Libraries are changing. In a digital age where information is at your fingertips on a touchscreen instead of just through words on a page of a book, many libraries are transforming into centers that invite younger generations to collaborate, study, explore and more. Millennials in particular are catching on and grabbing hold of these unique neighborhood nooks. “Relatively high library use by Millennials might be...
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The new Riddell Library and Learning Centre at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, is filled with modern amenities such as technology-enabled classrooms, a makerspace, and a variety of collaborative work areas. In addition to these contemporary features, members of the project planning team also wanted to provide on-site access to the institution’s entire book collection. The planning team wanted the bookstacks to be as...
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In an effort to encourage instructional innovation and make the best use of space and staff time, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is repurposing underutilized areas in on-campus libraries to create new learning spaces. The new spaces support active learning by “flipping” the traditional instructional model: instead of lecturing in class and assigning homework, instructors often ask students to watch online lectures before each class session...
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Wake Forest University was using an off-site storage company to house their library overflow material. This company not only charged by the linear foot to store the books, but there was also a cost associated with each time a book needed to be retrieved from the facility and brought back to the library. The university knew that they wanted to continue to open up space...
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For over 20 years the Western Michigan University (WMU) archive collection was being housed in three different buildings around campus including an old gymnasium space previously used as a swimming pool. Multiple locations made it difficult for students, faculty and researchers to access as well as the buildings that were storing the historical documents did not have temperature and humidity control. Archival Storage was installed...
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Campus libraries have always been the center of intellectual life at colleges and universities. While campus libraries continue to carefully maintain paper-based collections and acquire paper-based books, journals, maps, and other materials, many universities are deciding to consolidate these collections in order to free up space to create new spaces in which to teach and learn. Two vibrant Atlanta institutions – Emory University and Georgia...
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Did you know library patrons are more likely to linger and interact with materials in brightly lit browsing areas? Yet overhead lighting is often wasteful and inadequate in library settings, because light scatters all over the room while bookshelves remain dark. To solve this problem, Spacesaver has developed “raceway frames” that allow lighting fixtures to be installed where they’re needed most: right on the library...
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Renovating and expanding an historic library is an exciting opportunity for any community. When that library happens to be located in an economically distressed area, improving and expanding library services makes an even greater impact: by providing better access to books, online resources, classes, and equipment, libraries help drive economic development and improve community members’ quality of life. The DeKalb Public Library in DeKalb, Illinois,...
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The director of the new Glendale Branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library System wanted shelving that could be moved out of the way to create open spaces for community events and other special activities. She and the staff also wanted the library to have an open feel that would allow them to see from one end of the building to the other. The...
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Spacesaver teamed up with the architect of the Seattle Public Library to create this compacting kiosk for a retail shop located in the library’s atrium. Spacesaver provided the carriage-and-rail system that allows the shelving units to move, and the architect specified locally-sourced millwork for the shelving and cabinetry. The shop’s operation is simple. The clerk opens the kiosk by sliding the shelving units along rails...
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