Monastery to marketplace: a paradigm shift
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830310494544 |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| Pages | 358-366 |
| Author | Morell D. Boone |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Monastery to
marketplace: a paradigm
shift
Morell D. Boone
During the 1990s a new era of library
construction began that introduced information
and learning commons as well as ``Starbucks''
into the library's everyday life. This
architectural revolution both followed and
promoted a new conception of what libraries
were and what purposes they needed to serve.
In breaking away from the old model, where
libraries were viewed as mere repositories of
materials, architects and library planners
developed a new paradigm of libraries as
enhanced interactive and research
environments. This ``paradigm shift'' implied a
different kind of user than the traditional
academic researcher: the new environment
should accommodate customers ± people who
would partake of unique services (cafes,
computer stores, learning labs, meeting
facilities) sometimes connected, sometimes not,
with the conventional services offered by the
library. The emerging library is no longer
simply a monastery full of books and journals
for scholars but marketplaces competing for
clients by offering different arrays of services.
If any one statement could summarize this
shift it would be: new facilities meeting new
needs for new users. And if it could be
encapsulated in one word, it would
undoubtedly be: ``cybrary''. Belying this
confident formulation, however, are multitudes
of perceptions and perspectives about what
should be integrated into the cybrary, how it has
changed notions of library services, and what its
effect has been on both accommodating and
developing new kinds of users for its facilities.
Over the past three years, this column has
visited US cybraries, UK hybrid libraries, two
national libraries, discusses planning issues, and
conducted four interviews about planning and
building new library facilities. We have sought
out the what, where, and how ± what
innovations, where they are being designed and
implemented, and how library planners can
pursue innovative library design programs on
their own. In this column we look at the ``what
now'' ± past and emerging views about this new
building paradigm as we approach the mid-way
point in the first decade of the new century.
A good starting place for exploring where
library facilities have been and where they are
going is Cantor and Schomberg's article,
``Poised between 2 worlds: the university as
The author
Morell D. Boone is a Professor in the Department of
Interdisciplinary Technology at Eastern Michigan University,
Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA.
Keywords
Library buildings, Library management, Academic libraries,
Buildings, Design and development
Abstract
Library design and planning has undergone a significant
change since the beginning of the 1990s. Library spaces and
services have been reconfigured to satisfy the demands of
an increasingly diverse array of customers, no longer simply
the traditional academic researcher. These trends, along
with flexible design elements to allow for technology
upgrades, has produced a paradigm shift in our
understanding of the form and function of library facilities.
Moving away from the traditional ``repository'' conception of
library as storage centers for materials, the new facilities are
more complex, enhanced interactive and research
environments many of whose spaces can assume a
multitude of functions. This article surveys the paradigm
shift, and presents new developments ± especially the
incorporation of a ``learning cafeÂ'' within library facilities.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
Architectural
358
Library Hi Tech
Volume 21 .Number 3 .2003 .pp. 358-366
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830310494544
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