1. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Redesigning Library Spaces for
Service:
Aligning Physical and Virtual Spaces
Rob Favini
Program Director
Educational Services
favini@nelinet.net

2. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Physical and Virtual Space
Planning
Physical Library
– Planning timeframe
• 10-30 years
Virtual Library
– Planning timeframe
• 1-3 years
“Technology years are like dog years, only shorter.”
- David Gelernter
Research
Collections
Quiet study
Collaboration
Social space

3. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Objective:
To create an engaging physical environment
and a robust virtual environment

4. Structuring Physical Facilities
“Wired, wired
everywhere:
… students can
switch from
books to
laptops
effortlessly.”
* Source: “At Dartmouth, Advanced Wi-Fi.” New York Times (May 4, 2005)
“We no longer need to build around technology, but technology
will increasingly be available in 'undefined spaces,' which is
where 'teaching & learning' will take place.
There is no longer a need for reading rooms in a digital era.”
– William J. Mitchell, Professor of Architecture, MIT

5. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
The Physical Library as Airport:
Types of Spaces
• Active service space [airport ticket counters]
– Major service areas (e.g., circulation desk)
– Useful for quick transactions
• Transitional space [airline waiting areas]
– Places to work or gather before and after class
– Wireless access, outlets, furniture to support learning
• Blended [shopping and restaurants]
– e.g., library cafes, to mix eating, relaxing and study
– Blend open and collaborative group study spaces
• Quiet sanctuaries [private airline lounges]
– Quiet spaces for private study, meditation, reflection
Partial source: Scott Carlson. “Campus Planners Have a Tech-Savvy Generation's Needs to Consider.” (July 11, 2006)

6. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Designing Libraries for the
Informal Learning Landscape
• Create informal and nontraditional learning
environments
• Create environments that support
improvisation
– Enable group study (spacious, inviting, social spaces)
– Encourage experiential learning
– Technology-enabled
• laptop-friendly
• (WiFi, electricity)
– Illuminated by natural light
Partial source: Scott Carlson. “Campus Planners Have a Tech-Savvy Generation's Needs to Consider.” Chronicle of Higher Education (July 11, 2006)

7. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Use Technology to Enable Effective
Services and Content
Examples
User space considerations
Number and types of seats
Number and placement of electrical outlets
Relative placement of different operations
Portability
When and how will changes in battery
technologies affect portable devices?
Will people cyber-loiter in the cafe for
hours listening to music on iPods while
doing Email or talking on cell phones?
Design for Flexibility, Not a Specific Technology

8. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Physical Design Principle:
Design for Mobility
• Enable staff to provide service wherever and
whenever users need assistance
• Use virtual reference to engage users
• WiFi-enabled laptops for reference or circulation
staff are likely an essential part of the work
environment
• Design for flexibility!
Movable
Desks

9. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Design Principle: Develop a Multi-
Year Technology Planning Cycle
• Envision possible scenarios
– How will technology and library services may change over
the next 3, 5, 10, or 20 years?
– Plan for a technology obsolescence cycle of 12-18 months
– Specific scenarios are less critical than developing services
that will enable your preferred scenarios to occur
• Develop spaces that are easily reconfigured to
adapt to future content format and service changes
Service
Kiosks
Large, immovable service desks
will be difficult to change as e-
services become dominant

10. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
From Virtual to Physical Spaces
• Visitor Ratio
– 3 of 4 visitors at the Metropolitan Museum go only to the web
site and never enter the building
• Complement and Augment
– How can virtual and physical sites become seamless to extend
the value of the other?
• Signage
– What words are used in the building or on the web site? Are
they meaningful to librarians, but make no sense to the user?
Are they readable and in appropriate locations?
• Marketing value
– How can the web site be used as a marketing tool to provide a
different experience virtually than we can provide physically?
• Interactivity:
– How can the web site be made more interactive – to see the
collections, to respond in real time, to create community
wikis?

11. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Libraries on the Web
Putting your best virtual foot forward!

12. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007

13. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Ensuring Robust Physical and Virtual
Technology Environments
• Strong IT support
• Numerous and
powerful workstations
• Ubiquitous WiFi
• Institutional and
community digital
repositories
• Enable the creation
and sharing of content
• Effective discovery and
use systems

14. How Well Do Your Physical and
Virtual Sites Align?
Goal Physical Virtual
Ease of access
Ease of use
Collaboration-
enabled
Places to relax
Support
instruction
Technology-
friendly
Too many walls? Too many clicks?
Movable furniture? Access too structured
or not well organized?
Is there sufficient
collaborative space?
Are there any online
collaborative tools?
Is there a café? Any “entertainment”
sections of the site to
keep users engaged?
Any classrooms or
instructional space?
Any education or
course-related
materials?
WiFi available? Enough
electrical sockets?
Does the web site
advance the library?

15. Multi-Year Physical Facilities:
Planning Assumptions
Today
(2007)
Two-to-Five Years
(by 2012)
Ten Years
(by 2017)
Multiyear
Implications
o Learning
commons
o Cafes
o Library provides
flat screens,
laptops, wireless
o Virtual reference
o Collaborative
study & research
o Library e-content
services provided
through a single
portal
o Most content
accessed
electronically
o Role of library as
social place
becomes more
important than
repository of
physical material
o Library portal
services provide
content integration,
and are fully
available anywhere,
anytime
o Fifth generation
portable, fully
functional and
integrated
information,
entertainment, and
communications
devices
o Browsing is only a
virtual experience
o Portals replaced by
high functioning
(broadcast-quality)
access systems to all
information sources
o Ubiquitous wireless
connectivity throughout the
building
o Adequate electrical outlets
available, but do not over-
develop (will be replaced
by high capacity batteries)
o No stationary work carrels:
spaces and tables are easily
movable and modified
o No stationary service desks
o Ample collaborative work
space
o Glare-free environments
throughout building

16. NELINET Annual Meeting 2007
Rob Favini
favini@nelinet.net
+1-800-NELINET ext. 1938