The Ideal Library ( article first appeared in Connecticut Libraries 2001)

An ideal library design is an effective combination of many related functions. The building gives people a wide range of choices and services, and accommodates many different needs. Whether constructing a new library, renovating an existing one, or simply seeking to improve your facilities as time and budget allow, you can increase your success by employing some of these ideas.

Finding the Building
People can find the library easily; park in a well-lighted parking lot convenient to the entrance; and enter carrying their materials, or pushing a baby carriage, or managing a wheelchair. Design requirements: An illuminated (preferably internal) sign placed perpendicular to traffic, showing service hours; a parking lot sized for library activity including programs - one space for every 300 sq. ft. of building area; automatic doors.

Displaying New Materials
The display of materials should emulate a good bookstore. People will select a recent video, CD, an interesting book or book-on-tape from a prominent, attractive display of new materials with covers well lighted for easy browsing. Market materials by displaying them for convenient browsing with alphabetic sequencing. Design requirements: Slanted, lighted display shelving with no shelves lower than 12" nor higher than 54"; wide aisles, at least 48".

Offering Choices
A public library is a multi-functional community center, ever growing and changing The wide variety of services and activities that are offered require an understanding of how these functions relate to one another, and how different users find and use these functions.

Design considerations: Orientation and communication among users and staff requires an intricate combination of signs, lighting, furnishings, and spatial zoning to suggest opportunities for alternative behaviors; provide an open coffee area for conversation, acoustically separated group and individual study rooms, computers everywhere, both embedded and on table tops.

Finding a Book
Public libraries are fundamentally self service institutions. Over 80% of users never contact a staff member except to check out materials. People can select a book on a particular subject from a large collection of materials on a wide variety of subjects. Users can locate a particular book in a collection of thousands because the libraries collections are uniformly arranged in an easy-to-find sequence.

Design considerations: The great book stack, containing tens of thousands of books, needs to be carefully laid out to suggest the sequence; end panels visible with line-of-sight signage in aisles need to be lighted for easy access to a particular book; online public access computers distributed conveniently in the stacks.

Getting Help
Experienced, well-trained librarians assist users to select a useful book, get an answer to a question or learn how to search the Internet.

Design requirements: A prominently located, well-lighted, easily identified information/reference desk with computers, storage, telephone, reference tools; oversize collaborative electronic work stations, 48 inches wide with two chairs, within easy reach of a librarian.

A Place for Quiet Study
Students can find a quiet place in the library to read a book, study reference material, search databases or the Internet.

Design requirements: The library provides acoustically separated and comfortable study locations with glare free lighting and data transmission capabilities; ergonomically designed, long term, mobile seating.

A Place for Children
An interesting, exciting and calming place for children where they can listen to stories, look at puppet shows, browse with a parent, get help from a librarian, or conduct research on the Internet.

Design considerations: Different sized tables and chairs; open activity areas; quiet study locations with chairs large enough for a parent to read to a child; picture books, with their thin spines, tiny spine lettering, and large colorful covers, suggest special shelving treatment for easy browsing by children and parents.

A Place to Work
Library staff are able to monitor the behavior of library users, and to efficiently control the check out of materials, order, process and catalog a large volume of materials.

Design requirements: Clear sight lines for staff supervision; a central circulation desk close to the exit; an efficient processing area with ergonomically designed staff workstations.