Technology today is so advanced most people don’t need to go to the library for information anymore. With the increased purchases of MP3 players, smartphones, tablets, and laptops, people can obtain information quicker through these devices with their capability to connect to the Internet than from going to the local library. The most popular search engine patrons will visit, regardless of the authenticity of the information, is Google where they can ask their questions and be deluged with pages of print instead of going to a trained librarian to find credible and thorough information.
What about the building itself? What does it have to offer today and in the future for patrons to see it as more than just rooms full of books? Does the space need to change? Can libraries evolve with current trends? What will attract patrons to walk through the doors and keep cause them to make return visits? Some of the questions this author asked herself when considering the issue of library space were what would prevent libraries from changing, what reasons should libraries change, and what could be added to libraries to increase their appeal to the patrons. Although factors exist that may work against altering room in libraries, there are compelling grounds for reconfiguring space in today’s libraries.
There are several reasons why libraries might not make any space changes. First of all, the kind of revenue the library receives has an impact. Joe Rizzo states in his article “Ten ways to look at a library,” “the design of a library affects not only construction costs, but also maintenance and operating costs” (323). It is very costly to build additions to house such spaces as teen rooms or meeting rooms onto an existing structure. ...
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-The Library uses a mandatory reservation system; students must sign up in advance. I walked into the library and there was light chatter, but it was fairly quiet. The only people standing up were the certificated librarian and the classified library assistant.
The granite central arch of the Boston Public Library bears an inscription: FREE.TO.ALL. These words capture the spirit of the library, the first large municipally funded library in the United States. The Boylston Street building was built to meet the growing demand for a public library, with the previously existing library on Mason Street having outgrown its purpose. Built in 1895, the building is an outstanding example of Renaissance Beaux Art style, and was intended as a “palace for the people,” a philosophy which was reflected in both its design and its cost. As Peter Arms Wick writes, it is “One of Boston’s proudest monuments, perhaps the most admired, discussed and influential public buildings in American architectural
missed opportunity that must be addressed in schools and libraries (2014, p. 181). Palfrey and
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The Hive Library, in Worcester, is a four-story building that is made of golden-colour copper aluminium alloy (exterior) and water proof concrete (interior). Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios designed the building, which costs around ‘£38m’(Ijeh, The modern reader, p2). The library was designed for the use of public as well as the use Worcester University student. On the other hand, Christopher Wren designed The Trinity College in 1676-1695 in Cambridge. It’s a single large room, at the first floor level. Several feet below the external division, between the two stories, lies the floor of the library (Hawkes, Origins of Building Science, p87). This gives is a better architecture proportion. The library was designed for the use of Cambridge student only. The use of both libraries explains the difference in size of the two buildings. The Hive was designed for public and Worcester university students, whereas Trinity was only designed for Cambridge university students. The Hive is bigger because larger population is using the library than the Trinity library.
Jessica Gillis is a school librarian for a Montessori school in Massachusetts. While her experiences as a teacher has helped her in this position, she has taken a position with a school with a different philosophy than that of a traditional public school. Gillis and is learning how to add the Montessori Method of education to her curriculum and the children’s library experience. Following the practices of the school she has designed large library space into smaller nooks. This is to change the behavior of the children from high energy to conduct that is calmer and more focused. Gillis has removed many of the long shelves of books in exchange for shorter smaller shelves with one particular subject on them. The placement of the shelves aid in the nook concept. The long shelves Gillis did leave, she weeded leaving space which makes the books on the shelf look more inviting. Another technique used by Gillis is to use a
What are the current building layout and conditions and how do they limit the library’s ability to serve the general public, adults, children and teens in terms of:
This passage will analyze how Smith effectively draws the reader into the discussion and logically refutes arguments and take a look at his mistakes and ways of countering contentions. In defending his claim that libraries should be preserved, Smith looks at why the libraries are shutting down: “Kensal Rise… is unprofitable, Green… is for a sweet real estate deal”. In response, she logically responds to the contentions by recognizing the popularity of libraries that serve as an indoor public space that can be used to study: “you don’t have to buy anything in order to stay”. She concludes that libraries provide important
Heath’s VAST heuristic offers a “rich alternative” (p7, 1989, as cited in Elliott-Burns, 2005) to a checklist approach to designing and can be used to evaluate a learning space and lead to the design of a new one. Heath (1989, in Elliott-Burns, 2005) elaborates distinct elements which need to be considered in designing spaces for living and working. The VAST table relating to Activities within a space was used to critically appraise what was done in the junior section of the Library and to generate solutions.
The library, like many symbols signifies silence, thought and work. You would not walk into a library expecting to be served drinks, and to see people dancing on bookshelves. The library evokes an image of peacefulness, in which people are diligently working; yet a closer examination reveals the not so serene value of a library visit.
The present Library of Congress had a difficult time getting started in its early stages. Originally located in the United States Capitol building between 1806 and 1814(U.S. Government, 1), a fire caused the Library to be relocated to a temporary hotel location. Soon it was replaced into the north wing of the Capitol, and then into the center of the west front (U.S. Government, 2). Unfortunately, another disastrous fire burned the Library and yet again it had to be repaired. The Librarian of Congress at this time in 1865, Ainsworth Rand Spofford, realized the Library was expanding to the point where it would soon need it's own separate building from the Capitol. He drew up an architectural plan in 1872 and presented it to Congress who authorized it.
The planar monochromatic, symmetrical, planar facades11 seen in both libraries are one of the key elements that I have adapted to fit the exterior of my building. While there is a slight protrusion of the entrance, all sides of my design remain planar with only minor exceptions for ornamentation. The protrusion of the entrance was done so that the door into the library could be slightly into the façade. As one can see in the Boston Public Library, the entrance doors do
Through out this essay I will conduct a literature review on post occupancy evaluation, to give the reader and myself a better understanding what A Post occupancy evaluation (POE) is. I will also look into how it works for different people involved with the building and what benefits it may have for both the client and the users of the site. I will be looking for research to back up the use of this particular way of gathering data. This understanding of POE will then provide the information that the reader and myself require to understand the data gathered. The essay then leads onto an analysis of the data gathered from a survey that our class distributed to users of the university’s library. The analysis covers a range of topics from thermal comfort to the interior design of the building, and gives possible reasons for the findings using the percentages gathered from graphs, charts and tables that I personally have produced from the shared SPSS table of data.
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When walking into the library, one sees rows of computers placed in the center. Tables are against the walls, and in the center is a librarian’s desk. What one doesn’t see is the library begging for more space. Students are cramped at the small tables trying to share the space with each other. The library