Revisiting Library as Place Balancing Space Planning Priorities by Focusing on Core Purpose

Аннотация

My library’s new book shelf recently featured a striking new book edited by Manuela Roth, Library architecture + design, which includes color photos of new library spaces from around the world. I’m sure that other librarians share my enthusiasm about the design of library buildings and find pleasure in looking at library spaces while analyzing the design choices made in constructing new or reconstructing old libraries. We have a longstanding tradition of library spaces being beautiful as well as utilitarian, as evidenced by many websites featuring “most beautiful libraries in the world” (just Google this phrase for several Internet lists). We want libraries to fill our aesthetic desires perhaps because we spend so much time in them. Libraries are places to come and linger, and so we expect them to have spaces that are nice to look at as well as functional.