the shrinking librarian

Aug 12

teachingliteracy:

Story Room
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library
by annethelibrarian

Story Room

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library

by annethelibrarian

Jul 17

Best Libraries Repurposed from Unused Structures

Cause nobody’s gonna be sad if they turn something into a library.

I mean it’s not like that time they turned Earwax Cafe into a DOC MARTEN’S STORE.

Jul 3

thelifeguardlibrarian:

Abandoned Wal-Mart Transformed Into A Functioning Library

FOR THE WIN.

(h/t expatlibrarian, awesome find.)

Sep 17

The books business: Great digital expectations

“TO SEE how profoundly the book business is changing, watch the shelves. Next month IKEA will introduce a new, deeper version of its ubiquitous “BILLY” bookcase. The flat-pack furniture giant is already promoting glass doors for its bookshelves. The firm reckons customers will increasingly use them for ornaments, tchotchkes and the odd coffee-table tome—anything, that is, except books that are actually read.”

Jul 29

Shepard Fairey, street artists brighten West Hollywood library

“The new public library in West Hollywood isn’t expected to officially open until October, but at least one component of the complex is already garnering public attention: a new group of murals created by street artists Shepard Fairey, Retna and Kenny Scharf.”

(latimes via Library Stuff)

Jul 1

Renovations to New Orleans area libraries bring them into 21st century

defendneworleans:

Robert E Smith Library in Lakeview, Photo by TP

Never before has a modern American city faced a wholesale reconstruction as New Orleans has since Hurricane Katrina.

But just as roads have been repaired and new schools built, the New Orleans Public Library has quietly been rebuilding its facilities in an effort to make the system a model among its peers.

The statistics after the storm were mind-numbing: Water and wind damaged the city’s main library and all of its 12 branches, eight beyond repair. More than half of the system’s collections were soaked by standing floodwater or roof leaks. Even the Louisiana Division — a repository of research materials including the city archives, special collections and genealogy records — was at risk of being compromised when some items in off-site storage were damaged. Ensuing layoffs reduced the size of the staff from 216 to 20.

Several suburban parishes fared no better. All but one of the libraries in Jefferson Parish was damaged. St. Tammany Parish lost two branch libraries to Katrina’s storm surge. And it took flood-ravaged St. Bernard Parish until 2007 to open a temporary library in a trailer.

In New Orleans, officials managed to repair and reopen five libraries swiftly after the storm, including the Main Library, the Children’s Resource Center and the Alvar Street, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nix branches. Services were expanded by adding nontraditional sites to the mix, such as a Mid-City storefront location at the American Can Co. building and a Central City post at the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood Center.

But in the coming months, residents will see the first wave of brand new libraries open their doors, built to 21st century standards set out by an ambitious master plan devised by the New Orleans Public Library Foundation in early 2008. The work is being paid for almost entirely by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Continue at the TP

A Towering Temple of Bookshelves for Books and Readers (via Gizmodo)

Jun 26

librarianista:

Entrance to Children’s Section, Cerritos Millenium Library, Cerritos, California (photo: Victor Rocha)

Jun 5

A Facility Forever Young

What do young people want?

When it comes to library space, they’re inclined to seek sophisticated yet comfortable areas. In a focus group that gave teens the opportunity to advise librarians and architects charged with designing the new Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library, their wishes were simple: Skip the clashes of color that might be considered cool or edgy, library Director Bob Pasicznyuk recalls them saying. Instead, teens said they wanted a dynamic space that evokes the atmosphere of a coffee shop. More than video games, these teens talked about “lots of great books” as a feature of young adult space, Pasicznyuk said.

The work of OPN Architects, Inc. will allow Cedar Rapids teens to have all this and more.

The way this design emphasizes the collections is interesting, especially during a time when many libraries aren’t focusing on holdings so much as technology and community space. It certainly sounds like CRPL’s been talking to their users, so I’m not trying to make a value judgment. It’s just interesting.

May 14

Library system’s art collection a little-known asset

“Many local residents may not know this, but the Miami-Dade Public Library System is a repository for more than books. It’s also home to a permanent collection of 2,200 works of art. Just look up at the walls.”

(via LISNews)