A fundamental principle when entering a school library design process is to recognize that it is very complex. Designing a school library media center for the future provides a clear framework for all stakeholders to participate in the school library design process.
PReFACe
You need some skills that this book can't provide: you need to be assertive in a way you may never have been before; you will need to negotiate and negotiate skillfully; you need extreme patience; you will have to find a lot of time that you probably don't have; and above all you need a sense of humor. If you do the job well, you can be sure that you will feel a huge amount of pride and satisfaction.
ACKnoWLeDGMents
When you find out that you will be involved in planning a new library facility, your first question will probably be "Where do I start?" You may feel completely overwhelmed. The various steps, which can take two to four years, will be discussed in depth in later chapters.
If your facility is twenty or more years old, or if your school has become overcrowded, be aware. But it is unlikely that any of us would pass up the opportunity to be involved in something so potentially rewarding.
This chapter outlines the entire process, beginning the moment someone informs you that a new school library is in your future.
3Seeing the Big Picture
This map should be in the hands of the architect well before any architectural plans are put on paper. At this point, the architect has been selected, the plans have been developed and revised, and finally there will be a final architectural plan.
5Seeing the Big Picture
Freeman Thomas, one of the most popular car designers, believes in the importance of being able to communicate your ideas. Your ability to communicate effectively throughout the building process will greatly determine the overall success of the project.
Working successfully with Key Players
7Working Successfully with Key Players
Developing Working Relationships
Since you will be working closely with the consultant, you want to hire someone you can easily work with. Try to establish yourself as the person who will provide information about the library to the architect.
Communication tips
If the building committee selects the architect and if you are a member of that committee, you will also be involved in this aspect of the process. Once the architect is selected, determine who will have the authority to sign off on decisions.
9Working Successfully with Key Players
Acquiring a school library facility where design is governed by the function of the program is a challenge. If the school library is part of a new school building project, the specifications for the library will be just one component of a larger document.
Planning Your Program
Designing a new or renovated school library requires thoughtful, purposeful planning—planning that must begin well in advance. How well everyone in the design process understands the library program and how it works in the school will affect the success of the design.
11Planning Your Program
When designing a twenty-first century school library media center, technology requires special attention in the facility planning process. The need for network access and Internet connectivity in the library's media center continues to grow.
Planning for technology
When designing a new school library media center, it would be worth thinking about how best to move into the future. The library's media education must also be a full-fledged partner with other core subject areas in the development, implementation and assessment of student learning goals, and the library's media center technology is an important element in this partnership.
Bps (bits per second) The measure of the number of bits sent or processed in one second. It is a unit of measurement for storage in computers regardless of the type of data (voice, video or text).
15Planning for Technology
A Connectivity Primer
Connectivity beyond the library media center and the school itself is one of the most important features of the computing environment. The types of roads will affect the function as well as the aesthetics of the library media center.
17Planning for Technology
Remote access is the ability to access data files and software tools from a computer outside the school. Providing remote access to the library catalog and electronic library resources via the Internet makes it possible to have a virtual library available even when the school library is closed, and this can be done cost-effectively and securely using an application-based in the browser.
Distributing video signals throughout the school is another area that is evolving rapidly as technology matures. Technology exists to support video distribution over your computer network and, in some applications, to turn any computer connection into a potential video distribution point.
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
19Planning for Technology
Library Media Center Classroom
Videoconferencing and Distance Learning Classroom
The video conferencing/distance learning classroom should accommodate approximately fifteen to twenty students. To be most effective, the room needs to be carpeted for noise reduction and specially designed furniture that allows everyone to see and be seen, hear and be heard.
LCD Projectors and Interactive Whiteboards
21Planning for Technology
Mixed-Platform Challenges
Data-Driven Decision Making (D3M) and Data Warehousing
Planning and uncertainty
The words of the great English statesman and strategist Winston Churchill are worthy of your reflection; If the library facility is part of an overall school building project, you will also want to discuss the location of the library within the school building and the number of entrances.
Initial Considerations
Planning space Allocation
23Planning Space Allocation
Location of the Library
Library entrances
Functional Areas
The size of each space should be based on exactly what needs to happen in that space, and this will vary from school to school. Three factors will greatly affect the overall space required for a school library facility: size of.
The importance of the library's media center as a social framework for students must also be considered.
25Planning Space Allocation
Will you have dedicated public access stations (PACs) and, if so, how many. How many computer workstations will there be for group work and what size will these groups be?
Descriptive specifications
Library classrooms, virtual learning spaces for videoconferencing and distance learning, and multimedia production spaces—space needs that will likely increase in the future.
27Figure 5-2
When you begin one of the most critical phases of library design—creating a zoning plan and a furniture plan—the problem you must solve is how to arrange the space and furniture in a way that will enable you to carry out your program best possible. efficient way. Certain elements of the architectural design needed for the final design documents will be determined by the furniture plan: where the stacks are placed will determine floor load requirements, placement of technology and electrical equipment will determine electrical and data requirements, and furniture placement will determine lighting needs and placement.
Zone Plans
Now you have defined your program, determined current and projected requirements, and identified the types and sizes of individual spaces, and the architect has submitted an overall design that defines the space the new library facility will occupy.
Creating a Functional Interior
Because the architect placed the circulation space in the space connecting the two wings, supervision of the library would be extremely difficult. The circulation space is placed near the entrance, but far enough into the library to allow supervision of all student areas.
Furniture Plans
Next, list each defined zone in the library and the size in square feet of each zone. Two circulation areas could have been planned, one for each entrance, but the library would not be adequately staffed to make that option viable.
31Figure 6-1
A library model, probably designed for an academic institution, provides the basis for a furniture plan for a school library. Even new school libraries too often reflect outdated values and do not adapt to twenty-first century changes in school library programs.
33Creating a Functional Interior
Such a collection may not be used much because no one will want to be in the library. The placement of the shelves should take into account the position of the circulation desk and other areas in the library where the staff member will be stationed.
35Creating a Functional Interior
Try to separate the teaching area from the high-traffic areas of the library (see Figure 6-4). Movable wall systems (sometimes called office partitions) available from many contract furniture manufacturers are an effective way to enclose small group spaces and isolate them from the main library spaces.
37Creating a Functional Interior
Unfortunately, some school library designs have overlooked the needs of the adults who work there. In a K-6 or K-8 elementary school library, try to plan a primary room for younger children, separate from the rooms used by older students.
39Creating a Functional Interior
A High school Library Furniture Plan
The area around the circulation/service desk is clear, which allows for exhibitions as well as unhindered traffic flow to all areas of the library. A separate librarian desk is located away from the main desk, allowing all areas of the library to be visually controlled by library staff.
The library also has three group study rooms: two that accommodate four to six students and one that accommodates eight to twelve students. The library entrance area works well with theft detection panels; they do not need to go out into the main library space and, in the event of an alarm, there is room between the panels and the entrance doors to stop a customer.
41Creating a Functional Interior
Other parts of the library have also been given a different purpose and have been adapted to new purposes. Some characteristic features of the library's media center, such as the multiple entrances and circulation areas, do.
43Creating a Functional Interior
We want school libraries to be learning spaces that students choose as destinations, spaces that participants in the DeWitt Wallace Foundation–Reader's Digest-funded Library Power initiative have identified as “places of comfort and pleasure where they can students follow their dreams and ideas."1 A 12th-grader at a school where the library's media center was renovated as part of the New York Life Foundation's Revitalizing High School Libraries project expresses a similar opinion: "Honestly, the aesthetic aspect. Smartly chosen furniture will go a long way towards creating a comfortable, visually stimulating school library interior, an unforgettable space that will inspire creativity.
Furniture selection
Creating an Inviting Interior
Yet interiors of school libraries that do not give the impression of monotonous monotony are the exception rather than the rule. Furniture selection is the only stage in the library planning process where everyone can feel expertly qualified.
Perhaps school planners fail to budget enough for furniture because they do not understand the importance of furniture. First, it is not possible to run to the nearest mall and visit a library furniture store.
47Creating an Inviting Interior
Criteria for Purchasing Furniture
Manufactured furniture must be tested for durability and the test results made available to you. Double-level shelving over 42 inches high should not stand alone, but should be combined with other units.
Key Features
Involvement of maintenance staff in assessing durability and ease of maintenance; they know what to look for. The piece may be of really good quality, but if, for example, it is twice the price of a similar item, it may not be twice the quality.
49Creating an Inviting Interior
It is also worth considering for other shelving needs in high school libraries when space is at a premium. It is best to limit the height of shelves to 72 inches for high school libraries.
51Creating an Inviting Interior
If you opt for a simple four-legged table, the construction of the leg-top connection is of the utmost importance, because only the legs support the table top. Tables with panel ends are worth considering if you want to limit the placement of chairs at the table ends.
53Creating an Inviting Interior
Lounge chairs are often upholstered, but like other library chairs, arms should not be upholstered. High school libraries should consider purchasing some lounge chairs with tablet arms for laptop use (see figure 7-15).
55Creating an Inviting Interior
The parts of the desk where loan transactions will take place should not be more than 30 inches deep; otherwise it will be difficult to reach across the work surface. Cut out shapes the width and depth of the desk and put it all together on the floor.
57Creating an Inviting Interior
You can specify custom-made risers in movable sections that allow you to rearrange the story area. Another solution for storing picture books are modular cubes, which are available in different colored wood finishes.
59Creating an Inviting Interior
A Final Word about Furniture selection and evaluation
This chapter discusses four design elements that must be carefully planned to ensure optimal comfort levels: lighting, acoustics, mechanical design (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and ergonomics. The school librarian overseeing the design of the new school library facility must have a basic understanding of these elements and must be vigilant to ensure that they are well planned.
Lighting
These elements usually do not receive the attention they deserve, and because they are so highly specialized and technical, planning is often left entirely to architects and engineers. All too often, the results of poor planning of lighting, acoustics, mechanical design and ergonomics only become visible after the new facility has been put into use.
Creating a Comfortable Interior
As with other aspects of the design process, advance planning is key to successful lighting. Electric light can be introduced into a room in three ways: direct, indirect or a combination of both.
63Creating a Comfortable Interior
Ask questions about wiring options: wiring run through a track in a table leg to the fixture is preferable to an electrical box on the floor under the table. On the other hand, the quality of skylights has improved, and skylights with light filter controls are available.
65Creating a Comfortable Interior
Developing the lighting plan is a joint effort, in which you have to call on the expertise of others. Make sure the lighting plan is aligned with the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system plan, as light — both natural and electrical — creates heat.
Acoustics
Let the architect know early in the process that you want to be included in the lighting planning. At that point, request a meeting with the lighting consultant, if there is one, and the lighting technician.
67Creating a Comfortable Interior
Mechanical Design
69Creating a Comfortable Interior
First, it's good to be familiar with some of the "green building" terminology. Methods of producing materials and buildings are referred to as green if resources are used in ways that are not wasteful.
Creating a Green Interior
It is worth having at least a basic understanding of the subject and knowing how to find and suggest materials and furniture for the school library that are environmentally friendly. High performance buildings are buildings that are superior in a number of respects, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, maintenance costs, site disturbance, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), sustainability and adaptability.
71Creating a Green Interior
Americans with Disabilities Act
Making the Library Accessible
73Making the LIbrary Accessible
Ample aisle space at displays of magazines, new books, etc. should be at least 36 inches;. The desk must have a counter that is at least 36 inches long and a maximum of 36 inches above the finished floor.
If the bottom edge of an object projecting into a passage is more than 27 inches but less than 80 inches above the floor, the object shall not project more than 4 inches into the passage. For example, increasing the space between shelves from 36 inches to 42 inches requires 1.5 square feet more space per square foot. shelf unit, which translates into additional dollars.
75Making the LIbrary Accessible
Learning styles
77Making the LIbrary Accessible
Most public schools must follow a competitive bidding process when ordering furniture and equipment for a new school library facility. The amount of furniture and equipment required to furnish a new school library is considerable, and competitive bidding will almost always yield the best volume discount.
Buying What You Want
A carefully prepared offer package will allow you to purchase furniture and equipment that will meet your needs and withstand intensive use. Identify furniture and fixtures that meet your criteria, obtain detailed item specifications from manufacturers (many manufacturers now offer product specifications online), and build your own.
81Buying What You Want
General Conditions
There are still important details that require your attention, and failure to stay on top of what's going on can allow mistakes to go unnoticed, undoing the diligence you've practiced so far. This chapter focuses on the final steps in the process of creating your new library.
Construction
83The Final Phases
Delivery and Installation of Furniture and equipment
Moving In
Celebrate
By 1992, that number had more than doubled to 199.1. Currently, 40 percent of public libraries in Sweden, 40 percent in South Australia, 8 percent in Canada, and less than 2 percent in the United States are shared facilities. A library of this type does not mean a section of the public library housed in the school, or merely a repository of resources, but a public school facility for common use serving simultaneously both the school and the public communities throughout the day and evening.
Combining Facilities
Your answer rests on the complex chemistry of the individual societies and their libraries that study the decision.”2. In "For the Public Good: Joint Use Libraries in Australia and New Zealand", Bundy includes a table that clearly identifies the different roles (see Selected Readings).
Difficulties
In Joint Ventures: The Promise, Power and Performance of Partnering, the California State Library outlines the differences between partnerships and joint ventures and, in Chapter 2, in a section titled "Joint Use: Libraries Plus Schools Equal Learning Success," identifies several positive examples of community pride in joint ventures (see selected lectures).
Advantages
87Combining Facilities
Case study: Conceptual Design for a Joint-use Library
89Combining Facilities
Challenges
The detailed planning for the library was not done by committee, but by Wolkenbreit himself. The library has a seating capacity of 120, and at 8,800 square feet, it is spacious compared to many high school libraries.
Conclusion
An experiential voice comes from Janis Wolkenbreit, who oversaw planning for a new high school library in Amherst, Massachusetts. One of the main reasons was that the advisor believed what I asked.
91Conclusion
Finally, it is important to never lose sight of the fact that it is students we serve. Had they been asked to describe school libraries, it is very likely that the answers from these young people would have been the same.
93APPenDIx
Common Architectural symbols
Main use Areas
Requires more space if more than one class is to be accommodated at the same time. Computer lessons Can be included in group projects and.
95Suggested Space Allocations and Adjacencies
Periodic storage space required depends on the size of the collection. The availability of full-text electronic databases.
97APPenDIx
99APPenDIx
General Information on shelving
Shelving section width: 3 feet B. Shelving heights (in inches)
Shelving depths (in inches)
Shelving capacity estimates (approximately ¾ full) 1. Nonfiction 8 books per linear foot
Recommended Chair and table Heights
Chair seat heights (in inches)
Table heights (in inches)
101APPenDIx
All exposed wood parts must be north-grown red oak, free of imperfections and carefully selected for uniformity of grain. Wood must be air-dried for a period of not less than six months and then kiln-dried to a final moisture content of 6% to 8%.
103APPenDIx
105Sources of Furniture and Fixtures
School Planning and Management: Information on school facilities planning and archives from School Planning and Management magazine.
107Useful Websites
A Survey of School and Public Children's Library Facilities: What Librarians Like, Dislike, and Most Want to Change About Their Libraries.” School Library Media Quarterly (Winter. Overwhelming Evidence: Now, There's a Sure Way to Show How Libraries Make a Big Difference in Students' Lives.” School Library Journal (January.
111Selected Readings
Let there be at least half-way decent light: How library lighting systems work—and don't. Shared Libraries: The Ultimate Form of Collaboration.” In Planning the Modern Public Library Building, ed.
Index
115Index
117Index
