The Globus Design Associates Blog

Library Contains Hidden Treasure

One of the benefits of designing Library interiors is discovering a link to the past or a hidden treasure within a Library's special collection.  A recent visit to a prospective client uncovered several surprises:

Photo: Suzan Globus

1. A beautiful setting on a lush campus overlooking the New York skyline.

Photo: Suzan Globus

2. Strong of the period - 1970's- architecture. As an aside, it doesn't always make for the most usable or accessible interiors, but is still interesting to look at.

Photo: Suzan Globus

3. Exceptional student art displays. This mobile was donated by former student, Alexander Calder.  See photo above for another view.

Photo: Suzan Globus

4. More "student" art. A Calder sculpture anchors rows of book stacks.

 

New Library Circulation Desk from start to finish

I've been writing about firm's design and the construction of the new circulation desk for the River Edge Public Library and I'm happy to report it was installed last weekend while the facilities were closed.

From our "drawing boards"

Design concept perspective of a section of the new desk. Design by Globus Design Associates

In the Shop

View of the accessible section designed to meet the new ADA regulations.Photo: Suzan Globus

Interior of the desk showing the book return slot and wire management troughs in the open sections.  Photo: Suzan Globus

To the installation at the library

The desk is in place at the library awaiting delivery of the solid surface counter. Photo: Suzan Globus

The cabinetmaker's installers clean the carpet at the end of the first day of the installation. Photo: Suzan Globus

Take a look at the finished installation on River Edge Public Library's Facebook page

How To Decide Who Will Build the Library Circ Desk

Unless their circulation desk is ordered from a catalogue, most libraries will have to purchase a circulation desk custom made for their needs about once every 10-20 years.  How does the staff decide who is qualified to fabricate the desk?

 
Circulation Desk ADA Section.  Design by Globus Design Associates

1.  Before your start the process, hire an interior design professional to design the desk to your exact requirements.  The design professional can show you how to achieve a well made, sustainable, desk with flexibility to meet changing requirements.

2.  Submit shop drawings to three fabricators.

Circulation Desk perspective.  Globus Design Associates

The lowest bid may not be the best, so investigate by asking the following questions:

1. Can the fabricator supply references?  If so, call and ask about his/her/performance.

2. Ask how the fabricator guarantees the work and what procedure is followed in case of a problem.

3. Understand the main business of the fabricator.  If it is a shop that specializes in school furniture, for example, will your project languish during the summer months while the shop is busy filling orders for schools?

4. Make sure the fabricator is not subbing out the job to an cabinet shop unknown to you.

5. Ask if you can see the desk in progress. 

If you hire a designer to oversee this process, all of these questions and more will be addressed by the designer including approving finish samples before final production begins.  A circulation desk is a big investment for a library.  It's best to avoid surprises and ensure the desk you want is what will be delivered.

 

Smaller Library Circulation Desk Opens Space for Growth

Downsizing is not just for baby boomers. We are happy to be designing a new circulation desk for the River Edge Public Library to bring the library into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act's new 2010 guidelines.  Similar to many older circulation desks in existing libraries, this one was taking up a lot of real estate.

Existing desk upon entering the library.  Photo: Suzan Globus

Desk from front facing  Photo: Suzan Globus

End of circulation desk  Photo: Suzan Globus

The existing desk measures 54 linear feet.Through the years, sections of it have been repurposed as shown by the circular media display above.  The new desk will measure 30 linear feet and will be positioned in line with the wall perpendicular to the column on the right in the top photo.  This will give those entering the library an unobstructed view through the windows on the back wall (top photo). It will also position the staff closer to their office as well as enable them to easily greet those entering.  Relocating and reducing the size of the desk opens up some very valuable floor space for new materials, display,additional seating and computers to enable the library to keep up with the increased demand for those functions in the future.

Rendering of proposed circulation desk. Drawing: Alden Anderson

 

 

Library Design - The Value Discussion

Recently, a library design client asked me what they would have to show for the money they wanted to invest in redesigning their library.  I love this question and understand the value of interior design is difficult to quantify.  One member of the client team wanted to list the increase in seats, shelving and media display space gained from the redesign.  This is a good place to start the value conversation, but doesn't get to the heart of the value of design.  Let's look at a brief case study.

Before

We were asked to redesign a Library Staff Workroom to create more privacy and individual storage and to segregate functions.  

  This plan shows the existing conditions of the Library Workroom before we redesigned it. Disregard the numbers on the plan that key to a list of the existing furnishings not shown. You can see that the desks are located on either side of an aisle bisecting the space. Anyone walking through the space will potentially distract anyone working in the room. I never understood how the person sitting at desk #45 got to her chair without moving file #47.

Photo: Valerie Mangan

The existing wood desks afforded no acoustical privacy and space was cramped.

Photo: Valerie Mangan

The lack of adequate personal storage space created a shortage of work counter space.

Photo: Valerie Mangan

Eating or taking a break in the middle of a storage area does not support the idea of respite.

After

Our redesign of the area created individual work stations oriented so the backs of the staff face passersby.

The new workstations provide increased personal storage and accoustical privacy.

The Real Value

If the value discussion is limited to finite and visible (i.e. "What will we have to show for our money?"), the workroom redesign added one workstation in an existing space.  But the true value for the money spent on interior design includes:

• Increased accoustical privacy

• Increased visual privacy for those whose work requires it
  

• Better segregation of functions

• Dedicated break space

• Less disruption of work from incidental foot traffic

• Reduced feeling of being crowded

• Staff excitement over having their own, clearly defined space
• Enhanced aesthetics
  

I like to conclude that all of these attributes result in increased efficiency and productivity and higher staff morale resulting from pride of place and increased sense of well being and I know that this is difficult to quantify.  I also know that the less tangible attributes are where the true value of interior design lives.

Installing Furniture During Library Operating Hours

Sometimes installations during operating hours cannot be avoided.  If that is the case, some steps can be taken to make the process easier of staff and customers.

1. Schedule delivery as early in the day as possible.

Photo: Suzan Globus

Trucks arriving before the library opens ensures the entrance won't be blocked if only the front entrance can accommodate the delivery.

2. Check beforehand that the number of installers on site is adequate to complete the installation in a timely manner.

Photo: Suzan 

3. Request that old furniture be removed before new furnishings arrive.

Photo: Suzan Globus

If old furniture is to be replaced, it can take up double the amount of floor space while it remains.

4. If machinery is required to complete the installation, designate a workplace removed from foot traffic.

Photo: Suzan Globus

Ideally, no fabrication should occur on site. If it is unavoidable, the designated area must be supervised so that no customers are allowed near the work area.

Due to schedules, deadlines and the desire to provide uninterrupted customer service, deliveries and installations occasionally occur when customers are present and safety is always the key concern. Employing these simple precautions, helps to create a safer environment.

Green Art Museum Anchors LoDo

Before leaving Denver, I visited MCA Denver, the museum of contemporary art, located on a remediated brownfield site two blocks from Union Station in LoDo.  This non-collecting museum -they take sustainability seriously in their mission- is housed in a 27,000 square foot LEED Gold certified building. The design of the building, "supports rather than defines the museum's mission" to quote the museum's literature.  This less-is-more approach to architecture in a field of iconic examples of contemporary museum architecture seems to suit this organization well. 

Image from www.mcadenver.org 

Additional features of the building interiors were noteworthy:

Natural light floods transitional spaces.

Children's learning spaces are segregated from exhibit spaces and easily maintained.

An open shelf library encourages exploration.

The green roof garden uses native plants.

 

I was also impressed with the message conveyed by the museum's admissions policy during  the Energy Effects exhibit, exploring the relationship between energy and aesthetics.  If a person walked, took public transportation or rode their bike to the museum, they were given a reduced admission fee. What a simple, smart way to remind us that each of us can take small actions to contribute to a healthy environment.

Green City Initiatives - Lessons from Denver

During a quick trip to Denver, CO, I was impressed by some simple sustainability programs that make the city more accessible and enjoyable.

Leaving the Newark terminals behind. Photo: Suzan Globus

Landing in Denver. Photo: Suzan Globus

Although Denver is home to some progressive interior design like the multi-use lobby of The Jet Hotel

The Jet Hotel lobby.  Photo: Suzan Globus

which transforms into the Jet Bar at night when the draperies get fastened to the columns,

The Jet Bar.  Photo: Suzan Globus

I was more interested in city planning than facilities.  Here is what makes green Denver work well:

1. A pedestrian mall that transverses a mile long retail district.  Free service on hybrid, accessible buses that run frequently 20 hours a day. Photo: Suzan Globus

2. Public art installations, adequate lighting and lush landscaping make the mall a pleasant place to be.  Photo: Suzan Globus

3. Street performers. I didn't get a chance to ask this musician if his performance was subsidized by the city. Photo: Suzan Globus

  4. Ample, well located bike racks.  Photo: Suzan Globus

5. Bikes available to rent and return to various spots around the city including the train station.  Rates range from a dollar an hour to five dollars a day.  Photo: Suzan Globus

6. Public buses with front mounted bike racks to accommodate cyclists. Photo: Suzan Globus

Are Custom Library Circulation Desks Worth It?

Absolutely

I am frequently asked this question by library design clients.  The answer is always, "Yes!  Almost all circulation desks are custom made. Similar to kitchen cabinets, circulation desk cabinets are constructed on a 36" wide standard base, open box cabinet.  Just like kitchen cabinets, the 36" wide units are outfitted differently with drawers, doors and shelves and joined together in various sequences to fit into a variety of foot prints. A continuous counter top and front panel is cut to fit. Unless the desk is small and bought as a single piece of furniture from a catalog, all library service desks are customized. So why not get exactly what you want out of a circulation desk?

Designed to suit

Designing and building a circulation desk from scratch - an expression that makes some librarians erroneously see dollar signs - is in fact a financially reasonable and sustainable approach.  The staff gets to help determine exactly where certain tasks should occur and what shape and size storage best supports those tasks with the designer's guidance.  Efficient and happy staff is difficult to translate into dollars, but the value is real.

More rewards

A custom designed circulation desk offers additional advantages:

1.  Sustainability: the most sustainable materials can be specified in the design. FSC woods, countertops made from concrete or recycled content solid surfaces and no VOC finishes are easy to use in custom designed casework.

2.  Durablility: custom casework can be made to last which is much less expensive in the long run. 

3. Productivity: it has to increase when the workspace is designed to precisely fit the client's needs.

For example

A former client, upon her retirement as Hunterdon Central Regional High School librarian, recently sent me a note thanking me for the redesign of her library 17 years ago. My firm was hired to select new carpeting for the refurbishing of the library. After we toured the library, we recommended the atrium be enclosed to gain space and eliminate a supervision challenge.  The assessment garnered us a contract to completely redesign the library interiors. Here are the results.

The atrium (top photo center) becomes the location of the custom designed reference desk (bottom photo).

Thirteen years later, an addition to the library was built.  Custom casework is still a valued element of the design. 

Designing for Accessibility from Experience

Experiencing disability at various times in my life has given me a deeper awareness of accessibility issues in my interior design practice.  For example, while trying to negotiate a "handicap" bathroom - as it was labeled before the ADA Accessibility Guidelines were in place - during a visit to a hospital as result of a skiing accident, I was surprised by how difficult it was while being in a wheelchair.

After recovering, I arranged a meeting for my colleagues in the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers so that they could personally experience various disabilities by using equipment such as blind folds, wheel chairs and crutches supplied to us by the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association to tour an educational facility.  We were impressed by the effort needed to propel ourselves from one point to another in what first appeared to be a welcoming environment.

Recently, I was escorted into the exam room shown above for a post operative check up on a foot surgery.  As you can see, there is no space at either end of this table for a doctor to stand in order to examine or change dressings on a foot in a room newly designed for this purpose. I was forced to sit sideways, dangle my legs off the table and hold my injured foot in the air.

Although I don't wish disability on my design colleagues as a learning device, I like to think that experiencing  impairment has made me a better designer. Because most of us will face some sort of impairment during our lifetimes, designers are challenged to expand accessible design into universal design or designing for all people regardless of age, gender, culture, and physical and mental capabilities. When coupled with sustainable design principles, beautiful universal design is the pinnacle of great design.  Experiencing it first hand is just one way to understand how to achieve it.