Planning the Modern Public Library Building

This collection of 22 highly informative essays offers important insight into current activities in the area of building planning. Written by recognized building experts from the United States and Australia, the essays discuss critical planning issues from a management perspective.

Topics include space design; collection marketing; furniture selection; landscaping; accommodating different age groups; hosting activities and events; seeking support from the community; and more. Technology is given a high priority. A bibliographic essay provides an abundance of suggested titles for further study.

This collection of 22 highly informative essays offers important insight into current activities in the area of building planning.

Library Journal

If a new library is in your future, this is one of the books you will want to read as you plan. Building experts from the United States and Australia (both librarians and architects) contributed the 22 essays, whose topics include beginning to plan and key issues in planning, space, and building design; furniture selection; landscaping; services and accommodations for different age groups; rallying support for your library; and technology considerations. There is also an annotated bibliography. In the essay on library design, Valerie Meyer maintains that no one is better qualified than librarians to design a new library especially because of their experience and organizational and customer service skills. She outlines the various sections within the library and what to consider as part of the design. Robert W. Fetzer discusses advantages and disadvantages of ordering stock furniture vs. custom-made. He also covers different woods, how they are cut, their appropriate uses, and how this has an effect on furniture construction. Authors James Flott and Merri A. Hartse consider the importance of landscaping in ecological terms, as a matter of safety and security, and managing the plants after the initial installation. From inside to outdoors, all areas are given consideration. The essays all contain a current and helpful bibliography of other readings on the topic, which readers will find invaluable. Use this excellent resource in conjunction with Lee Brawner's Determining Your Public Library's Future Size: A Needs Assessment and Planning Model; William W. Sannwald's Checklist of Library Building Design Considerations, 4th ed.; Nolan Lushington's The Design and Evaluation of Public Library Buildings; and Anders C. Dahlgren's Public Library Space Needs. Recommended for public librarians.-Marie Bruni, Huntington Memorial Lib., Oneonta, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

GERARD B. MCCABE is retired Director of Libraries, Clarion University, Pennsylvania.

JAMES R. KENNEDY is University Librarian, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa.