Looking back, previous generations of library planners enjoyed a kind of “good old days.” For many years, library space planning was driven by concern for printed materials. Storage came first, followed by other space-intensive print-related needs such as acquisition, cataloging, and easy access for users. As the volume of printed material boomed throughout the twentieth...

Libraries are constantly redefining themselves. This embrace of change means that libraries and librarians were ready for the sweeping changes of technology that have permeated the profession for the past twenty-five years. The chief problem for librarians is that while they can be flexible with programs, services, and the provision of information, they cannot easily or effectively...

I want to thank my clients for entrusting me and my team with your libraries—it is a privilege and an honor. To those of you who, along the journey, evolved from clients into my friends and trusted advisers, it is our relationships that I value the most. You know who you are!

The vast majority of Americans believe public libraries serve their communities’ educational needs pretty well. In fact, it has been written that “it seems that nearly everyone who’s been to a local library at least once in their lives approves of them” (Robinson 2016). Public libraries have always been and continue to be the most accessible path to the...

Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s plan for the city of Washington, DC, later developed by Senator James McMillan, has informed and shaped the growth of the nation’s capital for more than two hundred years. This created a framework for grand public spaces and monumental architecture, including the National Mall as we know it today. Likewise, James Oglethorpe’s plan for the city of...

The process employed in the creation of a Road Map is fluid and iterative. It is essential for librarians, staff, stakeholders, and users to take an active role in the creation of the ultimate vision for library space use. The goal is to create a library that will effectively and flexibly accommodate activities and programs that the community or campus needs; there is no way to...

The elephants in the room are the various print collections within the existing library. Whether in a public or academic library, the question remains: “How has digital media affected the collections’ use and growth, currently and over time?” The answer may involve some conjecture, depending on how far in the future one speculates, but recent Road Maps suggest that...

Step 6 of the Road Map process, described in chapter 3, introduced the idea of the total project cost, which includes both the hard and the soft costs of the project. That chapter also described the process a consultant follows to develop an estimate for an individual phase, multiple phases, or the entire Road Map.

Once a library is convinced that making the most of its existing space is better than just making do, the process of funding a Road Map and getting a consultant on board may take months or even years. In the interim is an opportunity to take a step back and objectively evaluate the existing library’s use of space. This can be challenging and requires discipline; however, there are things...

David R. Moore II, AIA, ALA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, 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 and resides in Greenville, South Carolina. For more than twenty-five years David has worked exclusively with libraries. He...