Librarian Philosopher

TLA stands for Texas Library Association. Their annual conference was April 15-18. Electronic handouts exist for most presentations. Handouts will be added to those presently posted.

Tuesday, April 15^th all day I was able to attend a pre-conference on building Libraries called “Building for Books, Bytes, and Beyond”. The two presenters were Anders Dahlgren, president, Library Planning Associates, Inc. (Normal, IL) and Jeffrey Scherer, architect, Meyer, Scherer, & Rockcastle, LTD (Minneapolis, MN).

Although most of the discussion was about Public and Academic Libraries, I was able to garner a few concepts that will be easily applied to the School Libraries we are building soon.

Six spaces to consider:

1. collection
2. reading seating (30 sq. ft. per person)
3. staff (125-150 sq. ft. per workstation; circulation, office, workroom, etc.)
4. meeting/program (lots and lots plus 80 sq. ft. for presenter)
5. special use (photo copier, small group, lounge, etc.)
6. non-assignable (not directly supporting the purpose of the Library but essential; mechanical, walls, restrooms, etc…)

When planning for book stock consider about 10 volumes per square foot. Magazines would be 1 title per square foot. Computer stations would be 50 square foot each. The extra space covers servers, printers, etc.

History shows that technology revitalizes print. We need to overcome the false assumption that Library is not a space. It is a space and a quality of life issue. Consider having OPAC computers on top of 42-inch shelves at the end of the row. When planning do a vision, then a master plan and then a program plan.

For a 20,000 sq. ft. Library to look like a Barnes and Noble of equal materials would take 30,000 sq. ft. In a Library, all the best books are gone. Barnes & Noble can put 100 copies of the best seller in front of you when you walk in. Libraries have to plan for two-way traffic of materials. Patrons bring the books back.

Observations show that the more technology seen in a Library, the longer people stay. Libraries need to be more home like. Libraries need to be customized. E-waystations means electronic access. Digital artifacts are going away (like DVD’s). Digital content is being delivered through pipelines. In some Libraries 68% of the orders are based on customer request, not on professional selection. Consider having computers in Libraries that sync to iPods.

90% of the stuff people read off the Internet they print out. In 1970 the average person used 100 lbs of paper a year. In 2000 the average person used 200 lbs of paper each year. The average book circulates 23 times.

Julie Todaro (President for Life) ran a break-out session and gave many wonderful websites:

ACRL/LAMA Guide for Architects

ALA: Buildings – Professional tips

Designing Libraries: the Gateway to Better Library Buildings (UK)

Libraries Facilities Design (K-12)

WBDG: Whole Building Design Guide

Some other suggestions from Julie when meeting with architects were to set the context. Refer everything back to the most recent building by the school district or the architect. Say things like, “is that bigger or smaller than the last Library Spring Branch built. Suggest the architect visit a recent successful example of a Library in your district. Be sure to be clear about deal breakers. Show pictures of what you want (from other Libraries). Be very conscience of having appropriate sound barriers. Consider tables, chairs and partitions on wheels so space can be reconfigured. Consider different kinds of flooring: food on tile but not on carpet areas. Use 4 people tables not 6. And for more current information look up “learning commons” and look at University of Missouri and North Carolina, Raleigh basement media creation.