« Vacation Area Network | Main | Jumbo Frames and Jumbo Bandwidth »
March 25, 2003
Thinking about my visit to The Library
I had my first chance today to stop by the new Salt Lake City Library. This is an exciting development for Salt Lake, and especially for the downtown area.
I used to live downtown. I spent a fair amount of time at the old library. The new one is so different, it doesn't feel much like a library at all. It is more like a mall with books and lots of other things. I really like it, and I look forward to spending a lot of time there.
As I walked around, I saw a poster that listed some of the comments from a citizen survey done before the new library project was started. Some of the comments were things like "there should be more light" and "it should have a coffee shop and cafe, like a book store" and "it should be an icon in our community" and "there should be more computers." I didn't write them down, and there were some other very good comments.
Standing there, looking around at the new library, I could see how well the design accomodated these suggestions. Just walking around, I could feel that the new library was much more of what I want in a place to meet, read, study, and think. I suspect that many of the suggestions were things that hadn't been considered in the plans for the library, and may have been counter-intuitive to people who "know" what libraries should look like.
I got to thinking about all of the things I work on, and how often those projects aren't built to meet the needs of the people who will ultimately use them. How often am I designing a library without windows, because that's how a library is, when light is one of the most important things library patrons want (there are few places in the new library without natural light and an incredible view, and that's a big part of making it so spectacular); and, how often do I decide not to include a cafe, because I'm designing a library, not a book store.
I'm glad that the library was designed with the input of the people who would use it, and with consideration for how they would use it.
Posted by pete at March 25, 2003 9:59 PM