SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

October 22, 2020 by Gary Price

An In-Depth Look at Temple University’s Charles Library (From a Civil Engineering Perspective)

October 22, 2020 by Gary Price

From Civil Engineering:

The new Charles Library on the campus of Philadelphia’s Temple University is a departure from the traditional college library and its rows of bookshelves, low ceilings, and sometimes dark and cramped spaces. What was imagined for the Charles Library was quite the opposite: a building that incorporates open volumes, lots of light, and grand staircases, among other unique design features—including virtual-reality rooms and a workshop with 3D printers.

Source: Charles Library/Temple University

The new building comprises approximately 220,000 sq ft of usable space and an additional 40,000 sq ft of green roof. The overall building is approximately 420 ft long, 160 ft wide, and 70 ft tall with four stories aboveground. Its features are well balanced, owing in part to the innovative structural systems supporting the building. Much of the interior space is fluidly shaped, with multistory openings that visually interconnect and enable visitors to easily navigate the library. The center of the library revolves around a vast three-story atrium that has a large oculus that opens to the fourth story. Monumental staircases lead to the fourth floor, where the open-perusal bookshelves are located.

[Clip]

The green roof, one of the largest in Pennsylvania, was designed with sustainability in mind, and it also minimizes stormwater runoff. Additionally, large water-retaining basins are depressed below the building’s two primary entrances. These efforts to lessen the building’s environmental impact are part of the university’s plan to attain a gold-level certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

[Clip]

Source: Charles Library/Temple University

From the outset of the concept design, the design team pushed boundaries. The design architect, Snøhetta, realized early on that several structural systems would need to be unconventional. LERA, a firm known for its history of designing complex cultural buildings using cutting-edge structural systems, was brought on to serve as the structural engineer. The design team proposed two concepts: a building with a large gateway arch that spanned 200 ft and a building with a 75 ft cantilever at the fourth floor. Structural schemes were developed for each option. The gateway option included a ribbed structure, and the latter option included one-story-tall cantilevered trusses. While the team anticipated that the realities of the university’s budget would result in a simplified version of one of the concepts, the architect pursued a design that effectively combined both options. That is the design today—albeit with scaled-down spans from the original concepts.

Direct to Full Text Article (approx. 3470 words)

See Also: Library Design: “New Library is Temple’s Most Compelling Work of Architecture in Decades” (September 19, 2019)

Filed under: Libraries, Management and Leadership, News

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Recent Articles on LJ

Certified Sustainable | Sustainability

Capitol Gains: ALA 2022 Preview

How Ted Lasso Changed My Librarianship | Backtalk

DEI Audits: The Whole Picture | Equity

Proud Boys Disrupt Drag Queen Story Time at San Lorenzo Library

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Meet Smithsonian Libraries and Archives’ New Director, Chicago Native Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty: 'I Don’t Think I Will Ever Be...

From the Chicago Tribune: Chicagoan Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty won’t let her 312 phone number go. She’s had it since 2006. “I’m not losing my number,” said the native West Sider. “I ...

Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) Launches Perpetual Access Rights Tracking Project

From the Canadian Research Knowledge Network: CRKN’s Knowledge Base Entitlements Sub-Committee (KBESC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Perpetual Access Rights Tracking Project. This project allows CRKN members ...

Journal Article: "Identifying Benchmark Units for Research Management and Evaluation"

The article linked below was recently published by Scientometrics. Title Identifying Benchmark Units for Research Management and Evaluation Authors Qi WangKTH-Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Library & Division of History ...

NASIG Announces Release of Model Digital Preservation Policy

From a NASIG Blog Post: NASIG’s Digital Preservation Committee is pleased to announce publication of the NASIG Model Digital Preservation Policy, an important new tool designed to help you measure, ...

OhioLINK Consortium Receives Funding to Modernize Its Shared Library Management System

From an OhioLink Announcement: OhioLINK announces the consortium has received funding through the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) for its 117 members to replace its shared Integrated Library System ...

Report: "Comics Librarians Are Up for the Fight"

From Publishers Weekly: Sales of graphic novels—especially manga—have boomed during the pandemic, as have their readership in libraries. Despite lockdowns and supply chain issues, comics remains one of the most ...

McGill University: Guylaine Beaudry Appointed Dean of Libraries

From McGill University: In a message to the community on June 8, 2022, Provost Christopher Manfredi announced that Guylaine Beaudry will become the next Trenholme Dean of Libraries. Her five-year, ...

Australian Broadcasting Corporation to Cut 58 Librarian and Archivist Jobs

From The Guardian: Archivists and librarians at the ABC are in shock after management unveiled plans to abolish 58 positions and make journalists research and archive their own stories. Reporters ...

Hootie & the Blowfish Collection Comes to University of South Carolina Libraries

From the University of South Carolina Libraries: Rick Noble is quick to say he is not a Hootie & the Blowfish groupie. He is just a big fan. How big? ...

The Palace Project Officially Launches New Library-Centered Platform, App For Digital Content and Services

From LYRASIS: The Palace Project, the nonprofit library-centered platform and ereader app for digital content and services, announced its official launch today. Informed by librarians and supported by a multi-year, ...

American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Announces 2022 Award Recipients

From a AALL Release: The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) announces the recipients of its 2022 awards, including the Emerging Leader Award, Minority Leadership Development Award, Public Access to ...

Roundup (June 2, 2022)

Help Choose the Theme of Peer Review Week 2022! Oable, a Workflow Management Solution Developed by Knowledge Unlatched, Incorporates All of Elsevier’s Journals University of Virginia Library Joins “On the ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW INFODOCKET ON TWITTER

Tweets by @infodocket

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.