Rethinking the architecture of public library spaces in order to redefine a new paradigm

The purpose of the present study is to briefly review the current status of the required spaces for the public libraries in Iran and identify and redefine the architectural needs of these spaces to achieve a new pattern for contemporary libraries.

The study approach is a qualitative study based on the grounded theory method. The data were collected by applying library and field methods, using an analytical review, interviews with users, librarians of four selected libraries, researchers, architecture and their users. By analyzing the interview and data, codes were identified and named. In the axial coding stage, the primary categories and phenomena, including “demographic composition of the audiences”, “form of resources, facilities, and facilities”, “quality of the collection and resources”, “conditions of the library to utilize the services”, “quality of services and facilities, and programs to achieve the establishment of social and spatial justice”, “level of social interactions by knowing the cultural context of the target society”, “relationship with sustainable development”, and “library space including four components of necessary standards, functional planning, customization and configuration, and physical planning” were identified. In the selective coding, given the study objectives, three categories of “standardization”, “socio-cultural dimension” and “physical-environmental model” were selected.

Public libraries have changed rapidly due to technological developments and the communication revolution, and have overshadowed the service and mission, planning and functional design, physical, and even the perceptual and aesthetic aspects of libraries. Convincing and diverse perspectives have been presented on public libraries and their future, their goals, services, and space in the 21st century. They range from doubting their functional existence owing to the nature of new technologies and communications, to their becoming significant due to the nature of preserving the documents of human civilization and the interaction make possibe in society (unlike the new communication technologies that insist on isolation). The diversity of these views emphasizes that it is not possible to present a single form for design, but there is a possibility of some kind of design interaction. The analysis of the libraries under study showed that the architecture of the libraries makes certain functional/behavioral models possible. One of them is the “collection-oriented” model, which aims at emphasizing the traditional role of the library as a place for providing resources. The other is an “interaction-oriented” model, which stresses the socio-cultural role of the public library as a venue for interaction that emphasizes, on the one hand, the preservation, publication and development of knowledge and information, and on the other hand, the connection with society and the improvement of the level of cultural and social interactions.

Originality/value: 

The findings of this study redefine the role of public libraries relying on the relevant components of the library architecture to create and develop a suitable platform for the social capital from this space. By changing the library strategies from the complex-oriented pattern to the interaction-oriented model, and redefinition of the spaces, in addition to preserving, publishing, and presenting various sources of knowledge, contemporary libraries should be the custodians and publishers of collective memory and participate in the relations between people and civil institutions. A good architectural design of library spaces should reflect their intentions and mission in our times. More importantly, the designed space should enable achievement of development goals.