Future Possibilities: Planning Library Space in the 2.0 World

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Librarians planning new facilities or renovations are challenged as never before to provide customers with improved user experiences – and with the greatest service from the least square footage. Increasingly, the purpose of any library facility, its services and its collections is to provide an interactive environment for formal, collaborative, and casual library user behavior.

  • Do you need to reorganize your library space?
  • Have you always wanted/needed/wondered what planning measurements to use?
  • Do you need help to repurpose or re-vision parts of your library?
  • Would you like to be able to develop a plan for your library?
  • How can you do space planning for services that are "virtual"?

Workshop Description: This all-day hands-on workshop will empower you to visualize space planning options through a group case study and a tour and space analysis of an existing library facility. The course also will provide you with library planning measurements as well as best practices in design. The instructor will address the balance between both print and digital access and the library space each of these types of access requires. The instructor will provide practical and useful tips that can be applied immediately to your planning efforts.

Pre-workshop assignment: Bring a floor plan of your library to the workshop.

Preliminary Course Outline

  • Needs Assessment of the Library
    • Collection area(s)
    • User spaces: individual & group study
    • Staff spaces: offices/workstations/processing/technology (e.g., server rooms)
    • Program/instructional/meeting/social spaces
    • Miscellaneous
      • Retail
      • Restrooms
      • Utility (HVAC, electrical, etc.)
  • Facility Planning – Constraints
    • Physical constraints – configuration
    • Operational and efficiency constraints
    • Funding limitations
  • Visual Scan – Overview of Techniques
    • Movement
      • Static observations – photos, measurements
      • Motion – video, user behavior interactions, group collaboration, workflow
    • Quality – Documentation and Rating
      • Environmental
      • Spatial
      • "Library as a Place"
      • Quality rating
    • Quantity – Documentation, Measurements and Rating
      • Collection – volumes, linear feet
      • Reader and computer seats
      • Staff / operation spaces in square feet
      • Space utilization
      • Technology
  • The Visual Scan in Practice – Library Tour
  • Feedback from Visual Scan
    • Facility assessments outcomes
    • Assessing the physical environment
    • Considering the advantages and disadvantages of different library spaces
  • Common Problems and How to Deal with Them:
    • Facility alternatives – repurpose, redesign, renovation issues
    • Cost issues
    • Phasing the project – short range, long range
      • Short range – operating funds
      • Long range – capital funds
    • Construction/renovation budget and interior design budget

Who Should Attend: Anyone interested in library space analysis and planning.

Prerequisites: None.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9:00 AM Instruction: 9:00 AM to 4:40 PM

Available for contracting: 
No