[Publib] Tips for designing library buildings, from librarians

[Joe Schallan]

Dear Publibbers,

A long time ago I consigned library architects to the
Eighth Circle of Dante's Inferno (reserved for those
who, by enticing others into buying their grand
visions and schemes, led them to perdition).
Afterwards I solicited practical tips on library
building design from you, and fourteen of you
responded. Your replies have languished in my inbox
ever since. But I have finally collated and edited
them, and offer them here. Some of you came up with
the same architectural and design caveats, and so I
have attempted to remove duplication. In some
instances I have taken your particular concern and
generalized it to the class of concerns of which it is
a part. In other cases I left in repetition of advice,
because the repetition underscored the point or was
just so well stated!

Enjoy and (I hope) use!

Joe Schallan
Phoenix



TIPS FOR DESIGNING LIBRARY BUILDINGS . . . FROM
LIBRARIANS



IN THE BEGINNING

-- Don't use an architect who has never designed a
library. When you find an architect with experience,
go look at the libraries he or she has designed. Talk
to librarians who have worked with the architect. Did
he or she listen?

-- Be willing to tell architects what you want. You
must tell them exactly what you need and what is
non-negotiable. You can't blame an architect when he
or she acts in the absence of advice.

-- Talk to all staff members, not just managers, about
how they use their work spaces. Ask frontline staff
about patron behavior.

-- In a growing community, design with expansion of
the building in mind.

-- Revisit and adjust plans.



AMONG THE "NON-NEGOTIABLES"

-- The library's roof and windows should not leak.
(Designers of flat roofs take note.)

-- The library's layout should not confuse its
patrons. (Hold out for ease of navigation when the
architects want to get creative about rearranging the
functional units of the library.)

-- Interior elements (walls, wiring, flooring, service
points, stacks) should be easily reconfigurable, so
that librarians can change them as uses and purposes
change over the lifespan of the building.

-- Spaces and surfaces should not amplify noise.
(Designers of atriums and lovers of ceramic tile take
note.)

-- Flooring, wall treatments, and furnishings should
be durable, easy to clean, and easy and inexpensive to
repair and replace. Ask who will clean special
fixtures and features and how easily they will be able
to do so.

-- Generally, remember D.R.E.M. -- durability,
reconfigurability, expandability, maintainability.



THINGS YOU THINK ARCHITECTS AND LIBRARIANS WOULD KNOW

-- Don't build an immovable fortress for a service
desk. You will eventually change your mind about where
and how you want it.

-- When planning the structure of library floors, be
sure to take into account the weight of the materials
that will be on them.

-- If the parking lot is in the rear of the building,
don't make the only public entrance in the front of
the building.

-- If you are designing a library with more than one
floor, you should include an elevator. (Apparently,
this got completely overlooked at one place!)

-- Are there enough restrooms and can they be easily
found? Will the hacking and flushing coming from them
be audible throughout the building? Is there a set of
restrooms CLOSE to the children's area? Do both the
men's and women's restrooms have diaper-changing
stations?

-- Atriums and light wells with surrounding balconies
will be used by boys for gravity and sound
experiments, and others will use the balconies to
holler at friends or family on other levels.

-- Patrons will fall into an indoor water feature, and
will deposit items -- both innocuous and unsavory --
into it.

-- Any indoor planter, or artwork with a void in it,
will be treated as a trash receptacle.

-- Children's librarians come with, and generate, a
lot of stuff. Plan storage in staff areas accordingly.



USEFUL ENHANCEMENTS

-- Have a double set of doors for the main entry,
preferably with one set at an angle to the other so as
to not create a wind tunnel. The double doors will
lower heating bills in cold climates and cooling bills
in hot climates, and help keep dust and grime from the
street out of the library.

-- You cannot ever have too many electrical outlets,
too many network jacks, too many phone jacks, or too
much wireless coverage. Take the number of receptacles
you think you will need and triple it. Ditto this
advice in staff areas. (ESPECIALLY in staff areas!)



HVAC, UNSEXY BUT ESSENTIAL

-- Architects see grand spaces with high ceilings. Ask
about heating and cooling the grand spaces (and about
noise amplification, and about how much it will cost
to hire someone to replace the bulbs in the lighting
fixtures up there).

-- Avoid large, west-facing windows, because sun will
pour through them on summer afternoons and heat up the
building. (If unavoidable, consider shades or
screens.)

-- Ensure that the building is well insulated and uses
energy efficient windows throughout.

-- Make sure separate rooms on the periphery of the
building are reached by heating and cooling ducts.
Otherwise the rooms will be cold in winter and hot in
summer.



MORE ON THOSE EVER-PROBLEMATICAL RESTROOMS

-- The toilet paper roll shouldn't hit you on the hip.

-- Have separate children's and adult restrooms.

-- If the space is large enough, design the restrooms
without doors, like those in air terminal buildings.
This will make restrooms less inviting for undesirable
behavior. (Note conflict with advice elsewhere: Lack
of doors may allow bathroom noises to be audible in
the rest of the building.)

-- Use heavy-duty fixtures for everything. Avoid
complicated, high-tech fixtures that will break and be
difficult and costly to repair.

-- Assume that the restroom will be flooded. (This is
a "when" not an "if.") Choose flooring and wall
treatments accordingly. Put a drain in the middle of
the restroom.

-- Someone needs to solve the faucet problem.
Traditional faucets can give the patron as much water
as he or she requires, but can be left running.
Push-down, timed-release faucets won't give everyone
water long enough, so they will use one wet hand to
keep the faucet pushed down to wash the other, and
repeat the process from hand to hand, dripping water
on the counter around the sink. Motion-activated
faucets? (See admonition about complicated fixtures,
above, though a lot of airports seem to have adopted
the motion-detecting faucets.)



ABOUT STUDY ROOMS

-- Soundproof them. REALLY soundproof them!

-- Make sure they are adequately ventilated.

-- Make sure your wireless coverage reaches them.

-- Make sure there are electrical outlets for power
for laptops and other personal electronic devices.

-- Make sure your can see into the rooms from one of
your service points.



BOOKS DROPS ARE TRICKIER THAN YOU THINK

-- Include a drive-up book drop. Your patrons will be
immensely grateful. Keep the drop open 24/7/365.

-- Though 4'6" is the standard distance from the road
surface for locating a drive-up book drop, consider
having a second higher or lower one. A "standard" slot
will still be too low or too high for some vehicles.

-- The drive-up drop opening should be accessible from
the driver's side.  Passenger-side accessibility won't
work because we are a nation of lone drivers, and thus
most of the time patrons will have to park and run
around the car to do the drop.

-- If a book drop leads directly into a receptacle
inside your building, the receptacle should be in an
enclosed room with smoke detectors and sprinklers.

-- A book drop's slot and chute should be large enough
that neither will easily become blocked.

-- The receptacle or bin should be large enough to
handle material returned when the library is closed.
Take into account longer-than-usual holiday closures.



MORE ON WALL TREATMENTS, FLOORING, AND LIGHT FIXTURES

-- Make sure wall surfaces are washable.

-- When the architects show you those artistic light
fixtures ask a couple of questions: How much do
replacement bulbs cost and can we get them locally or
are they a special order from Sweden? Do we really
need 10 different types of light fixtures that require
10 different kinds of bulbs?

-- Skylights and computer commons don't mix.

-- Inquire about maintenance of proposed floor
coverings. Carpet you pretty much know, but other
floor coverings may require special maintenance
procedures and coating/cleaning agents.

-- Consider hard, durable, easy-to-clean flooring in
high-traffic areas. An examination of your old
carpeting will show you where these are. (Note
conflict with advice elsewhere: Hard flooring may
amplify noise. Replaceable carpet tiles an option?)

-- If you use two types of flooring, pay close
attention to how the transition between the two types
will be handled. T-moldings can create a tripping
hazard and can come loose.

-- Using taller baseboards, and bumpers on corners,
will keep your walls looking nicer, longer.
Examination of your existing walls will show the areas
that need to be protected.



PARKING, OR, THE THING PATRONS MOST COMPLAIN ABOUT

-- Make sure patron parking is close to the front
entrance, and that the front entrance can be easily
seen from the parking lot.

-- Avoid making patrons climb stairs to get from the
lot into the building.

-- Do not build parking lots or garages that have
areas hidden away from the general flow of traffic and
people. Such areas invite vandalism to cars and other
illegal activity.


AN INTERESTING GENERAL RULE

-- Design buildings according to how people actually
behave, not according to how you think they should
behave. (Same thing stated another way: If you demand
that people adapt to your building instead of adapting
your building to them, you shall surely go mad. Or at
least spend a lot of money on negative signage,
maintenance, and retrofits.)



IN THE END

-- Even if the architect never returns to see how his
or her building worked out, management should meet
with staff six months after construction or renovation
to discuss the building and what changes or
modifications need to be made. A budget for
adjustments should be set aside.



Contributors:

Carol Ann Robb
Kerri Canepa
Sue Kamm
Helen Dewey
Betty Long
Sonya Dintaman
(An adult services librarian from central Texas who
wishes to remain  
anonymous)
Kathy Wilgus
C.L. Quillen
Nancy Almand
Jeanne Heicher
Julianne Ourom
Dale McNeill
James B. Casey
Joe Schallan



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