Introduction

Libraries are housed in a wide variety of purpose-built or converted buildings. Growing book collections in the Renaissance were accommodated in an ad hoc manner but it gradually became apparent that purpose-built accommodation would be better. One of the earliest purpose-built libraries was the Laurentian Library in Florence, designed by Michelangelo and completed in 1571. From then on, purpose-built library buildings became a ‘production’ to be decided by the interaction of librarian, architect and site. The ideal library building does not yet exist, and probably never will. Learning from past mistakes and triumphs is the lesson for the future.

Librarians need to appreciate library design even if they were not involved in the design of their library. A knowledge of library design gives a librarian an appreciation of how the services provided by a library might fit into its physical dimensions. Thus, while the physical structure of a building might be difficult (or impossible) to change, the way services and so on are laid out internally can be changed, albeit sometimes only at great cost. The physical ‘presence’ of a library has great importance for its users.

General library design considerations

Since libraries are all so different both in terms of their service provision and in general physical constraints (e.g. the size and location of their building plot), it is impossible to clone a design: ‘Fundamentally a library is not a building but a service organization’ (American Library Association, 1966).

The first and most important consideration is to follow standards. The website Designing Libraries (www.designinglibraries.org.uk) is an excellent place to start on viewing what has been learnt. Martin (1993) and Thompson (1996) are also useful starting points into library standards. Yet, ironically, standards always exist to be broken!

The essential issue is to consider and delineate as precisely as possible the functions of the library to be built, i.e. perform a needs assessment. This aims to understand what it is that users want in terms of services and resources, and also where and when and in what form they want them. Access should be encouraged in terms of lighting and passageways and the general level of comfort provided by the library and its environs.