Competency # 4-RSS Feed

I chose this feed from the Designing Libraries website because it provides current information regarding library building and design issues, latest trends and news regarding new projects and concepts in buildings and space planning. The website also has an interesting gallery of photos of libraries. There are lots of enticing pictures that provide inspiration and ideas for any library professional considering an expansion, new building or a refurbishing project.

Competency # 5-Tagging

3-5(1) amazon(2) architecture(30) art(19) beautiful book(1) bibliophilia(4) Boeken(1) books(14) books about books(13) books and authors(1) books and reading(3) coffee table(5) France(1) hardcover(2) history(4) home(2) images(1) interior design(4) international(2) Italy(1) James H. Billington (foreward)(1) libraries(54) library(11) Library architecture(2) library buildings(3) lifestyle(1) Manchester(1) new york city(1) non-fiction(17) Nonfiction Libraries(1) own(2) Photography(20) photos(8) pictorial works(3) picture(2) read(2) reference(4) Switzerland(1) tbr(3) Test Living with books(1) ursus(1) wishlist(5) World(4)


Tags from librarything.com with the search terms "Library Architecture."
I chose the title: "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" by Guillaume de Laubier. I chose it because I would love to see this book, I imagine it must be luscious with images and descriptions of these incredible buildings.
A review from Amazon.com says: Speaking as a professional librarian for more than three decades -- someone who upon visiting a city for the first time usually seeks out the main library for a look around -- there are libraries and then there are libraries. Even those in major U.S. cities tend to be utilitarian first (sometimes utilitarian only). Those dating from the 1950s and `60s are generally pretty ugly, as well. For richness and beauty, you have to go overseas to find libraries constructed in an earlier time, when architecture and ornamentation was an end in itself. Except for the small collections kept by monasteries, the library is pretty much an invention of the Renaissance and the Age of Reason. The National Library of Austria, in Vienna, is gorgeously Baroque, with allegorical paintings on the ceilings and narrow staircases concealed behind hidden doors in the stacks. The ever-suspicious Vatican Library still locks its bookcases, filled with bibliographical relics of incalculable value. The Senate Library in Paris is a blend of Neoclassical and Italianate, but it's very much a working library and the old card catalogue has been replaced by computers. I was privileged many years ago to visit the breathtaking library at the Abbey of Saint Gall, home of probably the world's most important collection of surviving incunabula. The curving bookshelves of inlaid wood, the hundreds of carved portraits, arms, and both religious and secular symbols are just incredible. And there's the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the first-ever university collection. And there are more than a dozen others in this beautifully produced volume, of which only three in the United States were deemed worthy of inclusion: the Library of Congress, the New York Public, and the Boston Athenaeum. All of which are practically new buildings compared to the others, but the same principal is at work -- to house knowledge in artistically serene surroundings. Remember the overhead shot of the LC's main Reading Room in *All the President's Men*? That says it all. (Michael K. Smith, 2004)

Competency # 3-Podcast

Joshua Prince-Ramus on the Seattle Public Library:
The architect on the new Seattle Public Library discusses his design and theories. I chose this podcast, found through www.youtube.com, because I wanted to demonstrate that libraries can be designed to serve as a community gathering spot and how that is accomplished. The podcast also presents a model for how concepts are brought together with functions in a public library building.

This is an interesting and artful representation of making the functional appear fanciful and a creation of public art. A temporary wall for a construction project at the library in Cardiff, Mo. (left)

The picture on the far right is in Kansas City they decided to make it a permanent feature. This is the wall of the library parking garage.

A big thank you to the Deputy-Dog.com for these pictures. Deputydog. Deputydog: Because everyone likes stuff. 2007 [cited June 4 2008]. Available from http://deputy-dog.com/2007/11/30/can-you-spot-the-library/.

Competency # 2- A Related Blog

I found an interesting blog on the web from Nampa, IA. entitled Nampa Library Sketchbook. I found this blog with a Google search for blogs about library buildings and design. Nampa is in the process of building a new library for their community and the library is maintaining a blog on the progress of this project. As my blog focuses on library buildings I thought it would be interesting to watch their project develop and what elements they consider as most important for their community.
This was the first post I could find dating back to March 2007:
Exciting times are here!
Welcome to Library Sketchbook, the blog about the Nampa Public Library’s new building. We want to tell you what’s happening as Nampa moves closer to building a new library. I look forward to introducing building topics and moderating discussion. I’ll also relay what’s happening in this process to community groups and through updates to the media.Why a new library? The old one is in a grand, historic building, but it lacks parking, access for those with disabilities, rooms for meetings, doing homework, or enough places for computers or casual reading. Nor is there enough room for the collections of books, movies, music and other materials to serve a community this size. In fact, the 23,500-square-feet building is only one-third the size it should be, according to national standards. The Library Board and the City of Nampa have committed to a new library. There are some large private donations to help out and the community is genuinely committed to the project. Check back for updates and feel free to respond.- Dan Black, Nampa Public Library Community Relations Coordinator
Posted by NPL Staff at 4:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: Welcome


Visit their blog at:

http://nampalibrary-sketchbook.blogspot.com/

Competency # 1-Creating a blog

This blog was created as part of my Masters studies at Texas Woman's University for a course in Information Storage and Retrieval. My attention is focused on public libraries. While I'm interested in buildings, design and space planning in public libraries, my interests extend far beyond this narrow scope. Usually, we are motivated by a pressing need to learn something. In this case that is very true, since I'm in a very crowded library and the time for expansion has not yet come, financially that is! Therefore, it is in the best interest of the community for the staff and I to be creative in using the space we have and maximizing every asset, while we await the appropriate time for an expansion. A clear case of "necessity is the mother of invention." It will also be interesting to track just how this expansion unfolds, politically, financially and physically. While I've had the privilege to have lead two building projects for two different libraries, which included a new library building project and the restoration and expansion of an historical library building, this should be another vastly entertaining and interesting project.

As part of my duties as Director of a public library I teach an on-going computer class. The majority of my students are older citizens struggling to learn a new skill. A new skill that is difficult for most people-young or old to grasp. Recently, I've been faced with same frustration trying to help people with Vista which I know almost nothing about. My students also struggle with varying degrees of physical barriers brought about by the natural aging process. These include tremors, poor eye-sight, difficulty recalling or remembering information, hearing loss, deterioration of fine-motor skills and on and on. Because of my fondness for these people and past experiences with their absolute joy at any small success, this has lead me to become very interested in training or teaching to older citizens.

After having watched a very interesting web cast of Social Networking with emphasis on Second Life, curiosity lead me to sign up for an account. I'm a newbie on Second Life and don't have abundant time to spend on the site, hence I'm a pretty worthless citizen of that world right now. I'm interested in exploring this new web application and how it can benefit the library and its users, particularly if it helps the library reach out to young people.

And then again, who knows. The library world is so interesting this could lead us anywhere from book reviews to innovative ways libraries are using for delivery of services.