The Model Programme
for Public Libraries
Oulu 09.10.2014
Jonna Holmgaard Larsen
Agenda
• Background – and the beginning
• Activities during the development proces
• The Model Programme
• Follow-up – from development to operation
• Break with discussion
• Public Library of the Year Award
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Background
• Changes to the roles of the library – especially since
the World Wide Web
• From collection orientation to user orientation and
involvement
• From availability to a new concept
• What is the definition of the concept?
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Model Programme for Public Libraries
- the beginning
• Application to Realdania October 2011
• Pledge received December 2011
• Budget of 4 million DKK (€ 0,53 mil.) with 50%-50%
co-funding from the Danish Agency for Culture (DAC)
• Run by a steering group with DAC’s Director, library
managers, project leaders from Realdania a.o.
• Contract with the architect firm Signal for
development of the programme
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Objective
• To develop the public library as a central institution that
contributes to ensuring Denmark’s position as a highly
developed society with a special focus on quality
• To create the foundation for developing libraries in a
changed cityscape and in a changed national
landscape with new challenges also in sparsely
populated areas
• To clarify how architecture itself can support the
public library as the central meeting place that invites
the citizen inside and is open to the citizens’
networking and learning needs
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Expected result
• A flexible and modular model programme spanning from the
metropolitan library to the small, rural library
• The four-room model as point of departure describing the
interaction between the library’s rooms and functions
• The product will be a
dynamic and visual tool
Balagan Malmø
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Four ”rooms”
• Learning space: Discovering and learning. E.g. informal
courses, e-learning, talks, access to knowledge resources,
reference services
• Inspiration space: Adventures. Access to literature, art,
film, music, entertainment and games. Events with writers
and artists.
• Meeting space: Based on participation. Events about local
political questions, current events, reading and study
groups, community building and networking
• Performative space: Creativity & creation, aesthetic
learning, writing workshops, events with house artists,
movie workshops etc.
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What the Model Programme can be used for?
• Video - link
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Activities
• Desk research on library development and the
library in city planning
• Study trips for the project and steering groups
• Three design workshops for libraries that are redecorating or building a new library
• Three conferences (kickoff, midway, launch)
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Design workshops
• Survey: Mapped the status in the municipalities
with a competition to win a facilitated course
• Result: 2/3 of the Danish municipalities are
working with the transformation of library space
• Extra agreement with Signal Architects about
facilitating a technical design workshop for three
municipalities
• Objective: Qualifying the project by utilising
experience
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Design workshops (2)
• The three winning municipalities
• Thisted: Classic library building being redecorated in
connection with climate efforts and also being
reshaped as an Open Library
• Billund: Redesigned as an Open Library and citizen
service centre and the driving force in the Children’s
Capital (Lego)
• Sønderborg: New library as a part of a multi-culture
house along the harbour front (€ 12.5 million)
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Design workshops (3)
• Process Tools for the Development of Design Principles
• Who should participate?
• Recommendation: link the strategic management level to the
operational level and also ensure user involvement
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Exercises about:
the library's spaces and the four-room model
24 hours at tomorrow's library
Dogmas for the good partnership at tomorrow's library
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Cases
• The cases represent the libraries we visited during the
development of the programme
• New cases have been added after the launching
• They are not exemplary – but you can learn from all
libraries
• Any library is a local directory with local conditions and local
decisions and priorities behind. The library of the future is
not one library, but different from place to place.
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At this square no questions are asked
- only given answers
Piazza Annunziata Firenze
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Design challenges
The actual product is the creation of a set
of design challenges and
recommendations for libraries that are
redesigning or building a new!
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Design challenges
Example 1
Focus area: Inspiration space (for experiences)
Key: Decoration & furniture
Challenge: How can the library guide new as well as
experienced users to new experiences, access to literature,
art, film, music, entertainment and games, to events with
artists etc.?
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Design ideas:
Experiences can be made accessible
The red band in
Hjørring guiding
users through
the library
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Design ideas:
Experiences can be made accessible
Signs on the floor
and the walls are
expressive guides.
The library
Rentemestervej
does both.
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Design ideas:
Experiences can be made accessible
Ørestad library has an
interactive floor plan
of the library
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Design challenges
Example 2
Focus area: Inspiration space (experiences)
Key: Rooms & physical building
Challenge: How to signal more clearly that the space is
an urban library? And invite people inside?
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Design idea:
The broken city
square with the
sunken scene in
front of the new
Birmingham
Public Library
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Design challenges
Example 3
Focus area: Urban space
Key: Room & physical building
Challenge: How to create linking spaces between the
library and the town, contributing to a vibrant urban
space, and ideally attracting more visitors to the
library?
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Design ideas:
Rentemestervej in the NorthWest part of Copenhagen
A car park has been converted into a new culture-producing
space
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Design ideas:
• Aalborg Main Library. Rendsburggade, which links Nytorv and
Nørregade, is a part of the building, featuring a glass roof, so
that the library has entrances on both streets.
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Design challenges
Example 4
Focus area: Meeting Space / Performative Space
Key: Decoration / furniture
Challenge: Finding the right format and location for
the stage to suit its users
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Design ideas:
• The purpose of the stage is primarily to support the
library’s function as a performative space
• - as a professional setting for ambitious cultural events
• - or as a stage for the users inviting them to be spontaneous
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Design challenges
Example 5
Focus area: Learning space
Key: Decoration & furniture
Challenge: How to to create different, inviting spaces
in interplay with the rest of the library?
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Design ideas:
• Study Cells, individual workplaces
• Nieuwe Bibliotheek, Almere, the Netherlands
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Design ideas:
• Tårnby Library
Design ideas:
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Design ideas:
• For children…
• Balagan, Malmø City Library
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Model Programme for Public Libraries
- from development to operation
• After launch in September 2013:
• Translated to English
• Now run by Danish Agency of Culture, Libraries
• Editorial Group with library managers and
development consultants
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Trends in Denmark 2014
• Lending is falling sharply
• What about the e-book? Are the libraries winning that fight?
• ”Open libraries” are spreading
• More than half of the Danish libraries have opening hours with self-service in
addition to the hours with staff
• Libraries are merging with other institutions
• Citizen service centres, culture houses, tourist offices, museums
• Other activities in the library space,
• f.ex. Maker spaces:
• It-cafés, Fab Lab, Coding Pirates
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What about Finland?
• What trends do you experience?
• Which challenges does this provide for the design of
the libraries?
• Do you think the Danish Model Programme can be
useful for you ? - as far as you are familiar with it
until now
• Do you miss any design challenges?
• Please use 5 minutes to discuss these questions with
the collegue next to you!
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FEEDBACK
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Success criteria
• Goals for the website:
• 10,000 unique users per year
• Annual growth 20 – 30 %
• Statistics: 01.01. - 05.10. 2014:
• 6,209 Danish users
• 7,195 users of the English site
• Facebook:
• The Facebook page has a large number of users, from all
over the world
• Use of the programme:
• A lot of statements saying that library developers use the
programme when they are building new libraries.
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Follow-up: National initiatives
•Dissemination and knowledge-sharing at conferences
•Several projects have been started with funds from our
Development Pool. The projects are meant to work with
the design challenges, gain new experience and provide
contents to the programme.
•Two workshops in the autumn, different locations.
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Follow-up: International initiatives
• The Facebook page has a surprisingly large number
of visitors from all over the world
• There is a high demand for presentations about the
programme at international conferences etc.
• We have therefore increased efforts on the
international part
• schmidt/hammer/lassen architects Public Library of
the Year Award 2014
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Public Library of the Year
• The award ‘schmidt hammer lassen architects – Public Library of
the Year Award 2014’ was handed out at a award ceremony at the
annual IFLA Conference in Lyon 17 August.
• Established by the Model Programme for Public Libraries
• The architectural firm schmidt hammer lassen architects sponsors.
• The Model Programme aims to motivate municipalities into
developing the library of the future.
• The award is DKK 25,000, which is given to the winning
municipality.
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Assessment criteria
• The library must be newly-built. (Must have been
completed in the period 1 January 2012 - 15 June
2014.)
• The definition of a new library here is a library that
has been newly built from scratch, or a library that
has been set up in premises that have not previously
served as a library.
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Six over-all criteria
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The good process
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Interaction with the
surroundings
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Flexibility
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Building quality
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Digital communication
•
Local culture
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Nominated for:
Interaction with the
cityscape and strong
community engagement
Architecture with strong
references to the local
heritage, successfully
integrated into the
design
Library of Birmingham
England
Architects: Mecanoo
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Nominated for:
High design quality
and beautiful use of
local materials
High functional
quality in an inviting,
informal and human
scale
Craigieburn Library
Australia
Architect: Francis-Jones Morehen Torp
Photo by Trevor Mein
With its open and
flexible spaces the
library transforms
into a democratic
space inviting
diversity and
interaction
A driver in urban
development
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Nominated for:
Use of books as
symbol for the
worth of learning
Inviting the city
inside through its
glass façade
Bookmountain Library Spijkenisse
Creating dialogue in
the library sector
about the future for
libraries
The Netherlands
Architect: MVRDV
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Nominated for:
Innovative use of
digital resources
Flexible rooms as
an example of an
efficient use of
space
Ørestad Library
Denmark
Architect: KHR
Sharing of a
Public and a
School Library
which stresses
the good use of
resources
Photo by Johan Furnaise
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The winner
Craigieburn Library, Australia
Architect: Francis-Jones Morehen
Torp
Through a collaboration between
the architectural firm, Hume City
Council and the community, the
library shows how a
contemporary library as a public
building can help set high design
standards for a new civic and
community.
Photo by Trevor Mein
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Craigieburn Library
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Craigieburn Library
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Craigieburn Library
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Public Library of the Year
We are planning
to award the prize
in 2015 and 2016
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The address:
• http://modelprogrammer.kulturstyrelsen.dk/en/
• New cases and proposals for new design challenges are welcome.
Find the template on the website
• We have a Facebook account that you are welcome to utilise
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Thank you!
Questions are welcome:
Jonna Holmgaard Larsen
jhl@kulturstyrelsen.dk
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