Designing school libraries for the future

The challenge: to reinvent the school library as a learning commons designed to become the hub of teaching and learning. - David Loertscher.

Great school libraries are an integral part of the teaching-learning milieu. Designing spaces which facilitate the important work of  librarians, teacher-librarians and teachers to provide deeply engaging learning experiences and promote inquiry learning behaviours is an important consideration when building or redeveloping schools and their libraries.

Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution.
Loertscher, David. (2008). School libraries need a revolution, not evolution. School Library Journal, 11/1/08.  Accessed online 17 May 2010.

“What has to happen for school libraries to become relevant? If we want to connect with the latest generation of learners and teachers, we have to totally redesign the library from the vantage point of our users—our thinking has to do a 180-degree flip.”

David Loertscher challenges us to stop thinking like a provider, but as a library user, and instead of shoring up the status quo, reinvent the library as a learning commons designed to become the hub of teaching and learning. Look at his “Paradigm Flip” table, and then at your own library.  Where is it now, and where does it need to go? How can it function as a learning commons and an experimental learning center?

Designed for learning: school libraries
An excellent video clip available to view on the (UK) Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) website.  This video shows the contribution an effective library can make to the educational, creative, emotional & reading development of children and young people, and the aspects of design that can enable this.

PDF information sheets accompany this video which features Stephen Heppell, well-known in the field of ICT and education.

Designing Spaces for Effective Learning : A guide to 21st century learning space design Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
A learning space should be able to motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalised and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs. This guide focuses on the part technology plays in achieving these aims.

Learning spaces, edited by Diana Oblinger:  an e-book from EduCause.
Space, whether physical or virtual, can have a significant impact on learning. Learning Spaces focuses on how learner expectations influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments: faculty, learning technologists, librarians, and administrators.

Designshare: designing for the future of learning
DesignShare explores innovative design on an international scale, for educational facilities and their impact on the learning process. You will find links to their publications (e. g. The Language of School Design, 2nd ed), videos, images, case studies and more.  DesignShare facilitates ideas and resources about best practices and innovation in schools from early childhood through the university level.

Designing libraries: the gateway to better library design
A UK online resource, provided by Aberystwyth University, as an information resource and forum for library planning, design & building.  Includes a gallery of images, from a wide range of libraries.