“The Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) have announced the winners of the 2008 Library Interior Design Competition” (Order, N 2008).

I plan to spend part of my weekend checking these winners out (virtually of course) to see if I what has made them winners.

Public libraries have been very innovative in their approach to library space design. Perhaps it stems from the fact that they have a level of connection with the community that doesn’t happen in academic libraries.

I am particularly interested in the Ideas Stores in the UK.  They taken the retail paradigm and applied to libraries. I am particularly taken by the boldness and colour in these spaces. I believe that there are elements that we could use in an academic environment.

They way we engage our community is by creating spaces more conducive to learning. How to we create libraries that a seemless with Faculty? What would such a library look like? I am trying to visualise such a library now.

Watch this space…

This chapter describes work done at University of Rochester where librarians designed a library and then they got students to do the same exercise. Essentially our assumptions about what students want is often wrong and getting their input need not be too onerous.

Check out the article here: http://docushare.lib.rochester.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-27280/chapter_four.pdf

Today I started work on a draft design brief. The aim of the document is to gather together my thoughts on the vision and aims for redesigning the Campus Library.

This document will form the basis of discussions with potential space planners/designers and with Library management. It will be distributed to staff on campus for comment and feedback.

It includes:

• aims
• design style
• rationale/reason for the project
• decision making processes
• expectations

These are interesting….

http://www.library.cqu.edu.au/temp/curtin-ecu/index.htm

Some nice furniture and display stands.

Some key things to think about for reconfiguring the library space…

1. Conducive to learning
2. Student/staff focused but still looks after the needs of library staff
3. Open
4. Comfortable

A brief explanation of these concepts is available here: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/Commons20LibrarySpacesDes/45534?time=1203573101

Joan Lippincott recommends considering these things in planning library spaces:

• Develop a vision related to learning
• Conduct a needs assessment
• Develop goals
• Design an assessment plan
• Determine appropriate partners
• Define and gain resources
• Determine the location
• Define what you want users to be able to do
• Define services to offer
• Determine staff needs
• Develop the floor plan
• Plan the technology (network, hardware, software)
• Choose furniture

Unfortunately our budget isn’t for actual renovations but a budget for a plan. So now it is time to get those thinking caps on.

Just some of our considerations. I know most of you have been through this process before. Hopefully this will be a much more fruitful process.

According to Evans and Layzell Ward (2004) our new or revamped facility should be:

• flexible
• adaptable
• expandable
• accessible
• compact
• stable
• secure!
• attractive
• economical
• comfortable
• varied