When in Doubt Go to the Library: The Changing Physical Aspects of the Library

GOODBYE TO THE SOLITARY SCHOLAR

Ron Weasley summed it up:”Because that is what Hermione does,” he said, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.” Of course, Hermione always looked something up in a book. In the real world, students go to the library, academic resource center, learning center, or the scholastic commons, but they are not all going to look something up. They go to the library to work with others on a class project, print something they have created, view other students’ work for review or reflection, or just relax. As the library community seems to shed the terms “media center” and “media specialist” to return to the more classical terms library and librarian, libraries continue to evolve. Even the most academic libraries are no longer just reservoirs of books and other materials awaiting the perusal of solitary scholars. Some school and public libraries have multimedia collections that nearly equal the size of the print collections. The value of the production equipment in many libraries rivals, if not exceeds, the value of the print collection.

As electronic resources were expanding in the late 1990s, popular wisdom was that libraries could be significantly reduced in size as students would be able to access everything they needed online. Those were often the architects who explained that “we don’t need all that space for books.” That concept didn’t go over well in general, because educators were looking for more space to have student work together with both print and electronic resources. The logical, and in many cases the only, place for that work to be done was the library. As more integrated curriculum was introduced and two or more teachers wanted to collaborate, the library became the place for those classes to meet.

DIFFERENTIATED SPACES

As educators try to meet diverse student needs, quiet, gray libraries no longer work. In many ways, we want to require the same differentiation and individualization of our spaces that we are asking of our teachers to provide instructionally. The maker-library concept is built on a three-pronged approach to the utilization of the library’s space: makerspace, a gallery for displaying the produced work, and the library section. In many ways, it is simply a renaming of the traditional parts of a school library, which has often been divided into production areas, silent study areas, and shelving. However, the “silent” section is often being replaced by quiet areas where low levels of productive noise are acceptable. Additional information is available on the Maker Library Network site, http://makerlibrarynetwork.org.

MAKING IT REAL

The ability to showcase student work and even more traditional works of art along with book displays has been trending since the 1980s when the desire was to display more materials like bookstores do to do a better job of selling the books. Today, nearly every new library design includes display shelving to highlight titles tied to specific class projects, genres, or calendar themes. No longer do librarians rely only on signage with Dewey numbers to identify areas of the collection, but use signage in all shapes and colors. Plastic dinosaurs point out where the dinosaur books are shelved. An army helmet points to military books. The use of realia in libraries helps make shelving more inviting. Symbolic markers help students find materials and at the same time brighten the library. A life-size skeleton near the 600s can help students identify the bones discussed in a book or on a website.

Displays should be regularly updated. Whether realia, posters, book displays, or bulletin boards, more rotation in displays creates more interest. New facilities nearly always create large display spaces at the entrances to the library space so that there is an opportunity to set a tone as students and staff enter the library. Where possible, more clusters of shelving are p19being used so students can gather information from print and nonprint materials at the same time without the need to constantly move through the library.

COLLABORATIVE. INVITING SPACES

For the past several decades, libraries have been broken up into smaller, discrete areas for students and teachers to use. Instead of one large area with tables and chairs and one mass of shelving, shelving has been used to define areas of the library. This often allows teachers to have more control over their classes and encourages whole class library use among teachers. As instruction is becoming less large group focused, there is a need to accommodate more small groups in the library or learning commons. However, it does appear that few schools are returning to the 1970s practice of many small individual group study rooms. If they create that type of study space, it is normally all glass and visibility into those areas is unrestricted. In some schools, the wall between the traditional library and the computer lab is being removed to allow a greater free flow of students between computers and library spaces. Where possible, schools are choosing to build the library at the center of the building so the concept of the learning hub or learning commons can be actualized. Large flexible spaces are being added where budgets allow.

The tone and inviting nature of these new or redefined spaces seem to be taking on a more important role than previously. Library staff is working hard to make the spaces more inviting. Potentially, it is simply the natural evolution from generic institutional grays to more personalized surroundings. Thrift stores can be a great place to gather appropriate knick knacks, be it a suit of armor or a stuffed anteater. Many librarians have used grant funds to purchase items such as skeletons, fossils, and rocks.

FROM BOOKSTORE TO COFFEE HOUSE

Besides traditional seating, low, comfortable chairs and bar stools at taller tables are moving into library spaces to give students a greater choice of seating and to be somewhere they are comfortable. Rugs are used in a number of school libraries to create a more comfortable feel. More art on the walls and plants throughout are showing up. The trend of trying to be more like a bookstore continues, although the bookstore of the 2010s is more like a coffee house than the bookstore of the 1990s, and libraries are following suit. A few libraries are venturing to include coffee shops or drink options. Having students with special needs run beverage bars is a great way for them to get work experience, and there are many grant opportunities available for creative projects.

ADDITIONAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Beyond these issues, school architects and design teams have to focus on increased security throughout schools. The need to provide increased access, including summer access, to library facilities has to be balanced out with the need for safe and secure buildings. The explosion of mobile computing devices is also changing designs and prompting schools to improve their wireless networks. These are just some of the issues to be considered in a library design project.