Technology's Impact on Library Interior Planning
| Pages | 59-63 |
| Published date | 01 April 1987 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047708 |
| Date | 01 April 1987 |
| Author | David Leroy Michaels |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Technology's Impact
on
Library
Interior Planning
David Leroy Michaels
Each component of a library requires
careful planning so that precious
financial resource are maximized, and
future renovation costs minimized.
Library administrators and governing
boards need a realistic conceptualiza-
tion of the future library, and a solid
understanding of building sciences,
prior to launching a new construction,
renovation, or addition project. Reading,
visits to other library facilities, and
a spirit of teamwork and cooperation
within the entire planning team will be
vital, as always.
There exists a wide range of attitudes concern-
ing what a library should contain and represent.
The city of San Juan Capistrano, for example, opted
for an intimate, unconventional little library with
no room for growth. The PolyTechnic Institute
of New York decided to build a state-of-the-art
electronic library. Due to the abundance of unskilled
local labor, the Kinston-Lenoir (NC) public library
concluded that a computerized circulation system
would be impossible to justify.
In many instances, rational and knowledgeable
persons may direct the planning process to a desirable
and realistic conclusion. There also exists the
possibility that a mayor, or university president,
or an influential board member, who has a hidden
or more obvious agenda, may irrationally mandate
a multi-story building where a single-story building
would be a better solution, or suggest the idea
of an atrium to the wild-eyed architect who needs
little encouragement in that direction. The direction
a library facility takes is often governed by a multi-
tude of factors, not all of them classical or logical.
Looking Ahead
The minimal life expectancy of a new library
or library addition has frequently been projected
at twenty to twenty-five years. In other words,
when a new structure is constructed, it is generally
recognized that no further new additions or new
libraries will be built, as a means of alleviating
subsequent growth pressure, for at least that period
of time. It now appears likely that these "traditional"
projections are on the verge of being extended.
In any case, it is important to look ahead and to
Michaels is Design Consultant, Michaels As-
sociates Design Consultants, Inc., 5308 Remington
Drive, Alexandria, VA 22309.
ISSUE 20 59
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