Caroline Taylor, University of Leicester

1. www.le.ac.uk
…a beacon for quality design and
scholarship…
The David Wilson Library
University Health and Medical Librarians Group 3 July 2014
Caroline Taylor
University Librarian
Caroline.taylor@le.ac.uk

2. Welcome to
Leicester

3. David Wilson Library
• Design brief
• Design principles
• What was created?
• How well does it work?
• What next?

4. Spaces and Learning

5. Spaces and learning
• Shift from formal (bad) to informal (good)
• From single function to interactive social space
• Research, evidence, theory?
• A. Boddington and J. Boys (eds.), Re-shaping Learning: A critical reader: The future
of learning spaces in post-compulsory education, 2011 Sense Publishers

6. Spaces and Learning
• Integrating learning, business and enterprise
• Shared space
• Challenging students
• Permeability, accessibility
and public realm
• Flexible or adaptable?

7. Design brief

8. Design brief
• Space for study and (still) space for books
• State-of-the-art library
• Student-centred
• Intellectual heart

9. A bit of history…

10. Space…
• Library opened in February 1923, by May 1924 there
was no room
• Extended Dec 1923
• New wing in 1929
• More study in 1933
• And again in 1939
• Library full in 1945

11. … there has never been enough
• 1947 resolved that all the main building to be given
over to the library
• 1948-9 two more rooms added; 130 seats
• Full within two weeks

12. …still not enough
• Work began on a new building in 1951, completed
1953
• By 1955 space was tight
• University status in 1957
• …but too few reader spaces
• …needing a periodicals room

13. … no better
• “It seemed to be heavily, and perhaps unhealthily,
constrained by its dismal accommodation and to see
no prospect of change in that particular area.”
(Harrison Bryan, an Australian librarian visiting British universities in 1957)

14. …now critical
• By 1960 accommodation for stock was inadequate
• By 1963 the problem was acute and space was
allocated for a dedicated library:
• 1m books
• 1500 readers
• 4000 students

15. … at last, a dedicated library
• Intended start was 1963, actual start 1967
• Phase 1 completed
• Purpose-built
• Award-winning
• 800 spaces
• No new furniture

16. … more needed
• Opened October 1974; phase 2 to follow
immediately
• UGC fail to agree
• 1978 Clinical Sciences
Library opens
• 1994 Library store

17. By 2002…
• 19,000 students
• Compact shelving
• Off site store
• No space left
• Unfit for purpose
• £35m extension agreed

18. State-of-the-art Library
• Designing spaces for effective learning; a guide to
21st century learning space design, JISC, 2006
– Flexible to accommodate current and emerging pedagogy
– Future-proofed
– Bold; looking beyond current technologies
– Creative to energise, inspire and motivate
– Supportive for learners; inclusive, collaborative but personal and individual
– Enterprising; making space capable of supporting different purposes
• Saltire Centre; social learning, self regulating
• International examples

19. Student-centred
• Precedence is given to the student not the stock
• Space design and provision recognises and reflects
student behaviour
• Behaviour is influenced by design
• Services are co-located for students’ convenience
– Careers service
– AccessAbility (student support)
– IT Student Help
– Satellite libraries
– Teaching rooms, lecture theatre and seminar rooms

20. Intellectual heart
• Intensive engagement with staff and students to
identify needs and preferences:
– Surveys
– Focus groups
– User testing
– Website
– Presentations
– Discussion groups
– Communications strategy
– Design and implementation teams

21. Intellectual heart
• Distilled into design principles:
– Maximise natural light
– A design that is welcoming and safe; a pleasure to be in for long
periods of time and recognisably a library
– Contemporary and sophisticated ambience with “a sense of place”
– Introduce vistas and visual interest but also a feeling of intimacy
– Encourage positive behaviour by design
– Clear and coherent arrangement of resources facilities and services
– Flexible range of study spaces, including group space and PG space
– Maximise books on open access; provide more IT
– Improve accessibility for those with disabilities
– Build the most sustainable building possible

22. What was created?

23. What was created?
• …a beacon for quality design and scholarship…
• 1500 spaces (at last!)
• PG suite, 14 study rooms
• Formal and informal seating
• 350 PCs; wireless throughout
• Bookshop and café
• BS5454 Special Collections suite

24. What was created?
• The gravitas and distinctive academic purpose of a
library;
• A cultural asset for the community
• A serious research library
• An enhanced public realm
• A sense of place

25. How well does it work?

26. How well does it work?
“The new library has taken studying to a new level”
“…Everything you need in a library.”

27. How well does it work?
• Visits doubled and increased each year until this year
• Post occupation survey based on guiding principles
produced extremely high ratings
• 2009 NSS recorded 91% satisfaction (up from 81%)
• Used with minimum intervention
• Silent zones increased, including PC zone
• More space for group work created
• PG space is the single most successful element

28. How well does it work?
• The Library is full!
• Overcrowding (or the perception) is becoming a
factor over most of the year
• More group and collaborative study, PG space and
silent study is needed
• BYO, reducing fixed PCs - but not quite yet
• Maintaining the excellent experience

29. What next?

30. What next?
• 21,000 Students (13,283 FTE)
• 300 – 800 study space shortfall
• Centre for Medicine
• 4 beacon projects
• Learning Commons;
– Student-centred
– Creatively designed
– Technology-rich
– Effective support for pedagogy

31. What next?

32. What next?

33. What next?