Planning Public Library Buildings
Planning Public Library Buildings

Author: Michael Dewe

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-22

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1317079965

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Planning a new or refurbished public library means considering not only facilities for collections, services, staff and users, but examining also the local context, reviewing the library image, and developing relationships with other community facilities and agencies. This book examines the entire gamut of challenges confronting the planning and development of contemporary public libraries; their mission, their roles, and key issues such as lifelong learning, social inclusion, community and cultural needs, regeneration and funding. The helpful presentation and readable style guides the librarian through the preliminary information-gathering and decision-making process that ensures a successful library building for all concerned. Using practical case studies, plans and photographs, the author tackles the critical issues of siting, size, plans and design concepts, and provides a helpful guide to weighing up the alternatives of refurbished, converted and new buildings. Separate chapters focus on the planning, briefing and construction process; security, safety and sustainability; key characteristics of successful buildings; identity, decor and signage; and interior layout and facilities. The text draws together a vast resource of real library examples from all over the world which provide best practice models and lessons to learn. For funding authorities, librarians and architects of public libraries this is a highly informative book that will help to ensure wise decision-making and prevent costly mistakes.

Planning for a New Generation of Public Library Buildings
Planning for a New Generation of Public Library Buildings

Author: Gerard B. McCabe

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2000-01-30

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 1567508413

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The public library director needs information that helps in understanding what is involved in planning for a public library building project. This applies whether the subject is a free standing independent building, a branch library, a joint-use facility with a museum, a senior academic library, a community or junior college library, or a school library. Reading this book will not turn a reader into a qualified specialist on library buildings, but it will help librarians and others learn what should be known about a project so that they may function effectively as part of the planning team. The concept of modern libraries is moving toward interactive connections with information sources far beyond the immediate community. For the contemporary public library, this means connection to a network, with several terminals constantly online to the Internet. New library buildings must be constructed with these and other needs in mind. The public library director needs information that helps in understanding what is involved in planning for a public library building project. This applies whether the subject is a free standing independent building, a branch library, a joint-use facility with a museum, a senior academic library, a community or junior college library, or a school library. This book will help librarians and others learn what should be known about a project so that they may function effectively as part of the planning team.

The Los Angeles Central Library
The Los Angeles Central Library

Author: Kenneth A. Breisch

Publisher: Getty Publications

Published: 2016-12-21

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1606064908

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In the most comprehensive investigation of the Los Angeles Public Library’s early history and architectural genesis ever undertaken, Kenneth Breisch chronicles the institution’s first six decades, from its founding as a private library association in 1872 through the completion of the iconic Central Library building in 1933. During this time, the library evolved from an elite organization ensconced in two rooms in downtown LA into one of the largest public library systems in the United States—with architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue’s building, a beloved LA landmark, as its centerpiece. Goodhue developed a new style, fully integrating the building’s sculptural and epigraphic program with its architectural forms to express a complex iconography. Working closely with sculptor Lee Oskar Lawrie and philosopher Hartley Burr Alexander, he created a great civic monument that, combined with the library’s murals, embodies an overarching theme: the light of learning. “A building should read like a book, from its title entrance to its alley colophon,” wrote Alexander—a narrative approach to design that serves as a key to understanding Goodhue’s architectural gem. Breisch draws on a wealth of primary source material to tell the story of one of the most important American buildings of the twentieth century and illuminates the formation of an indispensible modern public institution: the American public library.

Eye-Popping, Show-Stopping Libraries
Eye-Popping, Show-Stopping Libraries

Author: Anders C. Dahlgren

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2022-09-14

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 153812839X

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Eye-Popping Show-Stopping Libraries starts out by recounting the beginning of the relationship between the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) to establish the Library Building awards and traces the development of the program over the following five decades. In the next seven chapters the authors have grouped selected award-winning libraries by big themes, to explore the evolution of service innovations and design trends; most of the selected case studies include exterior and interior photographs, as well as floor plans. The final chapter offers some thoughts on what a half-century of award-winning architecture can tell us about the future of library service and library design. In the afterword the authors review the initial round of seventeen award-winning libraries from 1963, to assess how the designs have held up over time, and to describe the current disposition of the building. Three appendixes offer a chronological list of award recipients, an alphabetical list of awardees by library, and an alphabetical list by architect. The fourth and final appendix is a chronological list of jury members. This full-color, beautifully illustrated with 141 images book presents these exemplary libraries as an exploration of the evolution of library service and design. It examines the award-winning libraries by big themes to explore how service trends and design trends have evolved. Documentation of featured library buildings (including photographs and plans) is an important element.

Hearings
Hearings

Author: United States. Congress. House

Publisher:

Published: 1964

Total Pages: 1708

ISBN-13:

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