library windows. I’d be happy to check out the reading room view from the Spartanburg County (S.C.) Public Libraries’ Middle Tyger branch, too, watching the river tumbling over rocks. These … Continue reading Dreamy Reading Rooms and More
