This New Library Of The Future Brings You Your Books Via Robot. In a digital age where many commentators tolled the death knell for the book-bound library, we’ve reported time and time again that the libraries of the future are the ones that react and adapt to new technology, not run from it. A library that’s recently opened embodies this philosophy. The James B. Hunt Library at North Carolina State University blends novel technology with exciting design by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta. The most exciting new feature in the library is probably the bookBot, a robotic book-delivery system that will automatically retrieve books for students once they select them from a virtual catalog. The books will be stored in 18,000 underground bins, in high-density shelving units that can hold 2 million volumes in one-ninth the space of normal shelves. Other technological and architectural highlights include: Students working on prototypes will have access to the uPrint and Makerbot 3-D printers, in a designated Makerspace.
5 Innovations That Show Libraries Don't Have To Die. When I took a high school class in "library science," the primary innovation I learned about was the Dewey Decimal System. It was invented in 1876. But libraries insist that, despite their name (derived from liber, which is literally a Latin word for "tree bark"), they are hotbeds of innovation. The most surprising thing about this is that, to some extent, it’s true. Yes, the "browsing" that libraries are constructed around is completely antithetical to how information is browsed on the Internet.
But the existential threat posed by the web has driven libraries public and private to rethink how they can provide people with access not simply to dead trees, but to "information. " 1: The Bookless Library A judge in Bexar County, Texas made waves when he announced his intention to build a library without any books at all. 2: Libraries as Schools In a less extreme innovation, the Brooklyn Public Library system moved a section of paperbacks to make way for what it calls an "information commons.
" Crowdsourced Design: Why Los Angeles Is Asking the Public to Create the Library of the Future | Design on GOOD. If you could design your own public, community library of the future, what would it look like? How would it help your community and address the needs of the underserved? This year marks the 141st anniversary of the Los Angeles Public Library. Since its founding in 1872 as a modest reading room in rented space downtown, the Los Angeles Public Library has expanded to include the Richard J. Riordan Central Library and 72 municipal branch libraries that stretch from the Los Angeles Harbor region in San Pedro to nearly 50 miles north in Sylmar, and from El Sereno in East LA to nearly the Pacific Ocean, almost 40 miles to the west.
The library serves over four million people—the largest population of any library in the United States—and is the largest public research institution west of the Mississippi River. Despite our size, the expanse of the area we serve, the programs we currently offer, the library is nothing without its community. Public library image via Shutterstock.
Language Castle LLC is the one-stop resource for everyone who teaches young children who speak different languages. Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. is an author, presenter, and consultant. Language Castle’s 1st eBook is Now Available !!! Getting Teachers Ready to T. The Source of Technology Implementation Leadership: You! Digital-and-DAP-webinar-2012-Final.pdf (application/pdf Object) Citizen Libraries Are The New Home For The Printed Word. The survival of the library, at least in its current form, appears tenuous. Library conferences buzz with anxiety about "reinventing themselves. " Amazon.com can deliver a lifetime of reading to almost any electronic device in minutes. Computers, DVDs, and "digital activity centers" are crowding out books on library shelves.
Budget cuts are hitting libraries hard in many major cities. In spite of this siege, reading is not exactly waning. More books are published today than ever before, and the percent of Americans saying they have read a book during the last year, say Gallup and Pew, is still at around 80%, down from about 92% in 1978. For book lovers dismayed at the disintegration of a reading culture, however, there is no going gently into that dark night. One of those new spaces is Ourshelves, a San Francisco lending library open to everyone, no matter how little they can pay, or where they live, says Kristina Kearns, its bibliophile founder. Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem. Due to open in August 2013, the West Branch library in Berkeley, Calif., replaces a branch library building formerly located on the site.
Its net-zero energy and carbon-neutral design scheme was crucial to getting the $5.5 million, 9,500-sf replacement project approved by the city board. Situated on a tiny, quarter-acre lot along bustling University Avenue, Berkeley, Calif.’s, new West Branch library may not be large in stature, but it’s one of the most significant library projects of the year. Due to open in August, the 9,500-sf facility will join a handful of libraries across the country that are net-zero energy performers. And, if all goes as planned, the facility will achieve net-positive energy performance—supplying power back to the city’s electrical grid—and have a carbon-neutral footprint. The project’s Building Team, led by Harley Ellis Devereaux’s GreenWorks Studio (www.harleyellisdevereaux.com), is targeting LEED Platinum. Passive design requires careful modeling, detailing. West Hollywood Public Library. In Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem, “Trees,” the author artfully expresses the beauty of nature’s form, and contrasts it to the inadequacy of human expression and verse.
Yet, the connection between the written word and the natural world abounds within untold volumes of books lining the shelves of libraries across the globe. It’s fitting, then, that the new West Hollywood Library, designed by Culver City, Calif. -based Johnson Favaro, was born in a park and bears the hallmarks of its natural surroundings. Charged with expanding the existing 5,000-square-foot library to a 32,000-square-foot facility within the city’s largest park—yet constrained by a city ordinance that forbids converting park space to any other use than recreation—the design team proposed a comprehensive master plan for West Hollywood Park at the city’s request. “[A] library is more than just a bunch of books; it is truly a place where the community gathers.
SOURCES:back to top CONTACT: back to top. 5 Amazing Libraries You Didn’t Know You Had Access To. Suz Massen, Chief of Public Services at the Frick Art Reference Library was gracious enough to come in and speak to my Intro to Reference class at Pratt Institute this week and I was surprised and excited to find out that the Frick Library is freely available to the public! This got me wondering what other great libraries are out there which I thought were closed and private that actually allow the general public access without having to apply as a researcher. Here are five amazing libraries you might not realize you have access to: 1.)
The Library of Congress The Main Reading Room in the Library of Congress includes a collection of over 66, 000 volumes, their Computer Catalogue Center, and access to over 800 databases, around 600 of which can only be used on-site at the library. 2.) The Strahov Library located in the Strahov Monastery in Prague, Czech Republic contains 18,000 religious texts, including many editions of the Bible in numerous languages. 3.) 4.) 5.) St. Louis Public Library, Central Library Featured in Architect. St. Louis Public Library, Central Library Featured in Architect. The St. Louis Public Library, Central Library is featured in the March issue of Architect. The online version of the article can be found on pages 90-98. The original building was designed in Beaux Arts style except for the North Wing façade which featured a series of tall, slim windows to admit filtered light into a closed stack area. The North Wing truly ushers in the 21st century with the removal of old book stacks and the insertion of a newly constructed “building within the building.”
Central Library, endowed by a special gift from Andrew Carnegie, has always existed to serve the people of St. All photos courtesy of Timothy Hursley. New York Designer Creates the Most Polished Phone Booth Library Yet - Design.