Designing Academic Libraries

Foster, N.F. (2013). Designing academic libraries with the people who work in them. In N. F. Foster (Ed.), Studying students: A second look (pp. 103-121). Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries.

In this article, Foster evaluates the value of input from the actual users of their academic library when designing, redesigning, and improving its functionality. Instead of the university administrators making the decisions for the library, because they do not represent the majority of users, she believes that designing should be a collaborative process of all those who work in it, which includes faculty members, students, and library staff; a method she calls “participatory design” (p. 103).

First, Foster examines some of the historical perspectives towards participatory design. She states that historically most colleges did not engage the users/participators in the design of the library, providing a typical example in a quote from James Gerould who said, “Frequently the architect and the donor were more interest in erecting a monument than a working [academic library] building”; however, that was not always the case such as at Dartmouth College where a faculty committee was created to construct a lengthy report of their perspectives before the library was built (p. 103). Foster’s conclusion is that the best way to evaluate how the library can most effectively serve its users is by examining their needs, and since these can vary among institutions, the users should be included throughout the entire process (p. 108). This is very important because libraries are there to serve their users, but if the users are not actually using the space and/or it does not meet their needs, then it is not fulfilling its role within the university.