Greetings ARLIS/NA and VRA colleagues,
As many of us are grappling with various notions of the future library,
virtual library, cybrary, etc. and so on, I call your attention to the
following program, sponsored by Stanford University Libraries and Academic
Information Resources (SUL/AIR) and Aaron Cohen Associates LTD. For more
information please contact:
Mimi Calter
Executive Assistant to the University Librarian
Stanford University
101 Green Library
Stanford, CA 94305-6004
voice: +1-650-725-5813
fax: +1-650-725-4902
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Regards,
Peter Blank
=====
The Information Collaboratory -- A Facilities Planning Workshop at Stanford
University
23 March 2007
Librarians planning new buildings or renovations are challenged as never
before to improve the user experience and maximize services provided per
square foot. On March 23, 2007, Stanford University Libraries and Academic
Information Resources will host a full day workshop and dialogue about the
future of library facilities. The program, facilitated by Aaron Cohen
Associates and sponsored by Millikin Carpets, moves beyond traditional
library needs assessment, to addresses the challenges facing 21st-century
libraries and cybraries., and the potential to extend modern library
principles and functions to the virtual environment
Topics to be discussed include:
• Service planning
• Identifying the library’s target audience
• Assessing the space needs of the target audience
• Integrating behavioral research into the library plan.
• Increasing the efficiency of spaces
• Assembling a prototype Information Collaboratory
Among the challenges facing 21st century librarians is the management of a
vast array of digital information resources. Cybraries, or virtual
libraries, are increasingly offering services that make digital resources
easier to find and to use, but physical libraries must also offer a library
interface for patrons who need space to collaborate, to perform research,
or to obtain specialized reference and research support. The workshop will
examine the facilities implications of this need. The program will also
examine the various settings, both physical and virtual, in which users,
and patrons of libraries live, work, and interact. Accounting for these
settings, as well as the swiftly evolving IT requirements they entail, is a
significant challenge for professional planners and architects. Indeed,
this period of rapid evolution demands solutions for the unpredictable, so
that investments in physical and virtual structures for libraries and
cybraries can adapt and remain serviceable over decades. This is not an
impossible challenge, but it is a difficult one. The cost of the workshop
is $195.00 per participant, and registration is limited to 30.
Register at: www.acohen.com/workshops.htm. The program will be held in the
Bender Room of the Green Library at Stanford University from 9am to 4:30pm
on 23
March 2007.
=====
Aaron Cohen Associates LTD
159 Teatown Road
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
914-271-8170
The Visual Scan & the Design of Future Oriented Libraries
Presenters: Michael A. Keller, Stanford University, University Librarian
Aaron Cohen, Aaron Cohen Associates LTD, Principal
Alex Cohen, Aaron Cohen Associates LTD, Library Consultant
Date & Time : March 23, 2007, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Place: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Fee: $195 (enrolment limited to 30)
Sponsors: Stanford University & Milliken Carpet
DEFINITION of the Visual Scan
The “Visual” portion of the Library Visual Scan© relates to the sense of
sight: to see, to observe. “Scan” or the act of scanning is a systematic
examination of a prescribed region or space. The Visual Scan involves
movement and focuses on space, and relates them to library purpose and
service. The Library Visual Scan© is an evidence-based space assessment. It
uses performance criteria and measurements to evaluate space needs as they
relate to services, operations and the potential for change. It is an aid
to strategic thinking and planning.
PURPOSE of the Library Visual Scan©
• To evaluate space needs.
• To identify service and operational needs.
• To identify service opportunities within the library facility.
OUTCOMES of the Library Visual Scan©
• Needs assessments.
• Strategic thinking and planning.
• Master facilities planning.
• Facility repurposing, redesign and renovations.
• Development of the “Library as a Place.”
• The ability to change as needs, requirements and new
technologies change. Register at: www.acohen.com/workshops.htm
PROGRAM
I. Needs Assessment of the Library:
A. Collection area(s).
B. User Spaces: individual & group study.
C. Staff Spaces: offices/workstations/processing.
D. Program/instructional/meeting/social spaces.
II. Settings – Constraints:
A. Physical constraints – configuration.
B. Operational and efficiency constraints.
C. Funding limitations.
III. Scan – Observations:
A. Movement:
1. Static observations – photos, measurements.
2. Motion – video, user behavior interactions, group collaboration,
workflow.
B. Quality – documentation and rating:
1. Environmental.
2. Spatial.
3. “Library as a Place”.
4. Quality rating.
C. Quantity – documentation, measurements and rating:
1. Collection – volumes, linear feet.
2. Reader and computer seats.
3. Staff / operation spaces in square feet.
4. Space utilization.
5. Technology.
6. Quantity – measurement rating.
IV. Feedback or Looping:
By definition, a process is a loop or a series of loops. An efficient
process takes
feedback into consideration. Library purpose and services are linked
together and form
a loop. Facility design and purpose are linked together to form another
loop. By taking
these loops and their related feedbacks into account, overall efficiency
can be
increased and the load on the external system or operation, decreased.
V. Fix 10 Most Common Problems:
A. Performance criteria and measurements:
1. Services.
2. Operational efficiencies.
3. Facility alternatives – repurpose, redesign, renovation.
B. Costs including funding limitations:
1. Phasing the project – short range, long range.
2. Short range – operating funds, long range – capital funds.
3. Construction/renovation budget.
4. Interior design budget.
Peter P. Blank [log in to unmask]
Deputy Librarian (650) 725-1038
Art & Architecture Library FAX (650) 725-0140
102 Cummings Art Bldg.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2018
__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
http://www.arlisna.org/join.html
Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
