19. Contact us:
Jaime Corris Hammond - jhammond@nvcc.commnet.edu
Gretchen Caserotti - gcaserotti@darienlibrary.org
Further Reading
Walking Paper
! http://www.walkingpaper.org/
Designing Better Libraries
! http://dbl.lishost.org/blog
Graphic Design for Non-Designers
by, Tony Seddon and Jane Waterhouse
Editor's Notes
\n
JCH - why design matters- why is this photo striking? --patron experience key-- --good design makes you feel comfortable and free to do what you need to do--\n
GC - if you want to make changes, start by asking yourself this question - improved circ, local support, appeal to new users - define the scope of the project\n
JCH - Do research - identifying best practices, looking around outside of just libraries, look at museums, restaurants. if you feel comfortable and are surprised, try to notice WHY, \n
GC - ideas are free, \n
GC - Do research, but look internally - Look around your own space, work from patron side, try to do what they are doing and examine flow, work like your co-workers, look for ways to improve work flows and space. ask your mom to come to come do a task (usability testing in real life) Getting to Know Your Patrons by Aaron Schmidt, LJ June 1, 2011 article.\nJCH - academic perspective, students studying a topic\n
JCH - tell the user where to go. anticipate where they will be confused- put your patron "eyes" on or have a friend come visit you and try to find their way around. reason for doing the renovation was to move the entrance to the library. signs and visual cues, not just for marketing. tile floor of lib dark color from ent to exit. \n
JCH - quite study/group study one sign at entrance, better than many signs at tables.\nGC - no one reads signs. signs should be simple! librarians try to be so polite. a picture says a thousand words. deal with offender, don’t slap a sign up as a punishment for all patrons. \n
GC - Use of color, laminated paper - improved browsing, if you choose to make them, use purpose, COLOR, FONT, SIZE (think accessibility universal design)\n
GC - function not format, mixing medias within sections (Travel and Learn to Read) \nJCH - talk about themed spaces- putting dinosaur toys with dinosaur books- or just put the stapler and recycling bin near the printer- improved user experience\n - also DVDs pulled out from behind\nPut LIKE things together.\n\n
JCH start - anthropologie, visual artists to create displays, but you too can put creativity into your displays, evoke a feeling not much cost or effort, especially if you have big windows! \nGC - field trips to bookstores, share a few tips we learned using cardboard boxes to lift books in the back, using tools that suit the topic (like above), purchase to fill displays, no one wants to take the only copy. A sign won't help, ppl still reluctant to take a single copy.\n
we both are not directors, but played an important role in major bldg projects\nJCH - rest of the story of our renovation- pushed out entrances, added glass doors, paint, flooring, reconfigured shelving\nGC - we had new building 2009, used strategies we talked about earlier looking outside of libraries, taking lots of pictures for inspiration etc. we both have bldg project experience, these are some of the lessons we learned/ things stand out to us.\n
GC - what will your building look like in 10-15 years? put outlets everywhere to guarantee flexibility in the future. you never know where you're going to need power! WiFi everywhere. put them near where ppl will be sitting. tables with outlets in them (no tripping over cords), \nJCH? ppl plug into outlet in a wall 5 feet away. We put them in the floor so can wired through a table, but also ppl can plug right into the floor. you have to think about before they put the floors in! once the concrete is set, much more expensive to go back to install wiring. \n
JCH - encourage patrons to reconfigure space for their needs, buy flexible furniture. In higher ed the buzzword is collaboration. furniture and space design reflects that. all group study space. \n
GC - unique shelving design for our picture book reorg. org by subject first based on how ppl ask question for help, color coding is key (Powells), now NF has too (earlier slide) - TAKE A RISK!\n
GC - collection reogs help ppl help themselves, we also invested in self-checks, automated returns Lynkysoe and 3M have great systems, give stats on CO/CI. frees up \n
GC & JCH - ppl don't like change, perpetual reassurance, communicate with others, help other staff be invested in the process - things will evolve over time, staff will have ideas, \n
JCH - things will evolve over time, staff will have ideas, (architect friend push out the wall, did but not in plan) the real truth is - you have to keep tweaking things Brian Matthews white paper, left space undesigned (project ran out of money) students used space in ways not expected, staff surprised, made changes in line with what students wanted rather than what they designed. continuously evolving project - \n
remember that good design is an enjoyable experience and that is what we want for our patrons isn’t it?\n