Shaping Our Space: Envisioning the New Research Library.

Academic librarians are designing new spaces in their libraries, in some cases through the re-design and renovation of existing facilities, and in rarer cases, through the opportunity to design an entirely new building. At the Ohio State University, the hundred year old, central research library on campus is undergoing a major, $100 million transformation that involves elements of restoration, gutting, tear down, and new building. What are the architectural and library programmatic directions that are guiding this project and other space design projects in research libraries today? How much space should be devoted to print collections and services, and how much space should be devoted to digital services, information commons, and other new demands on library space? The answers are to be found through an exploration of emerging library practices of ‘content management’ and ‘learning space design’ that must be linked to the aesthetics and functionality of effective architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]