'Free to the People': The Design and Function of Aotearoa New Zealand's Carnegie Libraries

<p><b>Libraries have formed an inherent part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s communities since the beginning of organised European settlement. Through the case study of New Zealand’s participation in the international Carnegie library programme, this thesis considers the intersection of library architecture and librarianship. It is asserted that libraries have made a significant contribution to New Zealand’s regional civic culture but, despite their social importance, have sat outside most architectural historical surveys. The study explores how a critical analysis of the design and function of purpose-built Carnegie library buildings provides a deeper understanding of these central social institutions.</b></p> <p>Despite the prevalence and value of libraries, very little has been published on the history of library architecture in New Zealand. Only a small amount of research in this country’s library and information studies field addresses library architecture, and architectural writing on libraries is similarly scarce. This research addresses the gap in the literature by employing an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach based on historical and archival research, and site visits. Two key areas of investigation are examined through the case study. Firstly, the form of New Zealand’s Carnegie libraries is analysed in order to determine the principal elements of the buildings and to trace the influences on their design. Secondly, the function of the buildings is investigated, with a focus on the developing library profession and the service provided to the only two groups allocated dedicated space: women and children.</p> <p>This thesis argues that New Zealand’s participation in the Carnegie library programme occurred at a significant time in the development of library architecture and librarianship, and the libraries reflect the profound shifts that were taking place. The findings demonstrate that these library buildings serve as physical evidence of a local interpretation of the major trends in early twentieth-century librarianship and the wider social context of that developing professional practice. Moreover, it shows that a more fulsome understanding of library architecture furthers the appreciation of the part libraries have played in New Zealand social and cultural history, and adds to the field of heritage and museum studies by broadening the understanding and recognition of related cultural institutions. Due to the international nature of the Carnegie library programme and continued importance of libraries, the results of this study are not solely of benefit on local and national levels; they have transnational value.</p>

'Free to the People': The Design and Function of Aotearoa New Zealand's Carnegie Libraries

<p><b>Libraries have formed an inherent part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s communities since the beginning of organised European settlement. Through the case study of New Zealand’s participation in the international Carnegie library programme, this thesis considers the intersection of library architecture and librarianship. It is asserted that libraries have made a significant contribution to New Zealand’s regional civic culture but, despite their social importance, have sat outside most architectural historical surveys. The study explores how a critical analysis of the design and function of purpose-built Carnegie library buildings provides a deeper understanding of these central social institutions.</b></p> <p>Despite the prevalence and value of libraries, very little has been published on the history of library architecture in New Zealand. Only a small amount of research in this country’s library and information studies field addresses library architecture, and architectural writing on libraries is similarly scarce. This research addresses the gap in the literature by employing an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach based on historical and archival research, and site visits. Two key areas of investigation are examined through the case study. Firstly, the form of New Zealand’s Carnegie libraries is analysed in order to determine the principal elements of the buildings and to trace the influences on their design. Secondly, the function of the buildings is investigated, with a focus on the developing library profession and the service provided to the only two groups allocated dedicated space: women and children.</p> <p>This thesis argues that New Zealand’s participation in the Carnegie library programme occurred at a significant time in the development of library architecture and librarianship, and the libraries reflect the profound shifts that were taking place. The findings demonstrate that these library buildings serve as physical evidence of a local interpretation of the major trends in early twentieth-century librarianship and the wider social context of that developing professional practice. Moreover, it shows that a more fulsome understanding of library architecture furthers the appreciation of the part libraries have played in New Zealand social and cultural history, and adds to the field of heritage and museum studies by broadening the understanding and recognition of related cultural institutions. Due to the international nature of the Carnegie library programme and continued importance of libraries, the results of this study are not solely of benefit on local and national levels; they have transnational value.</p>

Thirty Years and Three New Libraries: Learning on the Job

The following article, written by Amanda Saville, is a summary of the author's experiences as the client for three major new library buildings. It attempts to provide some advice and help for others contemplating a new library or significant refurbishment project by taking readers through the various stages of a development project. It assumes that the reader has no prior experience of managing building projects and offers some practical suggestions for a library client to consider. The projects on which the author was involved are listed at the end of the article and readers who would like to learn more are encouraged to go to the websites of the three institutions as all of them include detailed information and many images of the buildings.

A reassessment of the design of Carnegie public library buildings with a view to their future use: The case of Evanston Public Library, Illinois (1908)

Based primarily on archival sources, this study focuses on the original design of the purpose-built Evanston Public Library, Illinois, opened in 1908. Throughout the course of its lifespan of half a century, the Library earned a reputation as one of the town’s most cherished and revered buildings. Its demise, along with that of other Carnegie library buildings, as well as the many that have survived, encourages us to reflect on the changing popularity of Carnegie libraries as public buildings in relation to their potential for ongoing use. Celebrating the legacy of the architectural progressivism inherent in Carnegie public library buildings enhances today's image of their origin, thereby helping to heighten expectations for their future. Re-assessing the reputation of the original designs of Carnegie libraries through case studies like Evanston adds weight to the argument that, where feasible, meaningful efforts should be made to conserve extant Carnegie library buildings.

A könyvtári szolgáltatások átalakulása és fejlesztése a pandémia idején

The Covid19 pandemic has not only posed new difficulties to libraries but has accelerated the process of digitizing library services. Although different services, events and information sources online were only an option for libraries before, in 2020 it became essential for them to be able to fulfill their purpose even during obligatory closures: preserving human culture, making it accessible, providing information ensuring equal opportunities. Librarians all over the world re-evaluated their duties and tasks, the forms of communication and tools used. In January 2021, we conducted a survey of Hungarian libraries at the Research and Analysis Department of the Hungarian Library Institute, during which we tried to explore how certain library services and background activities changed during the pandemic. Based on the obtained results, it can be said that the operation of libraries not only did not stop during the obligatory closure of library buildings, but many libraries began to develop electronic and remote services on a large scale and tried to ensure that they could serve their users during this period. Not only by making some information sources available online and re-prioritizing tasks, but also by digitizing events, trainings, exhibitions and mainly locally available services.

Analysis of solutions for the functional and planning development of libraries of higher educational institutions

The article deals with problems and open questions concerning the organization of library design. Today, the problem of organizing library spaces, both separate and inside educational buildings, comes to the fore. A design strategy can help turn a library into an attractive, creative and trendy place, create an open, comfortable, modern space that allows you to get the necessary information or service as quickly as possible. The article considers several striking examples of foreign and domestic practice of designing library buildings that have managed to find their own format in the modern world, but have not lost their orientation to knowledge.

Revisiting the Carnegie Public Library built form: the design and early history of three Illinois Carnegie Library buildings

Despite the challenges involved in re-cycling older library buildings, it is important not to underestimate the value of extant Carnegie libraries, which in many places are among the most celebrated and cherished structures in the community. Any tendency to underestimate the possibilities for extant Carnegie library buildings can be reduced by revisiting their original designs and challenging popular impressions that are based on unwarranted retrospective history. Case studies of three Illinois Carnegie libraries are presented: Decatur (opened 1903), Paxton (opened 1904), and Park Ridge (opened 1913). These case studies are followed by a positive interpretation of the built form of the three libraries studied, by drawing on recent accounts of the material culture of Carnegie public libraries in the decades immediately prior to the First World War, as well as by referring to contemporary policy on architectural control by Carnegie's office and critical reporting in the later stage of the Carnegie programme on its successes and failures.

Networking Historic Environmental Standards to Address Modern Challenges for Sustainable Conservation in HBIM

Awareness of the logic and context of original (and subsequent) design priorities is critical to informing decisions relating to valorisation, repair, refurbishment, energy retrofit or re-use of built heritage. A key benefit of collating data through Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) should be to assist others facing similar challenges. Here, examples for sharing understanding of how components belong to a system are outlined in the context of a newly completed dataset of public library buildings in the UK funded by Andrew Carnegie, predominantly built between 1900 and 1914. Demands for the functionality and economy of public library buildings, coupled with the emergent standardisation of building components at the time, provide a specific condition with potential for further iteration to other buildings of the period or related typologies. The work highlights the urgency of providing cost-efficient knowledge sharing structures in an era of altered priorities with respect to energy use for modern heritage. We propose the means for mapping common features to network knowledge amongst stakeholders through relevant open source pathways. The results demonstrate that integrating geographic approaches to knowledge sharing in HBIM with environmental considerations also supports wider questions of risk management related to the stewardship of historic buildings in the context of climate change.