Lotte Duwe Nielsen & Steen Nielsen's presentation from CounterPlay '14

1. The Library as a public
playground
Steen Nielsen, Gamebrarian, stni@aarhus.dk
Lotte Duwe Nielsen, Library Transformer, LDN@aarhus.dk
3 April 2014
Main Library, Aarhus

3. Play and games
at the Library

4. Gaming – When the Library Joins in
Examples:
Network Talks
Nordic Game Day/
International game day
Workshop

5. Reaching out to the Community
Arcade Culture
Board Games
Game Expo
Tournament at
the mall

6. The Library as a public Playground
Games, bringing
stories to life!
Games as catalyst
for interaction! Gaming as a Social experience!
Facilitated by the library
The Library as a safe place to
explore play and games!
The Library provides
inspiration and context

7. Lotte:
• Play is part of the strategic agenda for the
library
• More snapshots of experiments on play in the
library
• Lots of Play opportunities in the future library
in Aarhus; Dokk1

8. Strategic agenda:
Recommendation from Danish Minister of Culture:
Children play - at the library
• A report with 10
recommendations for
concrete actions and
suggestions as to how the
children’s libraries and their
services can be made more
attractive to children
• Play and culture of playing
can be a central activity in
the library.

9. Play in the library:
Goals:
• Playware and toys for use
in the library and to loan
• Playful activities
• Space design
• Guidance on play and
playware

10. Methods:
• User involvements
• Experiments
• Service design
• Design Thinking
• Competence development
• Inspiration from other
• Planning Future
Library, Dokk1

11. Previous projects – play elements
• Families at Play at the Library
• Mobile Probes
• Idea lab for children about the future of libraries
• Unleash the Library Users
• Mindspot
• Transformationlab + Transformationlab II

12. Idea lab for children

13. Families at Play at the Library
Family treasurehunt – storytelling and interactive game for children age 5-10 years.
Partners: Codura (technology), Figuramus (animation), Freja (storyteller), a publisher, 3
public libraries in DK

14. Service design – user experience

15. Design Thinking experiment
play to be a librarian

16. Transformation Lab 2
Let us pretend we are in the Library of the future
• Testing
services, installations, programs
• Involving users, staff and
partners
• Evaluation focus:
- let’s do it now
- further investigation
- important for the future
library

17. Play: exchange your toys

18. Tech lab

19. Creativity, learning:
Crypty Party

20. Jewellery workshop

21. 6th grade presents project about play and
gaming for staff and library users

22. 6th grade presents project about play
and gaming for staff and library users

23. 6th grade presents project about play and
gaming for staff and library users

24. 6th grade presents project about play and
gaming for staff and library users

25. 6th grade presents project about play and
gaming for staff and library users

26. Maker space – People’s lab

27. Maker space – People´s lab

28. Constructing robots out of brushes

29. Maker space - autumn holiday

30. Test: We play at the library –
Construction place

31. The simple concept worked:
• 3 -4 different kind of
bricks; lego mindstorm
• computers for gaming
• sofas & coffee for the
adults

32. Users: Super! More of this in the future. Sofas
and coffee for the adults is great.
It makes til library visit more relaxed

33. User: In this way the library becomes a meeting
place, every day. Thanks for the coffee

34. What a wonderful day to be met when you enter a library
The times when a library was only shelves of books and when you were not allowed to
talk , only whisper – and certainly no play! – are finally conjured.
20 seconds after we arrived Pippi is well under way.

35. Parents: nice that there are things to
play with for children of different ages

36. Play, learning:
Parkour in the library

37. Parkour in the library

38. Urban Mediaspace Aarhus, Dokk1
Kilde: www.urbanmediaspace.dk

39. Mediaspace 16.500 m2
Rental areas10.000
m2
Parking 1.000 cars
Revealing of the stream
Urban harbourspace
Trafic regulation
Ligth Rail tracé
Climate securing of the
center of the city
Largest construction project in the history of
Aarhus

40. Budget DKK - 2011
1.939.000.000
Financing DKK- 2011
Realdania og Realdania Byg 721.000.000
Sale of the current library
building, rental
403.000.000
The Municipality of Aarhus 815.000.000
I alt 1.939.000.000

44. Kilde: www.urbanmediaspace.dk

45. Kilde: www.urbanmediaspace.dk

46. Central elevators
Reading room
Project spaces
Study spaces
Entrance, level 1
Citizens’ Services
Café
Rooms for meetings
Large Room and Children

47. Children & families
Learning and meeting rooms Media ramp
Central elevators
Læring og møder

48. Spaces for play, creativity & learning
Various oasis for staying in the library
Level 1: 700 – 850 seats (400 – 500 in open spaces)
Level 2: 250 – 400 seats ( 200 – 300 in open spaces)

49. Interior design draft level 1

50. Interior design draft
level 2
Signal

51. Feature zone

52. The Play Library

53. Children´s theater;
space for play & performance

54. Design draft: Chill-out zone – Children &families
Enjoy the view

56. Design draft:
Play, creativity and learning for
4-8 year olds and their families

57. Breastfeeding space
Blackboard paint
Eating space
Design draft: Play & creativity

58. Kilde: www.urbanmediaspace.dk

59. Playground on the terasse around the building
Kilde: www.urbanmediaspace.dk

60. • Visit the construction site
of Dokk1
• Admission free
• Saturday 31. May & Sunday
1. June
10 am – 4 pm10–16

61. Thank you for listening