The Library as Place
I've been thinking a lot lately about this. Why? Because this summer your intrepid blog editor is going to be moving the hospital library from this building where it has been for over 25 years to the other hospital campus several miles away across town. This is a great opportunity to ponder deeply how this room is being used and consider how to structure things to better facilitate these uses in our new area.
This library inhabits 2300 square feet on the hospital's ground floor. OK, that's a fancy way to say that we are way down here in the basement. It's comfortable down here and we're right next to the classrooms. So the medical students, interns, and residents spend a lot of time here. I think several orthopedic residents actually live here. There is seating for 22 and there are times when all the table and carrel space is occupied. Occasionally, it gets downright wild down here. Yesterday, for instance. The surgical residents were regaling each other with amusing OR anecdotes. Thank goodness, there weren't any people trying to study! I was laughing too hard to shush them. I'm glad that they feel "at home" here.
Later this week, I will be able to "walk through" the space that is currently being considered for the library on the other campus. As I walk through the rooms, what I'll be planning is not just where to put the books, journals, and computers, but how to make the library a useful, welcoming PLACE for our students, physicians, and staff.
I wanted to get a handle on some of the latest research and thinking on the concept of "The Library as Place." First stop? The Hospital Library Section wiki page "The Library's Physical Space." There is a lot of food for thought in this University of Illinois at Urbanna-Champaign Current LIS Clip The Library as Place. I also still have on my desk, the DVD Rom that we all were sent by the National Library of Medicine from the 2003 symposium on this subject. I've got my work cut out for me!
