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1 – 10 of over 45000This exploratory study, a Ph.D. dissertation completed at the University of Western Ontario in 2013, examines the materially embedded relations of power between library users and…
Abstract
This exploratory study, a Ph.D. dissertation completed at the University of Western Ontario in 2013, examines the materially embedded relations of power between library users and staff in public libraries and how building design regulates spatial behavior according to organizational objectives. It considers three public library buildings as organization spaces (Dale & Burrell, 2008) and determines the extent to which their spatial organizations reproduce the relations of power between the library and its public that originated with the modern public library building type ca. 1900. Adopting a multicase study design, I conducted site visits to three, purposefully selected public library buildings of similar size but various ages. Site visits included: blueprint analysis; organizational document analysis; in-depth, semi-structured interviews with library users and library staff; cognitive mapping exercises; observations; and photography.
Despite newer approaches to designing public library buildings, the use of newer information technologies, and the emergence of newer paradigms of library service delivery (e.g., the user-centered model), findings strongly suggest that the library as an organization still relies on many of the same socio-spatial models of control as it did one century ago when public library design first became standardized. The three public libraries examined show spatial organizations that were designed primarily with the librarian, library materials, and library operations in mind far more than the library user or the user’s many needs. This not only calls into question the public library’s progressiveness over the last century but also hints at its ability to survive in the new century.
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In the digital age, constant changes in libraries inform contemporary building design. An innovative library building design is a complicated process and can be viewed as a…
Abstract
Purpose
In the digital age, constant changes in libraries inform contemporary building design. An innovative library building design is a complicated process and can be viewed as a continuous process of the use of tacit and explicit knowledge and innovative tools and approaches. Knowledge management (KM) can bring about the much needed innovation, and transform tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. For the design of a library to be successful, it is necessary to apply KM to library building design. The purpose of this paper is to look at key change impacts, to explore how to manage knowledge in building design and to identify key design principles.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper looks at key change impacts, explores how to manage knowledge in library building design and pinpoints design principles.
Findings
This paper finds that KM can be vital to library building design, and it can be used in all stages: to examine the internal and external environments, transform tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge by using portals, and analyze existing and future issues and trends. When effectively used, KM will result in innovative design strategies and also will reduce the time and costs of the building design and plan processes. The main principles of library building design are flexibility, accessibility, safety and security, applicability, adaptability, efficiency, and sustainability.
Practical implications
This paper provides a useful overview of how to manage knowledge in library building design and design principles.
Originality/value
The views, discussions, and suggestions will be of value to improve the effectiveness of library building design.
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Gloria Novak, Anders C. Dahlgren, David Kapp, Jay K. Lucker, David Kaser, Margaret Beckman and Donald G. Kelsey
The most serious barrier to achieving a “forgiving building” is the cost of its special building systems. The library is increasingly becoming a “hi tech” and “smart” building. A…
Abstract
The most serious barrier to achieving a “forgiving building” is the cost of its special building systems. The library is increasingly becoming a “hi tech” and “smart” building. A sophisticated facility is required to support current collections and the emerging electronic and optical technologies that will occupy (and perhaps dominate) the future library. It is far less expensive to provide the capacity to support future components at the time of initial construction than to subsequently renovate a building to provide needed capacities at a later date. The real challenge for librarians is to convince those who fund library construction that the “forgiving building” is the least expensive alternative in the long run.
Describes the new library building of the University ofAgriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, completed in 1992. Gives a brief historyof the existing library as background. Highlights…
Abstract
Describes the new library building of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, completed in 1992. Gives a brief history of the existing library as background. Highlights the planning processes involved, including critical choices made, location of the building, preparation of architects′ briefs, architect‐librarian relationship, choice of building contractors and features of the building. Discusses problems of supervision, security and maintenance likely to arise from the use of the building. Concludes that the library building meets the required functional and aesthetical standards required of libraries in the tropics and should be critically studied by other Nigerian universities planning to put up their own libraries.
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Early on, public libraries in America tended toward grand appearances befitting seriousness of purpose. Library design changed gradually through the 20th century and more…
Abstract
Early on, public libraries in America tended toward grand appearances befitting seriousness of purpose. Library design changed gradually through the 20th century and more dramatically with automation and new technology. Today's libraries are becoming lively community cultural centers that may include art galleries, flexible auditoriums, meeting and conference rooms, media lounges, and cafés.
This chapter discusses changes in public library design. It focuses on four recent examples – two traditional libraries and two innovative libraries. The changing requirements present significant challenges for library administrators and for the architects who must design the libraries to be organized and used appropriately, now and in the future.
The aim of this chapter is to help library administrators understand the concept of Service Design, and to maintain that any consideration of the future of library spaces should…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this chapter is to help library administrators understand the concept of Service Design, and to maintain that any consideration of the future of library spaces should begin with a service design focused approach.
Approach
The chapter is a combination of general review, literature review, case study, and conceptual paper. It focuses on describing the basics of the concept, highlighting essential resources for further understanding, highlighting service design specifically applied in libraries, and providing one case study of an academic library undergoing a master planning project utilizing the lens of Service Design. The chapter will conclude by emphasizing the importance of attaining an appropriate understanding and buy-in for the Service Design process by library administrators and staff in order for its effective implementation.
Practical implications
Practical implications to employing Service Design to library spaces are endless, and span that gamut from making smart decisions based on user input and evidence, to creating spaces and services that are relevant to library users. Employing a Service Design approach to library building projects helps administrators position themselves to advocate for needed technology and funding in the highly competitive resource arena. The ideas gleaned from this chapter can be applied in any library: academic, public, special, or school. The results will be different, because every library has a unique group of users, but the processes employed are the same.
Originality/value
Library literature related to Service Design is slim but slowly emerging. This chapter fills a gap in literature geared specifically to administrators as well as building design and redesign projects.
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Deciding if and when to add an external library building design consultant to a library facilities planning team is often crucial to the successful completion of building…
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Deciding if and when to add an external library building design consultant to a library facilities planning team is often crucial to the successful completion of building projects. Sometimes, planners only require a consultant who knows the overall elements while in other instances individuals with particular space planning skills and an in‐depth understanding of library operations and building requirements are necessary … Andrea A. Michaels, President of Michaels Associates Design Consultants, Inc., talked with the author at length about her role in enabling library planners to reach their goals and objectives in designing or re‐designing library buildings to strike an appropriate balance between meeting current demands and allowing for space, furnishing and equipment adaptability to accept desired changes gracefully.
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Architecture is a social art. Buildings reflect the social and material conditions of the place and time where they are created. This is especially true of libraries, which…
Abstract
Architecture is a social art. Buildings reflect the social and material conditions of the place and time where they are created. This is especially true of libraries, which represent our collective aspirations. For architects and clients involved in planning libraries, it is important to take a broad view of the task at hand, to understand the premises that guide design solutions, and to place libraries within a cultural context.
Constructing academic library learning spaces involves ad hoc groups of agents often with fuzzy inter-relationships. Librarians and their user communities are initially hailed…
Abstract
Purpose
Constructing academic library learning spaces involves ad hoc groups of agents often with fuzzy inter-relationships. Librarians and their user communities are initially hailed within these groups as prime-movers in realizing projects. Librarians bring to the table contagious ideas generated from their own profession in the hope of securing appropriate funding and planning pre-requisites. All other agents, be they internal community representatives or external architects, assist them in making sense of each other’s standpoints to co-create dynamic learning spaces in “commons consent”. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the community culture in The Chinese University of Hong Kong as existed in 2012 as a case study, this paper examines the reality of this process in terms of a new library for learning, teaching and research.
Findings
Can librarians hold sway over the priorities of other individual agents, particularly architects, to gain consent to build their initial concept of the commons which they are vigorously promoting as professionally valid and educationally potent? In the co-creation of a building, individual preferences and organizational power structures in ad hoc groups drawn from the university’s distinct cultural environment fuel compromise and even tension around the librarians’ and architects’ original visions.
Research limitations/implications
Many other case studies of library building learning commons projects would be useful to add to these findings in sensemaking, co-creation and community cultures.
Practical implications
Assists library managers in their management of large buildings projects.
Originality/value
An original case study of a major Asian academic library learning commons project which involves sensemaking, co-creation and community cultures ideas imported from construction science.
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Arnold Mwanzu and Dickens Rodrigues Wendo
This paper aims to examine the strides taken by academic libraries in Kenya to match the standards of modern library buildings while highlighting ensuing impact on user…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the strides taken by academic libraries in Kenya to match the standards of modern library buildings while highlighting ensuing impact on user satisfaction. It will give an insight and provide a comprehensive comparison between Kenyan modern libraries and other modern libraries in the world which are considered best library designs, to show progressive development of library design and equipment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes a viewpoint approach after studying the history and development of the current library buildings in Kenya. This paper will answer the following questions: How far are Kenyan university libraries in embracing open space and aesthetic reflections? What is the impact of artistic modern library designs to user satisfaction? What are the effects of colorful interior design and décor on libraries? In addressing these and other related questions, the design of new academic libraries in Kenya over the past eight years is traced.
Findings
Libraries in Kenya and other developing countries have stayed in the right path of revolution by adopting the modern library designs and giving library users more reasons to cherish their libraries as not only reading facilities but also destinations for relaxation, discussions and hangouts. The United States International University (USIU) Library has been touted as the pioneer modern library building, and its standards have been replicated and bettered by other libraries in Kenya today. This is a big stride for Kenyan libraries in the wake of dynamism in libraries.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is that it gives an insight on the development of library buildings in Kenya, providing a comprehensive comparison between Kenyan modern libraries and other modern libraries in the world which are considered best library designs, thereby showing progressive development of library design and equipment.
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