Designing the real virtual library:
an overview of the preparation of an upgrade
for the University of Queensland Library

Janine Schmidt

  

Hamilton Wilson

University Librarian

&

Architect

The University of Queensland

  

Wilson Architects

j.schmidt@library.uq.edu.au

  

wilson.architects@mailbox.uq.edu.au

Abstract:
Two of the branches of the University of Queensland Library, both serving staff and students in the social sciences and humanities disciplines, were designed and built some 25 years ago. A ten million dollar upgrade project is being designed to link the two buildings, amalgamate library services, and provide the basis for the delivery of information services in person to staff and students on the St Lucia campus, and via desktop dial-up means to staff and students in their offices or homes. While information technology has been a driving force in the building design, the centrality of the client has been the prime focus.

Introduction

Since World War II, no library has ever been built which has been big enough over its life....As the collections inevitably grew, more stacks would be added and seating removed to accommodate the added shelving. In the last twenty years this remained the primary priority of research library design (although) it has been increasingly complemented by the addition of increased power, cabling, and telecommunications capabilities for the support of information technologies1.

Classical library design has focused on the physical collection, with careful calculations about current size and projected expansion. The Library has been seen as a "place" where materials are stored, readers are seated, and staff work, many behind the scenes processing materials. Service areas have also been provided, with circulation or loans desks, and information or reference desks. This approach to library design matched the traditional paradigm of the library. Scholars, or users, went to a physical place to gain access to recorded knowledge. They used bibliographic records and rows of shelves of printed materials. Librarians were guardians of their collections and assisted users find their way.

Much has changed in library provision, particularly in the last ten years. New electronic forms of information are stored locally or accessed remotely. Computers are required to access all resources with visual images on screens as important as words on paper. The drawers of the card catalogue which took up acres of prime space have vanished and the large printed reference collections of yesteryear are fast following them. Readers like to sit (or lie) on the floor, with many of them preferring "noisy" spaces. Staff (in reducing numbers) are "hot-desking" to do their work. All service points are equipped with technology. Library staff train their users to cope with an increasingly complex array of information resources. In tertiary education, the learning environment emphasises learner-centred and problem-based approaches to teaching, lifelong learning, and flexible delivery of programs. The student has emerged as a customer, with needs and wants, and marketing approaches to library service emphasise the centrality of the customer. The new paradigm of the Library focuses on the client at a workstation accessing electronic resources through a single gateway. The Librarian is a navigator and the Library is a window on the world.

The traditional paradigm of the Library has gone but traditional approaches to library design have continued, with few changes in the appearance of libraries. Many still suffer from the "edifice" complex (although at least one article depicts the edifice at the precipice)2 are difficult to use, and lack functionality. New approaches to library design must focus on the client, accommodate the technology, provide for training of clients in information skills, be cost-effective, allow for printed collections which while shrinking in their expansion rates are still growing, accommodate staff whose primary activity is service to users, and support the social role the Library has always played.

The Context

The University of Queensland Library consists of 12 branch libraries located on 6 campuses, with centralised administration and support, 240 staff, 1.8 million volumes, 12 fileservers, the Innovative Systems integrated library management system, an extensive database network, and over 700 PCs, with 400 of these available for public access. The Library serves 25,000 students, of whom 20% are postgraduates, and 4,800 staff and researchers. The Library, while still a storehouse and repository of knowledge uses as its slogan We link people with information, works in partnership with teaching departments, supporting and adding value to teaching, learning, research and community services, and responds to current needs while anticipating and preparing for future needs.

Library service to students and staff in the humanities and social sciences disciplines is provided from the Central Library Building and an Undergraduate Library in the Duhig Building, although there is a separate Law Library and a separate Architecture/Music Library. Fifty five percent of the Library's transactions relate to this library service, which serves twenty teaching departments, and forty eight percent of the total student population. The Central and Duhig Buildings were designed to meet the educational and information needs of some twenty years ago. Within the Central Library Building, there was a Reference Service, a Lending Service, the Fryer Library (Australiana and special collections), and centralised administration and support services. The reference service in the Central Library was remote from the users, focussing as it did on the long since gone card catalogue; reading rooms were separated from the collections; four service points, including two circulation desks, were maintained at all times the Library was open - up to 81 hours per week. The Duhig Building housed a Multimedia Service, as well as lending and reference services, a basic lending collection, and a "kept-at-desk" collection of heavily used materials for Undergraduates. The Undergraduate Library duplicated some of the collections of the Central Library, had fewer service points than Central, but still a multiplicity, and provided challenges for users seeking to locate materials in a seven level tower building. Neither building met current building standards. In summary, in evaluating the buildings as they were two years ago, maintenance costs were high; the facilities showed the signs of age and wear and tear; piecemeal attempts to upgrade the facilities had not been fully integrated; and the aesthetic features as well as the functionality left much to be desired. The buildings no longer presented an attractive or appropriate environment. It was obvious that major renovation and refurbishment were required.

An extension to the Central Library had long been part of submissions to the Capital Management Plan, but no funding had been forthcoming. There was a distinct reluctance to the consideration of such a project at a time when reductions in printed materials were being forecast, even if these were not actually occurring. In addition, the University had already agreed to a proposal to fund a warehouse at St Lucia to store little-used materials scattered in a variety of stores around Brisbane. After considerable discussion, it was decided to present a proposal for refurbishment of both buildings as an alternative to a major extension. The case was made, and eventually $9.6 million was allocated in the University's Capital Management Plan to an upgrade of the Library Central and Duhig Buildings.

The First Steps

A concept brief for refurbishment of the Central and Duhig Buildings was prepared. An initial group of senior library staff with user representation met to work through some possibilities. The client focus began at this stage, and several flow charts of possible activities of library users were prepared. An analysis of loans across the libraries revealed students were using both the Undergraduate and Central collections. An analysis of seating was also carried out. Students appeared to be staying away in droves from the neatly arranged carrels, preferring to sprawl at tables and spaces closer to the collections.

The initial proposal included the following objectives. The upgrade would provide cost effective services to clients in the social sciences and humanities disciplines, including academic staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and the associated research community; amalgamate the collections of the Undergraduate and Central Library; ensure the most appropriate flow of people and the linking of services in relation to the way clients were using information; ensure flexibility in space design to accommodate future changes; provide for gateway services, and an Information Common of approximately 200 computer workstations in group or laboratory situations, an assignment preparation facility and exhibition space; maintain in appropriate housing the traditional printed collections remaining for the foreseeable future, with separate controlled access for specific sub-collections; facilitate the training of library clients in information skills; develop an electronic library; present the Library as an attractive place to study, with a variety of seating including individual carrels, comfortable seating, and group discussion; provide a social meeting area/coffee shop; upgrade security with good directory assistance; provide for dial-up user access; accommodate the corporate services library staff in one area; provide appropriate spaces and facilities for the use of postgraduate students and researchers; facilitate library staff and client meetings; and provide appropriate amenities for staff.

Getting down to the Hard Work

The University's Strategic Planning Committee approved the allocation of funds, and the work on a detailed brief began. This was sent to a number of architects by the Property and Facilities section of the University, and the Library was involved with Property and Facilities staff in the evaluation of tenders. The firm of Wilson Architects, a reputable Brisbane firm with a background of working with the University, was chosen for a number of reasons, but a key factor was the presentation of a link building between the Central and the Duhig buildings to provide the unifying theme required. Hamilton Wilson of this firm was appointed to the project, and work began in earnest.

A taskforce was established within the Library, with staff and user representation (including Union representation). Working to this taskforce, various sub-groups all prepared the details required for each aspect. A discussion group was established on the University's network, and desires and hopes were fed into the system. The proposed changes to service got in the way of some student union warfare - the Library became one of the political footballs kicked around between the left and the right. Rumours about the proposed building abounded - the top floor would become a garden with palm trees; the Undergraduate library would become a restaurant; the entire Duhig building would be occupied by the Corporate Services staff (that meant one person per floor). Some hard lessons were learned by the Library - the chief one being communicate, communicate and communicate again. The University Librarian visited departments, attended Faculty meetings, sent out letters, and spoke to the executive of the Students Union. Fliers were distributed within the Library; all suggestions responded to; and accurate information conveyed via the University's media outlets.

There was, as usual, many a slip between the cup and the lip. The initial drawings provided for an above-ground building. This was not viewed favourably by the site planners within the University; there were other delays, and by the end of the year, although some progress had been made, there was still no commitment to the design. The appointment of a new project manager by the University, and fast work to "bury" the link ensured that the appropriate approvals were then gained. Refining of the designs ensued. The building went out to tender for construction, and in August 1997 the work finally began.

During the planning phase, the University Librarian made two visits to the United States, and new library buildings there were examined. Some of these were explored further via the Web, and the American Library Association Conference in July 1996 (attended by the University Librarian) focussed on building planning and design. All of these experiences contributed to the outcome. Of particular interest were the New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library, and the University of Southern California's Levy Library. Within Australia, visits to recently renovated or new libraries were also made. The annual review of facilities by American Libraries3 was also enormously helpful.

It was also in the planning phase that the model of the library of the future was first explored. All of the services to be provided by the Library were identified. For each, the nature of the service was described, and its character, clientele and relationships with other services delineated. Visits to other service organisations were made by the architect and senior library staff. These included banks, Internet cafes, telecommunication service providers, music and hi-fi stores, as well as the Brisbane City Council. These helped "unfreeze" current perceptions of library design and presented new ideas for possible incorporation into the new approach and the new model.

The new library model

The process for establishing the future direction the Library began with re-evaluating the traditional library model. Rather than intellectualise the new model based on a theory of the 'dissolution of walls' or an analysis based on the library as a 'metaphor of knowledge', the new library model would provide for improved service delivery, easier access to information and study spaces which would accommodate the variety of study behaviours. Acknowledging that all clients are different with different skills and different needs of study and resource was vital to this process. Early discussions of the design focussed on the creation of an abstract planning diagram that would represent the 'ideal' library model without any references to the physical constraints of the existing buildings. This was an important process to avoid the existing buildings driving the refurbishment agenda, rather than the client needs. It was also important to avoid any preconceived notions of what the final outcome should be.

Learning from the real world

The analysis of existing successful commercial service providers such as banks, telecommunication providers, video retailers, and record stores proved most helpful. Should the new model for a library be more like a supermarket or a shopping mall? What could be learned from service providers that had already responded flexibly to new client needs? The final model was still a library, but one which now laid down the ground rules for direct responses to client needs with technology not merely another library service but a tool shamelessly incorporated into the acquisition of information.

The services defined

In determining the nature of the service, three levels were selected -

1. standard - expected by all clients
2. specialist - targeted to a specific group
3. value-added - an enhanced service where the user pays

Also identified were levels of client assistance -

A. one-on-one assistance with general inquiries, training, tours
B. Lending, fine inquiries and ? up materials like inter-library loans
C. Technical assistance (involving use of machines, including computers)

These levels of client assistance and service were incorporated into the model.

The study spaces defined

It is important to recognise that not all people study in the same way. The new library model provided for a variety of study styles, with the character of the study spaces reflecting the nature of each. The following were identified -

Table 1 - The Model of the Library

diagram of the logical structure of library services

Each Service Refined

After appropriating what was "good" and worthy of emulation from the public service providers examined, the various services of the library to be provided were identified, and for each the nature of the service was isolated, the clientele, the relationship to other services, and the character of the service.

An example of the further examination of each service follows: