[Libs-Or] Public library Sq footage trends and norms and OLA Standards

[Ruth Metz]

Dear colleagues,

 

Public libraries are undergoing a great deal of change, much of this
influenced by technology. My consulting work includes library facility
assessment and planning which I do in association with architects.
Typically, communities are looking for square footage standards to help
guide their planning.  Frequently, these days one hears someone say that
public libraries can be smaller because of e-books, digital content, and so
forth. I believe this is, in general, a mistaken assumption. 

 

As I help plan libraries, what I hear in community needs assessment after
community needs assessment is that residents want  spaces in the library,
people space - - small meeting spaces, conference rooms, programming space
for children, for teens, and for adults, meeting room space for communities,
maker spaces, silent space, quiet space, collaborative space - - in other
words, space for people. 

 

Public libraries are first about people. And while it is likely that our
physical collections will become smaller because of e- content, our service
populations have generally grown since our libraries were first built, and
will continue to grow. This combined with the multi-various ways people want
to use the library accounts for why new public libraries are larger per
capita than in the past. 

 

Our Oregon State standards for facilities are useful in that they state a
general approach to library facilities planning, which seems still to make a
lot of sense. Specifically, the OLA standards say this as a general rule:

 

"Spacious, modern facilities are essential for good library service. Library
facilities should be conveniently located and easily accessible to all
segments of the population. The minimum space requirements shown below refer
to the total gross square footage in all library facilities, including
branches and mobile or portable facilities. The minimum space requirements
are only a rule-of-thumb for facilities planning. Space needs of a facility
may be less if significant library activities are being provided by contract
or by another branch. Projecting space needs based upon local library
service goals, as part of the development of a library building program, is
recommended as the most reliable method of planning library facilities. 

 

I submit that it would be helpful if our revised state standards pointed
people in the direction of national norms for new construction of public
libraries. For example, I recently calculated square footage of new main
library buildings in 2012, using data from Library Journal
<http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/11/buildings/year-in-architecture-2012-pu
blic-library-data/>
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/11/buildings/year-in-architecture-2012-pub
lic-library-data/.  LJ provides this data annually for public and academic
libraries. LJ also provides a multi-year summary that includes construction
costs, and other useful data.

 

Of 33 new library construction projects, I pulled out the main library
projects (as distinct from branches or system headquarters). I calculated
the square footage per capita and they range from a low of .91 to over 3
SF/per capita.  The median of the 8 main library projects is 1.31 - 1.63
SF/capita.  (I limited my analysis to main library projects because I was
doing this for a client with a main library project.) 

 

It is reasonable to assume that these new constructions are calculated with
due consideration for new technologies and community input and deliberation
over contemporary and future service needs.  Paying attention to them and
pointing our library community to national norms and trends is as useful a
guide as any other.  

 

I hope that the revised OLA standards for facilities will retain the essence
of the opening paragraph and respectfully suggest that in addition the
standards either point people to the LJ data, or better yet, provide the
analysis of the data, which essentially would establish a square footage per
capita range. 

 

Respectfully yours, Ruth Metz

 

Ruth Metz

 

Ruth Metz Associates

 

Portland Oregon

 

 

P.S.  These are the OLA Standards for Facilities (revised in 2008) 

 

G. FACILITIES (Revised 2008) 

Spacious, modern facilities are essential for good library service. Library
facilities should be conveniently located and easily accessible to all
segments of the population. The minimum space requirements shown below refer
to the total gross square footage in all library facilities, including
branches and mobile or portable facilities. The minimum space requirements
are only a rule-of-thumb for facilities planning. Space needs of a facility
may be less if significant library activities are being provided by contract
or by another branch. Projecting space needs based upon local library
service goals, as part of the development of a library building program, is
recommended as the most reliable method of planning library facilities. 

 

Threshold Standards 

In order to meet threshold standards, each Oregon public library shall: 

Provide a book drop when library is closed. 

Provide a designated area to meet the needs of children. 

Provide separate staff work area. 

Provide a business telephone with a listed number. 

Comply with ADA standards. 

Provide sufficient parking. 

Provide sufficient signs identifying the library, directing the public to
the library, and within the library. 

Provide a facility that is safe, secure, and well lighted. 

Provide a public restroom, sufficient heating, and ventilation. 

Provide facilities that are adaptable for technology.

 

 


Analyze space needs not less than every ten years, using current library
facility planning materials. Population served* 

 

 

 

Minimum space requirements 


0 - 3,999 

3,050 square feet 


4,000-49,999 

3,050 square feet for the first 4,000 population and 0.76 square feet per
capita in excess of 4,000 population 


50,000+ 

38,750 square feet for the first 50,000 and 0.61 square feet per capita in
excess of 50,000 population. 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 11678 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20130717/1eb49d15/attachment.bin>