Library as a Place Resources - Print

Some provocative/useful print resources for Library as a Place:

Steven J. Bell and John Shank, “The blended librarian: A blueprint for redefining the teaching and learning role of academic librarians” College & Research Libraries News, July/August 2004. p. 372-75.

This article discusses the importance of merging traditional library and information technology skills with those of instructional design. (Within the “library as place” context, how can librarians most successfully achieve such integration?)

Bill Crowley, “Tacit Knowledge, Tacit Ignorance, and the Future of Academic Librarianship” College & Research Libraries, Vol. 62, No. 6, November 2001. p. 565-84.

The author describes the powerful influence of tacit knowledge — the mainly unspoken, sometimes unconscious “understandings of the world”— upon which college administrators and teaching faculty make decisions regarding the value of librarians and libraries. The ability to gain campus support to build or renovate a library and the determination of that facility’s major characteristics are made through prisms of tacit knowledge.

Sam Demas and Jeffrey A. Scherer, “Esprit de Place: Maintaining and Designing Library Buildings to Provide Transcendent Spaces” American Libraries, Vol.33,

No. 4, April 2002. p. 65-68.

An exploration of how public and academic libraries can better meet the significant social and community-building responsibilities that they have to their users. This article contains several questionable presumptions. For instance, when discussing technology-free zones, the authors posit that, “The intimate act of reading requires both solitude and quiet.”

Beth Dempsey, “Cashing In on Service” Library Journal, Vol. 129, No.18, Nov. 1, 2004. p. 38-41.

How entrepreneurial ventures make money and extend the library’s mission

Sharon Elteto and Donald G. Frank, “The Politics Of Survival In the Postmodern Library” portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol.3, No. 3, July, 2003. p. 495-501.

A forceful challenge to re-create academic libraries though much more effective political action: “Winners and losers do exist in academic libraries and on campuses. Academic libraries are participants in competitive activities and initiatives. Financial and other resources are limited. Those who appreciate, understand, cultivate and use the strategically important elements in their political environments are more likely to succeed in academe.” Political decisions must always play a critical role in shaping the “library as place.”

Steven M. Foote, “Changes in Library Design: An Architect’s Perspective” portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 4, No. 1, January, 2004, p. 41-59.

An article written from the viewpoint of an architect still in love with classical majestic reading rooms: “The cultural characteristics, architectural forms and iconography of libraries have been overwhelmingly seductive to architects for centuries.” However, the author describes how the infusion of information technology, the requirement of extensive collaborative learning environments, the development of the information commons, and the emerging role of the library as a true campus center are placing new challenges on library architects.

Krista Graham, “When the library becomes the largest computer lab on campus: Supporting productivity software in an academic environment” College & Research Libraries News, Volume 64, No. 7, July/August 2003. p.462-468.

The author offers one way to weave library services into the fabric of the teaching/learning process. The potential synergistic relationship between reference services and the technical help desk of the library’s general computer lab is explored.

Howard Shultz and Dori Jones Yang, Pour Your Heart Into It. New York:Hyperion. (1997).

Among the books you'll find at a local library is Howard Shultz’s account of the rise of his company, Starbucks Coffee. In it, you will read about a pretty simple concept called the “third place.” You've got your house. You've got your office. And then you’ve got your hangout. Starbucks. Books plus coffee equals people. People hanging out. A third place.

Harold B. Schill and Shawn Tonner, “Creating a Better Place: Physical Improvements in Academic Libraries, 1995-2002” College & Research Libraries, Vol. 64, No. 6, November 2003. p. 431-66.

An important empirical study of major improvements in 354 renovated or new academic library buildings. This research identifies building features that were the most and least successful in achieving substantial increased utilization. An inventory of mistakes in recent facility design is instructive. A good collection of citations dealing with “Library as Place” concludes the article.

Harold B. Shill and Shawn Tonner, “Does the Building Still Matter? Usage Patterns in New, Expanded and Renovated Libraries, 1995-2002” College & Research Libraries, Vol. 65, No. 2, March 2004. p. 123-50.

The researchers’ analysis shows that substantially increasing the number of seats, shelving capacity, computer stations or group study rooms may have little correlation with increasing attendance post-occupancy. Also of interest is the counter-intuitive impact of introducing “non-library facilities,” such as cafes, general classrooms, general computer labs and seminar rooms into a renovated or newly-constructed academic library.

Note: These articles require readers to keep in mind the difference between correlation and causation.

William Sannwald, “Expresso and Ambiance: What Public Libraries Can Learn from Bookstores” Library Administration & Management, Vol. 12, No. 4, Fall 1998.p. 200-211.

This article examines the critical importance of designing “atmosphere” into libraries and identifies some of the determining elements that go into a successful design. The material presented here is as relevant for academic libraries as public libraries.

Return to Library as Place Home Page