I have a passion for the library – all libraries. My tastes are eclectic. My own library includes tomes such as Euclid’s Elements, religious works such as the Koran and the Old and New Testaments, a host of non-fiction and fiction in hardcover and paperback, and, of course, bestsellers.
Libraries support writers, which was printed sometime around 4,000 B.C., making books approximately 6,000 years old. At first, writing was used for simple transactions scratched on stone or clay – I sold seven sheep; you paid two horses. Eventually, writing became much more complex – complex enough to recount real or false histories of the local king and the people to the willing reader. Pharaonic tombs are filled with such stories. After awhile people collected this writing and collectively developed libraries.
Century by century, the perceived value of reading increased, although sometimes imperceptibly. Granted, the Dark Ages in Europe seemed to set reading back substantially. The invention of movable type in the fifteenth century gave it an important push forward. It wasn’t, however, until the second half of the nineteenth century that the value of reading exploded through the western population. Along with a middle class, a mass reading public came into existence. Today, literacy and access to information is considered the focus of libraries.
Now I have nothing against technology and its ability to find and deliver information. I use it every day. I even have a kindle reader and browse news on Twitter. But I have a passion for the paper-based book even though the computer is a better tool for information access. There’s a feel to the book, a feel to its pages, a sensation I get when I open the cover and read the writer’s opening lines. Yes, you could characterize my love of the library as a passion for learning, a search for knowledge that is also satisfied by books and computers. But a computer is a mechanical thing. It lacks the tactile sensation I get when I read a novel on the beach. So, I use both.
Today’s library is a combination between the seating, collections and staff. The community use the library when is it designed to be productive and inspiring. Once the decision has been made to “do something” about a library – renovation, addition, and new building – the library planning team set up guidelines that will help to make the project smooth running and successful. Aaron Cohen Associates library space planning guides include functional programs that define the square footage and the requirements to support different user groups (mature adults, students, youth and children, etc.). Architects, engineers and other professionals often use these documents to develop the 21st century library.
