Library Building Design: Lessons from Canada

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Library Building Design Lessons from Canada

• Janine Schmidt,
• University Librarian, University of Queensland
• With enormous gratitude to Grace Saw,
• Executive Manager, Physical Sciences and
  Engineering Library Service,
• University of Queensland

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Library building design

• Collection vs user focus
• Flexibility
• Variety of seating
• House information technology, computers for
  different purposes
• Provide desks etc for staff
• Open plan
• Match processing needs for materials eg receipt,
  dispatch

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Library building design

• Accommodate assistance to users
• Guide users to collections and services
• Cost effectiveness, functionality
• Support exhibitions
• Provide for self-service
• Reflect retail/bookshop approaches eg lower
  floors constitute prime real estate and
  accommodate most heavily used services
• Provide attractive space conducive to learning

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Library building design

• Provide for coffee/food
• Support networks, wireless
• Computers plug in lap-tops
• House different materials efficiently and
  effectively eg rare books, multimedia, microforms
  (preservation needs)
• Information Commons, Learning Centres,
  Information Arcades

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Lessons from Canada
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Simon Fraser University
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University of British Columbia
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University of Calgary
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University of Alberta
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University of Alberta
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University of Toronto
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University of Toronto
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University of Toronto
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University of Waterloo
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Universite de Laval
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CISTI
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Carlton University
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(No Transcript)
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National Library of Canada
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Gatineau Preservation Facility
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University Librarians at Work
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Lessons Learned?

• Information Commons well established,
  particularly in Western provinces
• Successfully sought central funding
• Traditional in most other respects