 |
| Image from Wikimedia Commons, Citobun |
The Current on CBC has been running a series recently focused on all elements of design. By Design looks at traditional design as well as new technologies, education practices, and other human constructed ideas that shape our world. This week By Design featured a segment on designing libraries in a digital era.
The feature focused on the design of the new Halifax Central Library. Set to open in the fall of 2014 the library is the first of scale to be built in Canada in many years. The library features gaming stations, meetings rooms, community spaces, cafes, and takes the approach of libraries as gathering spaces and communal spaces of knowledge.
The discussion questioned the future of libraries and placed libraries as much more than a place for books, but as an actively engaged center of a community. This sense of community engagement was integrated into the design process for the Halifax Library. Five public consultations were held which invited Halifax residents to provide input on the design and components of the library. Many of these sessions were interactive. For example in 2008 library patrons were asked to write down what they wanted in a new library on a ‘graffiti wall.’
Interactive events including knit-ins, talking fences, and community art projects are other examples of the Halifax Library already beginning to engage the community through non-traditional means. The library is position itself as a welcoming multipurpose environment that encourage conversation.
It is great to see such a large scale library project being funded and supported by a community. As the library opens it will be interesting to hear feedback from the community and see how this new community oriented space is being used.
For those interested in checking out the design of the new Halifax Central Library a virtual tour is available: