Designing and Renovating Library Spaces

Architectural magazines often highlight libraries in both schools and universities since it is one of the few areas architects have been able to express their creativity and design expertise. Historically, classrooms have been pretty much rectangular building blocks, though that may be changing. For some time, libraries were designed at the center of the school so as to be a literal as well as a figurative "hub of the school." The more recent thought has been to build libraries at the edge of the building with a separate entrance, so the library (and its resources) can be utilized outside of the traditional school day and school year.  About the only thing that hasn't changed in the world of library design is that the space is still intended as a place for people and resources (print, non-print, and virtual) to meet. However, there are a number of trends to take under consideration when designing or renovating library spaces.

General Trends

Multiple-use facilities are getting much more attention in school design. Just as new public safety buildings are being built that combine police, fire, and other municipal functions, schools are looking to combine with daycare programs, public libraries, and even higher education organizations at times. That trend does speak to the need to keep the library at the perimeter of a new building, so that after hours other users don't need access to the entire building to get into the library. Summer library programming, credit recovery programs, and adult education courses are common partners. Often, the school's traditional computer lab(s) are co-located with the library for the same reasons.

The other side of the expanded access coin, however, is the fact that safety and security concerns are more front and center than ever. Lighting now has to be video friendly as well as provide good illumination for readers. Panic buttons or silent alarms, which were once the purview of bank tellers, are popping up in school offices and libraries across the country. Glass needs to be laminated or otherwise designed to slow down intruders.  Mantraps are often being designed for any general entrances. This requires that visitors have both an outer and an inner set of doors to traverse in order to enter a building. This would require an intruder to have to breech two barriers in order to obtain entrance without permission.  The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) (http://www.ncef.org/rl/safety_security.cfm) has a number of resources dedicated to school security.

More schools are being built on smaller footprints. These "vertical schools" are often in urban areas where space is a premium. Unfortunately, this often leads architects to want to build multistory libraries. Not once have I spoken with a librarian or other staff member working in such a space who thought a multistory library was a good idea from any viewpoint except aesthetics. Never allow a design team to consider a two-story library; it will cause constant issues with staffing, discipline, and supervision.

Many schools are being built to meet sustainability standards and are often being certified as green buildings. School Planning and Management now has a "Trends in Green" column in each issue and recently identified that green is "no longer a lofty goal" but the norm in building design (Nelson 2015). (More information about green schools can be found at The Center for Green Schools, http://www.centerforgreenschools.org/.)

Library Spaces

Specific to school libraries, there are six types of spaces that need to be included within the library design footprint:

• Collection space (although this is being reduced dramatically due to virtualization of collections)
• General seating and class sized work spaces; a library that cannot accommodate at least two full classes of students isn't a viable design
• Small group meeting spaces; commonly used for Response to Intervention (RtI) and similar small group instruction
• Staff work space for repairing equipment, supply storage, production equipment (including the laminator—still a teacher favorite). There may also be a need for secure storage in this area.
• Production space; this might be shared between students and staff, but generally student production areas for video work, graphics, etc. has decreased in its footprint. However, it is still easier to do most graphic or video work on a full sized desktop than on an iPad or other tablet. This is also the area where color printers and large volume copiers reside.
• Display space for library resources, special collections or exhibits, and student produced work

The need to balance the amount allowed for each type of space is the trick. Before the web revolutionized library resources, schools were generally told to have X books per child and be able to seat ten percent of the student body. The ten percent rule seemed perfect for schools that used the library as a giant silent study hall. The vast majority of the seating were tables and wooden chairs. Today, it is suggested that the school library should consider being able to seat at least one class plus one for every professional staff member. This allows each professional staff member to work with a class and still provide room for small groups or individuals to work as well. Comfortable soft seating often mixes in with traditional tables and chairs to provide students more options. The seating areas should be flexible so they can be reorganized with little effort to accommodate a variety of groups and needs. At the elementary level, if tables and chairs are stackable, they can easily be moved to allow students to sit on the floor for large group story time or for larger projects where student groups  need more space than a table would allow.

Social and Small Group Spaces

Some schools are designing social spaces to allow for students to gather to work cooperatively or independently in a less structured environment. Libraries should embrace such spaces as being adjacent to the library core, so that students will be drawn to the resources and services that the library can offer. Some libraries are installing large flat screen monitors at tables to allow students to connect their tablet or laptop and share their screen with others at the table. Similar equipment can be considered for small group spaces as well.

The number of small group spaces attached to the library somewhat depend upon the way in which the library will be utilized. Will small groups be coming in everyday to work on RtI activities? Special education pull out? The needs of the overall instructional program will drive the need for small group spaces. Small group spaces need to be clearly defined and easily supervised from the main sections of the library. Often glass walls or large windows are used to ensure easy visibility while  still creating unique spaces.

Shelving

With so many variables today in determining the size of a print collection, it is best to contact your state or regional library for guidance as to what to anticipate. It is important to plan for more display space than shelving included twenty years ago. Library shelving should look more like book store shelving where possible. Books should be displayed showing their covers and not just spines. Of course, due to space limitations and cost, much of the shelving will need to be traditional in format.

Staff Work Space

Staff work space needs will depend upon the number of staff and the type of work. Traditional library staff need about 150 square feet per person for workspace. If IT staff are housed in the same workspace or library staff share IT roles, double that amount of space to accommodate the need for spare equipment, spare parts, and broken items.

Production Space

Production space seems to be more important in many libraries. This is particularly true in a Maker Library. The goal of Maker Spaces is to allow for more production and development by students. With the advancements in 3D printers and similar technology, these programs are becoming more plentiful and encourage workforce development and entrepreneurship as well. What goes into the production area of any given library depends a great deal on the curriculum being offered in the school. This is an important area for in-depth discussion during the design process. In planning for production areas, one should consider the need for flexibility as the methods of production and space required may change significantly over the intended life span of the building or renovation.  Another change in some production areas is turning the walls into useable notepads with paint that works as a dry erase board. This allows students or small groups to share ideas on a larger surface than a computer screen or notebook or to simply keep some notes while working with production equipment.  Plus, it is fun to be able to write on the walls.

Display Space

Display space is becoming more important in libraries as more realia and student work is being shown in libraries. Realia may be objects from the local historical society's collection on loan, other artwork, or things from a teacher's private collection. There is more of a need to display materials to help create a sense of excitement and wonder in students as they study various topics. Such displays can often be tied to specific course units or calendar events. Particularly, with Maker Libraries, there is a need to have adequate space to display student production work and for other students to be able to potentially build on it and review it.

Technology Infrastructure

Infrastructure needs for technology continue to change. It is likely that the library needs to provide some type of charging station for students who need to power up devices. However, wireless services and bandwidth need to accommodate more than 1:1. Some universities are planning for up to eight devices per student. Realistically, schools need to plan networks that can accommodate at least three devices per student for middle school and high school students. It is reasonable to assume most students will be bringing multiple devices to school in the future, as many already do so.

Color

Color continues to be important to liven up any space and schools tend toward institutional grays and tans. For primary buildings, areas of primary color help energize the space. Secondary schools should use their school colors, as they will be more likely to stay in vogue as opposed to harvest gold, hunter green, or whatever color is in style today. Similar bits of color can be added to shelving, the end panels, and even the furniture to make spaces feel more alive and less institutional. Plants, realia, and student work will all help to create a more inviting library where students will feel comfortable.

In the end, the library needs to be easily adaptable and flexible as designing buildings to last for fifty or more years is difficult in these fluid times. The most important concept is to have a strong vision of what students, staff, and maybe the community will be doing in the space and design around supporting those functions. One last piece of advice is to visit a range of other libraries and ask those students and staff what they like and don't like about their space. That is a great way to see what works and hear about concerns. In fact, for nearly any type of facilities project, visiting other spaces should be the second thing the team does after defining the needs of the space to be developed.

Works Cited

Nelson, Stephen.  “Trends in Green: No Longer a Lofty Goal”. School Planning and Management. April 1, 2015. https://webspm.com/articles/2015/04/01/sustainable-design.aspx (accessed October 16, 2015).