From the May 2007 issue of Interior Design, “Matters of Design” by Laura Fisher Kaiser p. 244-6.
“As for the former centerpiece of most libraries, that 40-foot-long circ desk, it’s gradually being supplanted by automated checkout kiosks. Unshackled from clerk duty, librarians can spread out to help “customers” with meatier tasks. A hallmark of the modern library is the variety of junction points where people can meet, work, or “be alone together,” says Hillier Architecture principal Joseph Rizzo, who has designed 80 libraries in his career.”
“Rizzo points out that Starbucks built it success on the universal truth that human beings are social creatures. but libraries have the edge, he adds: “People get addicted to coffee, but they also get addicted to books.”
Even the interior designers agree that it is time that we moved away from checking out books for our customers and they understand the value of the library as the center of the community!!!
Mindy
