Planning Optimal Library Spaces: Principles, Processes, and Practices

Planning Optimal Library Spaces: Principles, Process, and Practices demystifies library space planning, inspires creative thinking, and offers immediate how-to steps to rectify seemingly hopeless situations. It describes an approach to library space planning that introduces and combines a phased implementation strategy with traditional space planning to allow library transformations and renovations to be done as a single project or a series of smaller, separate, and more manageable phased interventions. It allows libraries to meet current needs sooner, as smaller funding opportunities arise, instead of waiting on completely funded projects to develop.

Chapters cover the approach, the importance of community engagement meetings, collection storage strategies, the anatomy of a library project budget, recommendations for getting started, and case studies of both public and academic library planning projects with detailed phasing strategies.

Printed in full color with 148 images, this is a must-have book for librarians, architects, government/education administrators, and anyone involved with, or even thinking about a library planning or renovation project.

David R. Moore II, AIA is a Principal and the Higher Education Studio Leader at McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture who also leads the firm’s dedicated Library Design Team. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Clemson University. For nearly 30 years, David has worked exclusively with libraries, is an accomplished speaker and lecturer on library planning and design, and is responsible for the design of many award-winning libraries throughout the Southeast. David has also authored numerous library building programs, feasibility studies, space utilization studies and Road Map master plans for academic, public, and private institutions across the country.

Eric C. Shoaf is Dean of the Library at Queens University of Charlotte. He has 30 years experience working in five different library systems of varying sizes, and over the past 15 years has been heavily involved in library building and renovation projects at a variety of institutions. Eric is widely published in the library literature and previously served as editor for Library Leadership & Management, the journal published by the American Library Association’s LLAMA division. He has been a speaker about library renovation and about partnerships with architects and space planners at national conferences.