Canada: "The Library is Not Just a Book Warehouse Anymore"

Libraries are not and were not book warehouses but we can have that conversation another time. A library is a library a book warehouse is called a book warehouse.

From a Report in The Globe and Mail About the New City Centre Public Library in Surrey, British Columbia (Official Opening in One Month)

There is a teen lounge with Xbox gaming consoles and a big-screen TV, complete with chairs that look like oversized hammocks to accommodate the favoured semi-sprawl of the adolescent set.

In another area, a seniors’ lounge with more traditional furniture next to a fireplace. A coffee shop. A long countertop for people who want to plug in their laptops.

Oh yes, and books.

After all, this is a library – Surrey’s new central library, to be precise. But its 150,000 books will take up just half of the available space, the most obvious sign of the accelerating transformation of the library in the 21st century.

“Libraries are not book warehouses anymore, they are active places to find inspiration or knowledge,” says Surrey’s chief librarian, Beth Barlow. As a result, Surrey’s new library, slated to open next month, has scampered even further down the path that many public libraries have headed toward in recent years: community meeting ground and social hub.

Read the Complete Article

See Also: We Posted About the New Surrey, B.C. Library a Few Weeks Ago
The post discusses how social media was used to assist architects with the design of the building.

See Also: Surrey Public Library Web Site

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries