Libraries Designed for Users: A 21st Century Guide.

Nolan Lushington's book Libraries Designed for Users: A 21st Century Guide is a highly readable addition to the collection of library design and architecture material. Lushington—a library consultant, former public library director, and library school professor—has been active in this area for more than twenty-five years. This book is primarily intended for public library planning but has ideas for health sciences library space planning as well. It is divided into four parts: “Essential Background,” “The Planning Process,” “The Planning of Specific Functional Areas,” and “Library Design Source Box.” It also has an index and more than fifty illustrations. Part one, “Essential Background,” discusses the history of public library planning and planning trends, as well as new models and design criteria for the twenty-first century library. In the past 100 years, Lushington explains, all libraries have increasingly opened up to readers in both design and concept. Today, they are open, inviting, ergonomic and multi-functional structures, containing high-tech, multimedia access throughout. Hospital and academic health sciences libraries have also observed this change in emphasis, one reason the book will be of use to their staff. Part two, “The Planning Process,” provides seventy pages of useful ideas, including a “how to” on needs assessment, development of the library program planning document, advice on working with architects, site selection, and review of plans. The author rightly suggests an inclusive process, developing a team of the many interested parties including library staff, town planners, consultants, designers, and architects. The needs assessment chapter builds on the library's strategic plan to develop the space needs document, complete with square footage calculations for assignable and non-assignable spaces. “The Library Program Document” chapter has useful samples of the functional area sheet forms to use with consultants in preparing detailed descriptions of each area of the library. Additional samples are provided in part four, the “Library Design Source Box” or appendix. The “Architect and Architectural Work” chapter familiarizes the reader with the process of selecting an architect, the design phases, and construction documents. Finally, several chapters review practical matters such as site selection, general design considerations, and building plan reviews. Part three goes into greater detail for specific library areas. This includes exterior areas such as parking and the library entrance as well as interior areas such as circulation, reference, storage, meeting rooms, administration and staff work areas, food service, graphics, lighting, and restrooms. Again, the book gives many practical design considerations that would be applicable in libraries other than public libraries, such as the discussion of electronic workstation design. It does briefly consider wireless computers and compact shelving but does not discuss library instruction classrooms, electronic document delivery, or remote storage. Noticeably missing are discussions of environmentally sustainable building and space design ideas. The appendix gives model templates for library specifications, samples of functional area summaries, steel book stack specifications, and a list of library equipment suppliers, all that could prove useful. Academic health sciences librarians will need to go beyond this book to pursue issues related to their specific needs. These needs are addressed more thoroughly by Weise and Tooey in their chapter in Administration and Management in Health Sciences Libraries [1] and in the “Symposium on Building the Library and Information Center of the Future” [2]. Leighton has released the third edition of the classic Planning Academic and Research Library Buildings, which should also be consulted [3]. Hospital librarians will appreciate the articles published by Ludwig and others before him in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association that review recent library building and renovation projects on campuses and in hospitals. Lushington has, in the end provided the library community with a manual of ideas to consider when planning and designing a library facility. While the book has limited applicability to health sciences libraries, it is worth a look for those at the beginning stages of any library building or renovation project.