Thanks everyone for your suggestions about my first meeting with the
architect. I have learned a lot, seen some great pictures, and am so
grateful I have this listserv to turn to in times like these!
Terry Thomas
School librarian/ Middle school Language Arts teacher
Colegio Internacional Puerto la Cruz
Venezuela
terry.thomas@ciplc.net
original request
1. the MUST HAVES and the DO NOTS that absolutely cannot be ignored for
designing this space?
2. the furniture that would be on your short list to order right away and
even design space around?
3. Anything else I should not fail to mention to this architect during our
First visit?
____________________________________________________________________
and all the great responses...
I have some of my low (3 shelves) book cases angled so it is easier to see
down the rows from the circ desk. I love that.
My library is not that small but I would certainly make sure your little
ones cannot access the books the older ones are reading! Be sure you
design your space so that there is some separation. One of the neatest
ideas I have heard of for mixed-age libraries is a "reference commons".
That singular area where all reference books are kept for all readers.
Bathroom facilities near the library.
Adequate storage cupboards, filing cabinets and work space for staff. (a
sink is good)
(if you will be signing out AV equipment, a large closet near the door
to hallway to store things in)
A place to hang your coats!
Lighting in varied banks so you do not have to turn off the whole room at
once.
Be sure the folks planning the place understand how books are checked out.
Our set up was a disaster...
(adequate sign out area)
electrical outlets, tv connection and computer hook ups sufficient for
your use without having to string cords across the room
computer counter/desks for OPAC in sufficient numbers
adequate locations and furniture for kids of varied ages and sizes
A dedicated area for professional books/magazines
window shades or coverings to regulate light.
sound dampening devices as needed
___________________________________________________________________________
The one thing that is utmost important right away is where will you
have your electrical outlets!! We built two new libraries the year
before I first started here. The librarian before me was adamant about
where the outlets where to be place as well as where the check out desk
would be. It seems that most architects don't take into consideration
the amount of technology we use in the library and therefore the need
for electrical and computer wiring to be where it is most beneficial and
designed to be sturdy!
Problems we've had....electrical outlets and network jacks in the floor
tend to sink into the floor. Poles coming down into the room from the
ceiling to accommodate these jacks leave unsightly holes if you enlarge
or move items around in the future. Be firm with what will work best
for the library. Most architects hired by schools don't think the way
libraries are really run and don't have a background in designing them.
___________________________________________________________________________________
This sounds like a challenge. I was involved in renovation rather than
designing from the group up, and our space is bigger than yours, and only
PreK-5. I'm not sure I have concrete suggestions but some general ideas.
I think that flexibility is essential, and that means not too much big
furniture. We gave up the idea of a traditional circulation desk because
we didn't have the space to have the desk where we needed it to be.
Instead, we designed two small check-out stations on either side of the
entrance. They have proved to work well, and also prevent us from being
"behind the desk" and get us out into the library where we should be.
We wanted our library to be high-tech but look and feel like a warm,
inviting reading space: we designed window seats with shelves beneath
them, and insisted (constantly, over many months, and turned down hundreds
of fabrics before we found what we wanted) on the immportance of
kid-friendly fabrics for pillows, bean bags, etc. We have a set of laptops
dedicated to library use, so that there is a laptop per kid for our
classes, and we keep them in a cabinet in a corner, with only one desktop
connected to a projector (we don't yet have a smartboard for the upper
grades) and a single laptop for quick catalog lookup.
You will probably need tables for classes and research with older kids,
but for younger kids we use jack chairs we bought from Highsmith which
stack, so that the space is flexible. For the younger grades (which have a
separate space) we have shelving units two shelves high in the center of
the room (didn't have enough wall space for all our books) that have
rollers/small wheels and can be moved around easily. These double as work
spaces: they are the perfect height for young children, and the kids stand
as they work, which works pretty well for a lot of kids.
Office space is a real problem: we don't have space "in the back" for
processing etc. The reality is that if you don't make space for it, you
have to do it up front: so you WILL have messy areas of piles of books,
half-processed, etc. It's fine, but I think we have struggled over the
years to find a system flow that works for us in public view.
My most important piece of advice is that you have to stay in there for
ALL of the detailed decisions. Check everything, because there aren't many
people out there who understand about work flow in libraries. My favorite
story is of the beautiful circular circulation desk that was built for a
public library that had all of the shelves, drawers, etc. on the outside
and a smooth surface on the inside. We found that we had to say things
many times, double-check the plans and drawings and say them again and
again. Even then we had doors opening into tiny office spaces which made
the opening of drawers in the office impossible, even though we had agreed
that the door would open outwards, etc.
We also found that having a good strong sense of what we wanted our
library to be and sticking with it was very helpful in articulating what
we needed.
I hope that some of this is helpful.
___________________________________________________________________________________
1. the MUST HAVES and the DO NOTS that absolutely cannot be ignored for
designing this space? poster drawers or at least narrow shelving to
accommodate large posters, not standing. plenty of data drops and
dedicated plugs for computers, data projectors, wiring for such even if
you don't own them, interactive white board, classroom area, area for
carpet for little one story telling, and circ desk that allows access to
entire library, not just part.
2. the furniture that would be on your short list to order right away
and even design space around? Square tables so you can push them
together if needed.
3. Anything else I should not fail to mention to this architect during
our first visit? acoustics are essential but usually first to go when
money gets tight.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Don't forget lots of storage.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Don't let the architect push you around. He/She may know architecture, but
they do not know libraries. We listened to our architect way too much when
we re-built our public library, now we have many regrets! Our library is
huge, since it's public, but if you want to check out our photos, here's
the
link to our floor plan:
http://watweb.sdln.net/floor-plan.html
_______________________________________________________________________________________
That is similar to mine. I'd suggest that you have a workroom/office
space in there that has a door that can be locked. You will also need a
lockable storage area for equipment. Depending on what else is around,
you might just be able to wall off one end, say 3-4 meters and divide
that up into your office, workroom, and storage room. Try to keep your
bookshelves flat against the walls, so that there aren't places for kids
to be out of sight.
Make sure that you have plenty of electrical outlets. One outlet every
two meters isn't too close. Provide for network wiring, phone lines,
etc. Even if you aren't able to put all of that in now, eventually you
(or your successor) will want it. It is much easier to put it in while
you are building than add it later (I've done both myself).
Since you serve all sizes of kids, make sure that you have some tables
and chairs for the little ones, as well as tables and chairs for the
bigger ones. You will need three sizes (heights).
Include a story-telling area. That should have a comfortable chair for
you, a small table handy for you to put puppets, books, etc. on that you
will use for your lesson, and a carpet or something similar for the kids
to sit on. Some shelves with decorations on them would be good.
You should also include a teaching area for the older kids. That area
might have a computer and document camera hooked to a projector, and
should have chairs with or without tables for the older kids.
When you get it done be sure to put some pictures on a website, and then
tell all of us where that site is, so we can drool over your neat new
library.
____________________________________________________________________________________
i have a wiki full of photos of robin hood libraries which were all
designed by architects and interior designers: and be sure to click on the
individual schools on the left side
http://robinhoodlibrarians.wikispaces.com
__________________________________________________________________________________
I notice you are in Venezuela and I don't know how things are done there
but when the architect was visiting our school, I was forwarned (from this
listserv) to try and disuade him/her from designing a story pit.~
Apparently administrators are crazy about them but they eat up a lot of
space and should the needs of your school change, they are a permenant
structure that could end up being wasted space.~ What has worked well for
us is the back jack chairs that are portable and light yet sturdy and
comfortable.
~
Also, try to up the technology in your school and make it a priority.~
More and more text is being digitalized and with many people doing their
recreation reading digitalized (like on amazon's kindle) as well....I
would not have said this 4 years ago but I believe that "books" will
slowly be on their way out.
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