The Digital architecture of libraries

As an architect, I believe buildings give a place character. The interaction between people gives it culture. Many communities across the world have both character, and culture, but their libraries give them a sense of pride. Libraries today are more than mere book repositories; they are a “place” of information, recreation, and education. “The physical library building, when designed and maintained with “place-making” in mind, serves as a vital agent in community-building – bringing people together to promote a community’s civic and education values.”

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Historically, Libraries have been safe houses of information; the 1800’s saw monumental designs, with high plinths, coffered ceilings, and a strict formality in the arrangement of stacks. These cathedrals of information implied power, most users felt intimidated, thinking these were institutions for the rich or elite. They were uncomfortable, and collections were not spaced well, leading to heating and cooling problems in these spaces, leading to the premature destruction of parts of their collections.

The Mid 1800’s saw a spurt in book publishing, and hence reduction in prices. Libraries did not need to retain the image of the “keeper of knowledge” anymore, and open stacks were integrated into libraries.  Libraries then started being designed to be learning institutions, there however was a great deal of Greek Revival in these buildings, and they remained formidable even if there was the word “PVBLIC” carved on the marble. Even though these buildings were unfriendly, the fact is, they had a great impact on enriching and educating the communities they stood in.



The “Functionalist” designers of the 1950’s and 60’s saw the need for a more flexible space. They were however, uninspiring spaces, had acoustic problems, and despite the intent were anything but functional. The failure of these spaces led architects to go back to the specialization of spaces that exists in libraries of today.

The 1990’s saw the construction of many new libraries in the United States, a lot of new concepts emerged at the time. A book-browsing model, also known as the “bookstore concept,” was introduced in libraries. Computer and electronic resources were added to library collections. Ergonomic design of computer terminals, and reading areas was introduced. Technology is continually driving library design, and even the libraries of the 90’s are now overwhelmed with media they don’t really know how to handle. Libraries now appeal to different age groups, and have various zones designed specifically to the age groups defined.



Modern library design has led to the emergence of many new concepts. On the forefront is transparency of service. Libraries today work in conjunction with a variety of other organizations, including their parent institutions such as universities, colleges, agencies, or local government. Library users, also are no longer only accessing collections physically, but with computers, tablet devices, and other electronic devices. “We live in an era of social, enterprise-oriented, and increasingly cloud-based technology; “Cloud computing” is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.a dramatic shift away from stand-alone isolated silos that previously dominated. Computing systems can flourish today only when built to easily exchange data and services.” The reality of the digital presence will shape the way libraries adopt technologies, and in turn change the way they are designed. A Library now typically depends on integrated library system software; this software manages many of the library’s functions. “Many libraries supplement their automation systems with third-party self-check stations, anti-theft security systems, or sorting equipment.” These systems however are catalog-based. Over the years, libraries have found these systems inadequate in terms of content provided to the search. Many libraries have now adopted “Content management systems,” that read through the content of collections, and are able to look into all media at one time. It is now possible to read dialogue from a scene in a motion picture. This comprehensive system of content reading has led to the use “Federated search,”- an information retrieval technology that allows the simultaneous search of multiple searchable resources. A user makes a single query request which is distributed to the search engines participating in the federation. The federated search then aggregates the results that are received from the search engines for presentation to the user. Libraries have now felt the need of having a web presence to bring web users, as well as physical users to the library. “Blogs sprouted as a vehicle for continually updated content and to lend personality to a library’s web presence.”  In addition to specialized software, library staff are using Wikis, intranets, and shared file systems to house documentation, procedures and other data. Larger libraries tend to use all these technologies, while smaller ones use some of them.

Libraries often have unique and special collections. They receive a lot of public attention, and must be preserved through both physical conservations, and digital processes. Most new libraries have some sort of system in place to digitize their collections and be able to retrieve them in the future. “libraries and archives in all parts of the world are building increasing capacity to digitize important materials of scholarly or cultural interest to both provide wider access to them and to help preserve them. National libraries naturally tend to have the largest and most sophisticated digitizing operations and the best technical infrastructure to support these efforts. More academic, research, and public libraries have likewise developed top-notch digitizing programs.”



Physical materials in libraries are subject to many environmental, physical, fire, and human damage. Out long history with physical documents has proven that given the best conditions, we can preserve physical collections for many centuries, they can be prevented from decay if they are found to be deteriorating. Their digital counterparts on the other hand may be digitized fairly easily, but retrieval may not happen, or files may be lost. No current storage media exists today that can house information safely, in its entirety for more than a few decades. One of the problems for digital content is obsolescence. File formats such as TIFF and JPEG are widely used, and may remain for a longer time, but the storage media has a short lifespan. Example: Most computers today are incapable of reading 5.5” floppy discs used two decades ago. CDs and DVDs may get obsolete with the advent of Blu-Ray. The other problem is- “Bit-rot,” Digital content is prone to deterioration, and a small bit of data lost from a file makes the file useless. Even when higher quality media is used in climate controlled environments, it is impossible to keep all of it safe. For now libraries may have to do with moving data to different formats every 3-5 years, thereby keeping it in use. Another option is to keep lots of copies. Stanford University has launched a preservation project for electronic files called “Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe.” “LOCKSS replicates the traditional model of libraries keeping physical copies of books, journals, etc. in their collections, making it possible for libraries to house copies of digital materials long-term. When libraries have custody of the content, they need not pay continued access fees for post cancellation access. Hundreds of publishers and libraries around the world have joined the LOCKSS community and are working together to ensure that libraries continue their important social memory role.” The LOCKSS system is an award winning, open source, peer-to-peer decentralized digital preservation infrastructure. LOCKSS preserves all file formats and automatically migrates content ahead in time. The software audits the data continuously to repair any lost information. Hundreds of scholars are now using LOCKSS to preserve their data. This could be another function libraries could adopt- preservation of papers, documents, photographs, etc. They could be from scholarly sources or public figures. In my opinion a community library could be capable of storing information for anyone from the community, as a bank for information, or as a system share your stuff. A more public version of this could almost be a Flickr, or Picasa for libraries, which may be under the purview of Web technologies, and it could be up to the libraries to decide how to draw the fine line between internal organization and social networking when it comes to using library resources.



That said, libraries are now looking at the social aspect of their web presence; social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies are finding their way into library systems. “It’s clear that social network concepts have taken strong hold throughout so many aspects of our world. Facebook and Twitter have propelled far beyond their narrow niche of tech- or media savvy enthusiasts to the mainstream of society. From its early beginnings as a service for students from a few ivy-league universities, today, Facebook finds use by more than 400 million individuals, spanning all generations (www.facebook.com/press/info.php7statistics). Twitter claims about one-fourth as many users and pervades a wide range of interests from popular culture to big business.” The use of these social networking utilities does not guarantee positive results. Blogs deliver current content, and are a good supplement to the library’s website; however, blogs that are hosted externally can take users away from the main website. These blogs often abruptly end the session, and users end up away from the library. “By composing blog entries peppered with terms that attract search engine traffic and subsequently funnel visitors into library services, a blog can better fulfill its role as a successful promotional tool.”



In addition to their web presence, libraries need to embrace Web 2.0 within the physical building. Libraries started with installing computers and networked laptop tables, expanding media selections, deploying comfortable couches, and focusing on young readers. These were appropriate changes at the time, but the library of today is one in the post-information revolution. The post-information age has seen the emergence of Google, Kindle, iPod, and other tablet readers. Libraries are being left behind in their favor. Readers have been able to view e-books on their tablet devices, “But now libraries are stepping up plans to lend out the e-readers themselves to give their patrons a chance to try out the new technology and stay true to their mission of providing information to the public in whatever form it’s available.” Libraries no longer need to be limited to the physical library or branch libraries. There can be several branch libraries everywhere. All a library needs is an internet connection. This can be additional to the system, and kiosks could be placed in public spaces for users with handheld readers to connect to the online library collection 24/7.



In the post-information age, architects of libraries need to design for change. The physical library space should include meeting spaces, alternative reading, social meeting spaces, and spaces for simple “people watching.” The library used to be the place that people would go to gain information; it is a place for communal interaction. “It is the community interaction and the centralized information that allows people to take on major challenges, and the public library is the one community space designed and built to bring these two things together.” Printed books and other material still needs to be available, newer readers growing up on e-readers need to have printed books as a presence; this can be done by offering an environment that can stimulate social interaction within the community. The Phoenix Central Library has a bookstore that has a book club, sells used and new books, and brings some revenue to the library. A bookstore may seem like a contradiction in a library, but it can add to revenue generation, and be an important social space.



Libraries are an integral part of a community, and the people of that community. Whether it is the library users, or employees, the collections, and services are what make a library. The streamlining of these items and social spaces in the building makes the user and employee experience positive or negative. The building is important, but only as much as the organization of its collections, the library’s projected image, and the ergonomics of the space. Libraries of the future will adopt, and use web technologies, to bring information to the end user. They should be inviting, and have a sense of “place” to encourage more social gathering. They should not be storehouses of information, but places of learning for the community. They should be open and accessible to anyone. This will in turn bring the community back to the library, to read books. I sincerely believe books and electronic books can thrive together. It is up to the libraries, and their communities to find a good balance between the two.