[Publib] Children's rooms upstairs?

[Linda Ballard]

Mr. Casey wrote:  Ideally, the prime spaces near windows, excellent
views, natural light and ease of access should be public spaces.
Administration, Technical Services, Building Services, staff lounges,
etc.. should go into the basement whenever possible.

 

Although Mr. Casey is certainly right that the public who use and pay
for a library deserve the best, I would hate to think that those of us
who toil there 8 hours a day should be denied natural light etc. unless
there was absolutely no other option.  Basements are fine for HVAC,
storage, etc., but I personally couldn't work below ground every day.
Staff morale is a consideration too, and I doubt that I'm the only
librarian that needs to see the sun during the daylight hours.

 

But the question was about upstairs children's areas.  Ours is upstairs
and all of the disadvantages mentioned are a problem - boisterous
traffic up and down the uncarpeted stairs, noise filtering down over the
railings (we have an atrium), worries about toddlers literally toddling
off the stairs (oddly, they never seem to fall, thank goodness).  On the
other hand, kids and their caregivers, for the most part, are younger
and more agile than a lot of adult patrons for whom stairs are a problem
if the elevator isn't in service.  Our library is very open.  Enclosing
the Youth Services Department with glass walls might have addressed the
some of the noise problem.  We renovated one area of Youth Services to
provide a 50 person meeting area for storytimes and other programs.  It
has glass walls, so is visually part of the department, but contains the
joyful hubbub of storytelling very well.

 

Linda V. Ballard

Director, University City Public Library

6701 Delmar Blvd.

University City MO 63130

314.727.3150; fax, 314.727.6005

 

 

 

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