The Boston Globe has an interesting read on some of the changes made at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts.Changes that have had some amazing results:Library use up 27%Library Circulation up 84%!What in the world could have happened?Well for starters they moved 500,00 under used books from the basement and moved them "into an old mountainside military bunker"Then they turned the place where "You could shoot off a cannon and not worry about hitting anyone" into a bustling hang out by adding a coffee bar, computers, "Vending machines [that] dispense everything from spare computer parts to...
The Library as Shelter
Yesterdays paper had an article about the strides the library has made in dealing with its large amount of homeless visitors. Yes, added security and a larger space have made a difference. The library is larger so it could hold the homeless more discreetly and the added security does help, although I think it is there more as an essential element in maintaining the library as a tourist attraction. So did the issue that plagued the old central library really improve? Social service issues can never be solved through architecture, they might be improved but never solved. Why couldn't a...
W-Z
W-ZThe 'Libraries For All' 1998 bond measure victory flagsHigh Point Library35th Ave SWWest SeattleA new Koolhaus designed Central Library, 5 other new branches and improvements to all 22 existing branches in Seattle.With usership up, the Central Library becoming a top tier tourist attraction, and each project adding something to each neighborhood we can only hope that we can take all this good karmic library energy that has resulted from this bond measure and apply it to our regions transportation needs