No two libraries look alike. Some libraries occupy whole purpose built structures and others a single room in a larger organisation. Some libraries have galleries of gilded shelves accessed by spiral staircases, others have mass produced movable metal shelves set at just the right height for the average user. In some libraries the patron can walk up to the shelves to browse for reading materials, in others a librarians desk blocks the way and materials are available only on request. Some libraries are grand statements with massive light drenched reading rooms and others are simply a book filled room in a private house with a comfortable armchair situated just so to catch the light on the open book in a readers hand. Any library, no matter how big or small, old or new, can be well designed or poorly designed.
A good place to start thinking about design is this video of beautiful historic libraries. As you watch it, think about what it would be like to work or study in some of these spaces.
These are libraries that are designed for prestige and display. In some of these libraries the books are used almost as design objects. It would be a shame to move them and spoil the picture. The art and architecture dominate the books, making the libraries into rich cultural experiences.
Finding and accessing the knowledge in these libraries could be difficult. Spiral staircases or ladders are required to reach the top shelves and multistorey galleries of many beautiful historic libraries. While this presents a problem in terms of convenience and access, not to mention occupational health and safety, it does create a sense of mystery and adventure that is missing in modern library architecture. When libraries were opened up to the general public and librarians became involved in the design process the design parameters changed significantly.
Below is the floor plan of an early American public library highlighted as typical by Van Slyck (2007) in The library as place. The librarians desk, (labelled C) is placed squarely between the long gallery of books (A) and the public, who would have to request a book be brought to them for reading. It also provides the librarian with a perfect view of the gender segregated reading rooms. This is a perfect example of the design of a space being used to influence behaviour. Who would dare whisper anything inappropriate to the person seated next to them with the hawkish eye of the librarian upon them?
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| Buscheman, John E & Leckie, Gloria J 2007 |
This puritan layout is very much a product of the strict moralistic tone of the times. Libraries in the Victorian era were intended as sober places of self improvement. Socialising and reading for pleasure were discouraged through rules and, as above, through architecture. This type of library design persisted right through until the post war period when library architecture was dramatically re-imagined.
Below is an image from Picture Australia of a modern Australian library, The Geelong City Library designed by architects Buchan, Laird & Buchan in the early 1960's. The space is open plan and light filled. The library user can select their own reading material without assistance from library workers, although the layout still allows all activity within the library to be observed. The cramped mystery of the historic library is banished with low, easy to reach shelving and florescent strip lighting. The emphasis of the architecture and furnishings is on usability, access and versatility.
| Interior of Geelong City Library designed by architects Buchan, Laird & Buchan, 1962 |
This is the type of library that I grew up with and that many of you will find familiar. It places function over form in many respects. In many ways it is a dramatic improvement from the cramped dusty libraries that preceded it. The challenge for libraries now is to take the best aspects of modern library design and to adapt them for the post-modern era.
How has the traditional design of libraries influenced the public perception of libraries?
Libraries in the past have not always been fun places to be. Architecture focused towards behavioral control of patrons has left many with the feeling that libraries are silent, dusty places patrolled by shushing librarians. Libraries in popular culture often reference victorian design conventions with stacked galleries of wooden shelves full of leather bound tomes, confusing matters even further. People can be surprised by a visit to their bright, busy local library after an absence of a few decades.
References:
Laubier, Guillaume de & Bosser, Jacques 3002, The most beautiful libraries in the world, Harry N. Abrams, New York, N.Y.
Buscheman, John E & Leckie, Gloria J 2007, The library as place: history, community and culture, Libraries Unlimited, Westport, CT.
Links:
Beautiful Libraries on YouTube
Picture Australia
Reflection
I found it hard to know where to start with my topic it’s so huge. I shot myself in the foot with my question about what a traditional library looks like since there is no single type of library that is definitively traditional. Looking at some beautiful images of libraries got me started and several of the essays from the second book on my reference list got me pointed in the right direction as to the major changes in library design over the years. A lot of library history doesn’t seem to mention the architecture much so it was a little difficult to ferret out material on my area of interest, which is the effects of library design on patron and staff behavior. I have found plenty of material to use later on in my blog so I’m hoping things get easier as I go along.
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