Library Design Matters! Designing for New Services in an Uncertain Future

How do you envision a project and design library buildings and facilities that will not be delivered for several years? The past 18 months has shone a new light on the need for resilient and responsive buildings. What library services and programmes will be provided in the future? How are innovative approaches to the delivery of library services imagined, implemented and accommodated in new facilities? What are the facilities that will fit future services not yet in existence? What are the challenges and debates within the design team and stakeholders as the planning and preparation are undertaken? What works best and what processes should be used? What differences, if any, are there in building a new facility or re-using and adapting an old site?

Traci Lesneski, CEO of MSR Design will be in conversation with the thought leaders responsible for three very different projects in a state library, a public library and an academic research library. While the projects are different they are very similar. Each library had to address with their stakeholders the programming that would impact both the design of the buildings as well as the services delivered in each. In some cases the programming would be rolled out a number of years in the future – a challenge!

Join us on October 5, 2021 at 4:00 pm EDT for the third webinet in our Library Design Matters Series with:

Sarah Slade, State Library Victoria. The award winning State Library Victoria is one of Melbourne’s most iconic buildings and since 1856 has been a cultural and intellectual haven for city-dwellers, researchers, tourists, students, children, culture seekers and creators. The Vision 2020 redevelopment expanded, enhanced and activated the Library’s space, enabling the delivery of new services to new users including children and early-stage entrepreneurs and delivering a world-class exhibition gallery. Sarah Slade, Director, Enablers, describes the processes undertaken to ensure the building focused on improving client user experiences.

Peter Kok, LocHal, Tilburg, The Netherlands. LocHal is a mixed-use knowledge hub which has breathed life into a massive, unique, historic industrial site formerly a locomotive shed in Tilburg, The Netherlands, making it the cultural heart of the city. The building houses the Midden-Brabant public library, co-working spaces, bleacher-style seating for performances and presentations, exhibition spaces and specialist areas including a GameLab, FutureLab, LearningLab, and a WordLab, for sharing, learning, thinking, talking and imagining. Peter Kok, Director of the Bibliotheek Midden-Brabant explores the ways in which the transformation was achieved and the ideas for new services developed.

Janette Blackburn, Fiat Lux project, McGill University Library, Montreal, Canada . As McGill University approaches its 200th anniversary in 2021, McGill Library has developed a bold vision to transform the McGill Library (a renovation and new build involving three building eras: 1969 brutalist, 1890 gothic and a 1950’s addition) into a model of teaching, learning and innovation for the digital age. Janette Blackburn, Architect and Principal of Shepley Bullfinch, discusses the collaborative approach currently underway by the architects and design professionals with library staff, students, faculty and the community to programme the Fiat Lux project. By thinking creatively, embracing change, embedding technological advancements, and taking risks, the future Fiat Lux project aims to deliver services that not only meets user needs but exceeds them.

Philip Kent, University Librarian, University of Sydney will address your questions “live” through the chat feature. We look forward to engaging with you!

The webinet will be recorded and made available for later viewing on the IFLA YouTube channel.