I see the lack of light in the front at the book drop being an issue. There are people who wouldn’t feel comfortable going to return books at night. I think most libraries seem to be going to the large book return containers near the street. That makes it easy to just pull up, drop the book in the box, and be on your way.
Matthews and Soistmann state in their article that a space becomes a place when it rises above being merely useful. I agree with you that the library you visited needs some improvements. It seems many libraries merely just exist to take up space. I hope that the Virginia Beach Public Library along with many others will rise to the occasion of becoming a place with social and personal significance to its patrons and community.
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2 Comments
I see the lack of light in the front at the book drop being an issue. There are people who wouldn’t feel comfortable going to return books at night. I think most libraries seem to be going to the large book return containers near the street. That makes it easy to just pull up, drop the book in the box, and be on your way.
Matthews and Soistmann state in their article that a space becomes a place when it rises above being merely useful. I agree with you that the library you visited needs some improvements. It seems many libraries merely just exist to take up space. I hope that the Virginia Beach Public Library along with many others will rise to the occasion of becoming a place with social and personal significance to its patrons and community.
Mathews, Brian and Soistmann, Leigh Ann. (September 30, 2020). Encoding space: Shaping learning environments that unlock human potential. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/09/01/encoding-space-library-design/.