Lost in space Designing techno savvy library spaces for humans by Paul White 2013 Introduction Technology floods unstoppably into the library world as it does into the lives of the people coming through the doors; with it comes new opportunities and expectations. This article, from a furniture designer and space planner’s perspective, will explore the unavoidable demands and fresh opportunities technology brings to library spaces.

Change is unavoidable

The advance of technology has led us all a merry dance over the last thirty years. In 1983 I rang people on my telephone - it is now 2013 and my smart phone sits on the desk beside me. On last count this clever, potent machine has replaced no less than forty-five products and services in my life. For libraries the challenge is to continue to define and redefine their role in the face of the tumultuous technological epoch in which we all are immersed? Gone is the predictable infrastructure of the twentieth century; today we face a fluid environment driven by an ever increasing rate of technological change. But in the midst of all this we believe people will continue to frequent libraries that offer useful services and opportunities for social engagement relevant to that community.

Let us briefly assess what people need and want in this generation, and how libraries can best respond using innovative spaces and furniture. To put our investigation in context let us underpin it with three simple ideas: • Libraries are for people; good libraries are about ‘the people fit.’ • Change is certain, and great flexibility in library and learning spaces is paramount. • A library space is a stage and the furniture the props that can change and adapt with each play and each scene. People are living differently Anyone who has studied anything about the human condition will have come across the very useful hierarchy of needs proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" As we study Maslow’s pyramid from the basic need to survive to the giddy pinnacle of self-actualisation we begin to reflect on just how much technology is changing the way we live. On-line anywhere, any time, today more and more this is how we are running our lives. Food, goods, travel, information, entertainment, socialising and now learning are all but a smartphone away. Of course libraries are already responding to this new world with responsive websites, e-book collections and even clever apps that allow e-books to be self issued from one member to another. So why go to the library? People need place In 1972 during the very last Goon Show Eccles famously quipped: “Everybody's got to be somewhere!” Not only to we physically need to be somewhere we also need to feel we belong (1). Public libraries in particularly open their doors each morning and welcome all comers, members and non-members alike. However libraries are

not alone in this and now find themselves competing with internet cafes, game parlours, malls and even the convenience of staying home where shelter, warmth, comfort, food, internet and entertainment are all conveniently available. So why go to the library? Here is my visit to today’s perfect library (remembering Maslow’s pyramid). I could have done this on-line from home but the weather is depressing and a cosy afternoon at the library appeals. I know there will be parking available but if I choose public transport the station or stop is conveniently nearby. When I enter there is an interactive digital display telling me what is on. I choose to do my own returns and issues but if I know to I can seek assistance from a librarian if I need to. The library café has great food and no one minds if I eat and drink in the library. Next Thursday evening is late night and I have booked a room to meet with my study group and the library layout is planned so we can work late past closing time. I go to the lounge with some new books and from an interesting array of furniture and locations I choose a high back chair over by the window. I have a good read and later I use the small swivel shelf fixed to the chair to work with my tablet – when I awake I realise I may have nodded off for awhile but nobody seems to mind. The sun has come out so I check out my books and leave for a stroll in the park.

The role of furniture Fundamentally furniture is for people. For the most part people need somewhere to put themselves (typically a seat) and somewhere to put things (shelves) and do things (worktops). Good furniture is about ‘the people fit’ which encompasses several ideas including usefulness, appropriateness, function, ergonomics and the elusive ‘cool.’ These qualities are best achieved by first attaining a clear understanding of the job the piece of furniture is expected to do including its visual and tactile contribution to your interior. This sounds obvious yet so often is poorly done. If for example you are creating a reading space for your more elderly members then use comfortable yet firm seating from which they can stand up with dignity and not get stuck. When you reach eight-five I am sure being able to get out of a chair is ’cool.’

Or when choosing seating for tiny tots what better than a design that looks just like dads – now that’s cool. Keeping our footprint light We all share the responsibility of minimizing our environmental footprint. For furniture this means using the right choice of materials, production processes and supply chains and any reputable furniture manufacturer will clearly state how they go about this. Sustainability is often discussed in terms of minimising emissions and the use of renewable materials but there is another aspect to consider and that is relevance. If the furniture piece is poorly designed or inflexible it will fail and be discarded at the earliest possible opportunity. Sustainability therefore also encompasses the ideas of the ‘degree of usefulness,’ and the ‘ability to adapt’ for these values will ensure enduring relevance and a long useful life. Staff versus the machine Recent surveys indicate that for many library users interaction with staff remains an important component of their library visit (2). Apart from offering practical assistance librarians are people helping people and provide important social context - there is no replacement for a welcoming smile. Though libraries will undergo continuing automation staff/member interaction will remain an important part of library life and furniture will continue to be needed to support this.

Front of house Five years ago traditional counters (we call them fortresses) were still widely used in front of house design. We are now in the midst of a general trend to break down the barriers in search of enhanced customer experience. This has been supported by the move to customer self-service models, including issues, returns and reserves where staff input is minimised. The old style circulation counter is becoming increasingly redundant. YAKETY YAK Roaming Station by Instinct Furniture

The replacement is the standalone help point positioned at the entrance and key locations throughout the library and used in tandem with staff roaming models; preferably these staff stations are mobile and height adjustable,

enabling use while seated or standing. Desktop computers are disappearing as libraries equip staff with hand held devices like i-pads. Though some argue that roaming models require no furniture at all it is our observation that people need a ‘place’ to return to and therefore the staff station in some form will remain. Future front of house may utilise staff stations equipped with powerful interactive digital worktops. (Copyright Cie Ltd 2013)

In the picture above we suggest a front of house thirty years from now, featuring help points where the tablets of the future are still carried by staff and customers, and thanks to the potential of rock star materials like graphene (3) the whole desktop is now a powerful interactive screen. Couple this with voice activation and emerging gesture control technologies like Leap Motion (4) and our voices, eye movements and gestures have become the interface, making the mouse, keyboard and even touch screens obsolete. Design of the help point is still centred on the ‘people fit’; seated to standing adjustment continues to be essential, and because the need to respond to change remains critical the workstation is still mobile. Today we need power points to recharge dead devices; in our scenario there is now a wireless power pad incorporated in the desktop (5). Elsewhere in our future front of house, we suggest customer book processing kiosks have now disappeared, made redundant by automated management systems, though books, and therefore the returns slot, still remain. Self-managing your total library experience While for some members interaction with staff remains important, recent surveys also indicate people are becoming increasingly happy and able to manage their own library experience (6).

The most obvious game changer has been the mass introduction of self- issue kiosks powered with RFID technology. Already touch screen kiosks are delivering multiple services as is the case at Almere’s new library near Amsterdam. As well as library information this kiosk also takes you beyond the library to include information about the wider community.

Future customers will self manage their activities via interactive digital portals like these kiosks deployed

throughout the space. (Copyright Cie Ltd 2013)

In a generation’s time library users will self-manage their library experience via kiosks perhaps equipped with ‘magic pool’ tabletops providing powerful interactive portals to library activities, resources and the customer’s personal account. Such help points will be deployed throughout the library and could even be integrated into library tables or other pieces of furniture. Eventually interactive holographic technology may revolutionise managing our library experience and we may say goodbye to the computer screen forever.

A library space as a stage Furniture deployed in library spaces must be highly flexible.

Seinajoki City Library by JKMM architects, Seinajoki, Finland

As libraries offer increasingly more diverse programmes the theatre analogy seems to fit very well as spaces become stages and furniture the props responding to each production and change of scene. Young bookworms enjoy Bookstart celebrations at Norwich Millennium Library

The highly successful Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library in the UK demonstrates the need to be light on ones feet by providing versatile furniture able to support diverse activities which include craft sessions for kids, knit and natter circles and board game afternoons. Worcester’s golden Hive takes this priority for flexible furniture one step further combining the diverse needs of public and university libraries under one roof. For some years now the question ‘how else might this item be used’ has been at the forefront of library furniture designers’ creative thinking. The small versatile ottoman in the picture above can be used as a seat, a coffee table or, recognizing that young people happily sit on the floor, a low desk to work on. Out in the library proper the stages are set to cater for the needs of various user groups like children, youth, students, researchers and the elderly. Today these spaces are still littered with computer workstations up 27.4% in Australian public libraries over the last five years but that trend has faltered and significantly there was a slight decline of 0.4% in the last year (7). Trends suggest desk top computers are less likely to be replaced next round as more and more customers visit the library with their own devices or are able to borrow one at the library. This is resulting in opportunities to introduce fresh furniture ideas that support moves towards collaborative learning or the redefining of library spaces as community lounges. With this will come new challenges like the provision of handy power outlets for when the batteries run flat.

Tables and chairs Tables and chairs have been present in libraries since libraries began. The ancient library at Alexandria

Table and chairs will always be there because the ‘people fit’ encompasses the fundamental need to sit down and place the things we wish to interact with in front of us at a comfortable height. About ten years ago libraries began to provide internet access and tables were adapted to a new roll as computer workstations. With much ergonomic data to draw on designers could ensure hazards like poor posture and repetitive strain injuries were minimised. A typical computer commons

Tables are now often mounted on castors and incorporate tilt tops for ease of moving and storing making reconfiguring spaces simple. In addition to the traditional rectangular tabletop there is now a wide choice of shapes, including round, oval and teardrop to ensure the best functional fit. We suggest that in the library of the future we may find ourselves sitting down reading the table itself as interactive screen technologies take over the whole tabletop. Library tables themselves may become the e readers of the future. (Copyright Cie Ltd 2013)

Newspaper and magazine resources are a deployment challenge for librarians. Already we are seeing libraries providing access to some titles only

via iPads (8). Predictably the digital trend will continue and with tabletop sized screens the cyber newspaper may be opened fully and comfortably perused – perhaps with pages turned at the blink of an eye.

Love to lounge Providing welcome havens in a busy world, lounge areas are quite rightly expected in today’s library-scape; these are our community living-rooms and people love them.

James B. Hunt Library, North Carolina

Typically such areas are populated by various soft seating options such as tub chairs, sofas and ottomans, often augmented by coffee tables. In recent years, customers have started to bring their own devices to the library and consequently new elements have appeared like portable laptop tables.

Lounge areas encourage connective social experience and support informal learning. The fact that many lounge chairs in use today are derivatives of designs from as far back an the 1930’s suggests that lounge areas are unlikely to change significantly in the next 30 years. We are however beginning to see more integrated technology… …like chairs mounting power outlets… Sonic Chair by Designatics Production Germany

…and chairs designed specifically for gaming or as listening posts. In the future such chairs may support 3D holographic interactions and experiences.

My space your space Space division is an important component in encouraging personal or group activities and achieving efficient space utilisation. Spontaneous space division is typically achieved using sound absorbing mobile screens, which often double as pin boards or white boards. In larger spaces, human nature being what it is, people will first populate the corners of the room, then line the walls and only when these spaces are full will they spread into the centre of the room (9). By deploying mobile screens to create spontaneous zones spaces are better utilised; people are more comfortable when their space is defined, a human attribute unlikely to change. Mobile space dividers may also act as data shows providing information access and ambiance. (Copyright Cie Ltd 2013)

The mobile space divider of the future may also act as an information portal and even provide ambiance; convert your mid winter reading room into a tropical paradise. Display Good display furniture puts your products on show and makes them easily accessible. With the move to digital, many physical library products will disappear including CDs, DVDs and potentially a large percentage of books, newspapers and magazines. Regardless of whether a product is physical or digital the principles of good display will remain valid and relevant for libraries. Theme displays, focus displays and face display will continue to ‘dress’ library spaces, enriching the user experience. Thus the familiar display stands will remain useful but products and services will be promoted increasingly via digital media like data show ‘billboards’ mounted throughout the library. WOW Wave Display by Instinct Furniture

Kids are the future There is much creative work being done with children and youth zone furniture. Story time areas where the adults can comfortably fit too, hidey holes where only kids can fit and imaginatively themed furniture supporting the use of iPads and touch screen based activities. Appropriately New Zealand’s new ‘Super City’ of Auckland, created from the amalgamation of several councils, now has fifty-five libraries and cites their commitment to children and young people as the top priority of their ten year plan (10).

Seinajoki City Library by JKMM architects, Seinajoki, Finland

Libraries can play a key role in developing children’s knowledge and creativity. Exploring furniture designs that ‘understand’ kids will greatly assist libraries to make the most of this opportunity. Life is a serious game; keep creative - they are worth it. Learning Spaces As technology revolutionises the way we learn exciting new ideas like MOOCs are being trialed and models around lifelong learning pursued (11). Whatever the outcomes it remains likely that getting together in groups will remain an important component of learning, and the spaces and furniture used will need to be highly adaptive.

Work tables are now designed around the optimum learning group size (typically comprising three people). Ideally they are easy to store and deploy, with the ability to link to other tables and enable teachers to work naturally with individuals, groups or multiple groups (12). T3 Table set by Instinct Furniture

Technology is focused on access, capture and sharing, currently utilising whiteboards, data shows and projectors, all of which will eventually give way to interactive digital walls and surfaces. In diagram 4 we take a glimpse at learning space furniture a generation from now. Furniture will support information access, capture and sharing in future learning spaces. (Copyright Cie Ltd 2013)

Focus Space When work needs to be done focus space for individuals and small groups is important. Of late high back chairs, mobile screens and ‘diner booths’ have arrived in libraries to complement the traditional study carrel and meeting room. ‘Caves’ at Google’s new Dublin office

We will see much more experimentation with furniture design in this area as learning theory evolves. For example the ‘Birdsnests’ in use at Coventry University’s Hub in the UK where round low walled enclosures, complete with bean bags and plenty of power outlets, provide popular hang-outs for students to gather.

Outside – the unexplored asset Of course the weather does not always co-operate but library facilities often include wonderful outdoor areas. These are inevitably populated with traditional park benching and often supported by reasonable WIFI cover however there is great potential to better utilise these spaces with well designed furniture that creatively addresses comfort, community and cover; watch this space. So where to from here? For libraries in the coming generation the challenge is not just to survive in a continually changing world, but to use new technology and ideas to maximize their relevance to the communities they serve. Sydney’s Ryde Library has a grand piano, the Tio Tretton library in Stockholm provides kitchen facilities and a music room for its children and the Brooklyn Library in New York offers free tango lessons. As we see many fresh ideas arrive on the scene furniture design is responding to provide the ‘objects for living’ staff and customers will require. Inevitably we can look forward to a highly automised technology rich future; nevertheless successful furniture for library spaces will continue to focus on the ‘people fit’. ______________________________________________________________ Three take homes • Libraries are for people; good libraries are about ‘the people fit.’ • Change is certain, and great flexibility in library and learning spaces is paramount. • A library space is a stage and furniture the props able to change and adapt with each play and each scene.

______________________________________________________________ References (1) Belonging, Research by The Social Issues Research Centre

Oxford UK http://www.sirc.org/publik/Belonging.pdf (2) Importance of staff interaction Pew Research Centre http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/ (3) Graphine learn more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene (4) Explore Leap Motion https://www.leapmotion.com/ (5) Learn more about wireless power http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/12/121228-wireless-power/ (6) People becoming more cyber savvy Pew Research Centre ref(1) (7) PC numbers likely to fall http://www.nsla.org.au/sites/www.nsla.org.au/files/publications/NSLA.public_library_stats_2011-12.pdf (8) Access via iPads http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/09/05/20-coolest-ipad-ideas-for-your-library/ item 14 (9) Wollongong academic library seating: a survey on usage with

implications for space utilization http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=asdpapers (10) Report on the creation of Auckland Libraries http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-315068865/towards-the-world-s-most-liveable-city-the-creation (11) Lifelong learning http://www.enotes.com/continuing-education-lifelong-learning-trends-reference/continuing-education-lifelong-learning-trends (12) Scale Up Project North Carolina State University http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html ______________________________________________________________ Books and publications influencing this article A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown Design for the Real World, Victor Papanek Thames and Hudson Universal Design, A practical guide to creating and recreating interiors of academic libraries for teaching learning and research Gail M. Staines Chandos Publishing Ecodesign, Silvia Barbero and Brunella Cozzo H. F Ullmann The New Office, Francis Duffy Conran Octopus Public Libraries of New Zealand A Strategic Framework 2012 – 2017 People Places A Guide for Public Library Buildings in New South Wales

Third Edition State Library NSW ______________________________________________________________ Acknowledgement Some of this material in this article Paul wrote in Furniture Fit to the Future A chapter in Better Library and Learning Spaces edited by Les Watson released in October 2013 by Facet Publishing UK. ______________________________________________________________

Public Libraries of New Zealand