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Library buildings: General resources

Recommended resources on library buildings and related topics, past and present, providing location info for print resources and links for digital resources.

Recommended image resources

Other resources

Association of College and Research Library (ACRL) Standards and Guidelines (Guidelines for policies)

Kerr, Virginia M., et al, "Library," Oxford Art Online 

“Libraries,” A History of Building Types by Nikolaus Pevsner, NA4170.P48 (Chapter 7)

Libraries” page from the Whole Building Design Guide, a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences

Recommended for all architectural research

Specialized resources on related topics

Brawne, Michael, et al, Library builders, Academy Editions, Z679 .L53 1997

Feinberg, Sandra & James R. Keller, Designing space for children and teens in libraries and public spaces, American Library Association, 2010 (via Ebook Central) 

Latimer, Karen & Hellen Niegaard (editors), IFLA library building guidelines, De Gruyter, Inc., 2008 (via Ebook Central) 

Lushington, Nolan, et al, Libraries : a design manual, Birkhäuser, Z679 .L856 2016

Sannwald, William W., Checklist of Library Building Design Considerations, 4th ed., American Library Association, 2001 (via Ebook Central) 

Brodart Library Supplies and Furnishings

Brown, Carol R., Interior design for libraries: drawing on function & appeal, American Library Association, 2002 (via Ebook Central)

Gaylord Brothers

McGowan, Maryrose,  et al, Interior Graphic Standards, John Wiley & Sons, Office- TH2031.M34 2003 (“Libraries,” p. 607)

Carr, Mary M., The green library planner: what every librarian needs to know before starting to build or renovate, Scarecrow Press, 2013 (via Ebook Central)  

Latimer, Karen & Hellen Niegaard (editors), IFLA library building guidelines, De Gruyter, Inc., 2008 (via Ebook Central) 

Latimer, Karen & Dorothea Sommer (editors), Post-occupancy evaluation of library buildings, Walter De Gruyter GmbH, 2015 

Doucett, Elizabeth, What they don’t teach you in library school, ALA Editions, 2010 (via Ebook Central)

Jerrard, Jane & Nancy Bolt, Privitizing Libraries, ALA Editions, 2012 (via Ebook Central)

Kane, Laura Townsend, Working in the virtual stacks, ALA Editions, 2011 (via Ebook Central)

Keenan, Stella & Colin Johnston, Concise dictionary of library & information science, De Gruyter, 2011 (via Ebook Central)

West, Celeste, et al, Revolting Librarians, Bootlegger Press, 1972 

Manguel, Alberto, A History of Reading, Penguin Books, Z1003.M292 1996

Ong, Orality and Literacy, P35.O5

Poovey, Mary, A History of the Modern Fact, University of Chicago Press, HA29.P6739 1998

D’Alembert, Jean Le Rond, “Detailed System of Human Knowledge,” in Preliminary Discourse, University of Chicago Press, B1933.E5S38 1995

Foucault, Michel, The Order of Things: an archaeology of the human sciences, Vintage Books, AZ101.F6913 1970

Information theory,” Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Mallarmé, Stephane, “The Evolution of Literature” and “The Book” in Critical Theory Since Plato, Hazard Adams (editor), Wadsworth Publishing, PN49.C683 1992

Brisbrouck, Marie-Francoise, et al., Libraries as Places: Buildings for the 21st century,IFLA Publications, 2003 (via Ebook Central)

Gorham, Ursula, et al, Perspectives on libraries as institutions of human rights and social justice,Emerald, 2016 (via Ebook Central)

Pearmutter, Jane & Paul Nelson, Small public library management, ALA Editions, 2011 (via Ebook Central)

“Public Libraries,” Architectural Record, December 1952 (Building types study)

Public Library Association

Rothstein, Pauline & Diantha Dow Schull, Boomers and beyond: reconsidering the role of libraries, ALA Editions, 2010 (via Ebook Central)

Smith, Zadie, “The North West London Blues,” New York Review of Books, June 2, 2012 (on closing a local branch library)

Library building chronology

Bivens-Tatum, Wayne, Libraries and the Enlightenment, 2012 (via Ebook Central)

Breisch, Kenneth, American libraries 1730-1950, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., Z679.2.U6 B74 2017

Breisch, Kenneth, Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America: a study of typology, MIT Press, Z679.2.U54 B74 1997

Breisch, Kenneth, The Los Angeles Central Library: building an architectural icon, 1872-1933, Getty Research Institute, Z679.2.U6 B74 2016

Canfora, Luciano & Martin Ryle, The Vanished Library: a Wonder of the Ancient World, Vintage, Z722.5.C3513 1990

Casson, Lionel, Libraries in the ancient world, Yale University Press, 2001 (via Ebook Central)

Graham, Clare, "Libraries in History," Architectural Review, June 1998, p.72-75

Levine, Neil, “The Book and the Building: Hugo and Labrouste’s Bibliothèque,” The Beaux-Arts and nineteenth-century French Architecture, Robin Middleton (editor), MIT Press, NA2310.F8E33

Pevsner, Nikolaus, “Libraries,” A History of Building Types, Princeton University Press, NA4170.P48 (Chapter 7)

Litwin, Rory, Library daylight: tracings of modern librarianship 1874-1922, Library Juice Press, 2006 (via Ebook Central)

Rowland, Ingrid D., “The Intellectual Background,” Raphael’s School of Athens, Marcia Hall (editor), Cambridge University Press, ND623.R2A76 1996

Van Slyck, Abigail Ayres, “Andrew Carnegie and the Reform of the American Library,” JSAH, December 1991, p.359-383 (via JStor)

Conolly, H. & D. Senior, “Three Branch Libraries for Essex County Council,” Official Architecture and Planning, Sseptember 1959, p.403-406 (via JStor)

Grad, Ian, “Air Conditioning for Books & People,” Architectural Record, June 1957, p.231-234

Jobst, Gerhard, “Two New Libraries for Berlin,” Architectural Record, March 1953, p.123-133

“Public Libraries,” Architectural Record, December 1952 (Building types study)

Düttmann, Werner, “Two libraries: Berlin, Germany, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Progressive Architecture, August 1960, p.130-137

McCarthy, Francis, et al, “Four Public Libraries,” Architectural Record, September 1967, p.177-184

“Interior design: three libraries,” Architectural Review, July 1966, p.51-54

Brawne, Michael, “Libraries: communicating with individuals,” Architectural Review, October 1961, p.245-256

“Negative space gives form to library,” Progressive Architecture, July 1969, p.114-[119]

“Aalto’s second American building: an abbey library for a hillside in Oregon,” Architectural Record, May 1971, p.111-116

"Present and Future Trends in Library Design and Planning," Architectural Record, April 1973, p.119-136

Schmertz, Mildred F., “Design for Readers,” Architectural Record, July 1978, p.89-[98]

“Two Libraries,” Architectural Record, June 1975, p.91-100

“A variety of libraries,” Architectural Record, March 1985, (Building types study)

"Bibliothèques - Médiathèques," Techniques et Architecture, June/July 1989 (Theme issue)

“Books and people,” Architectural Record, August 1985, (Building types study) 

Feireiss, Kristin, 14 x America-Gedenkbibliothek, Ernst & Sohn, Z679.2.U54A13 1989 (Collection of competition entries)

Zagari, Franco, Bibliotheca Alexandrina: international architectural competition, Carte Segrete, Z858.A58B53 1990 (Collection of competition entries)

Brawne, Michael, et al., Library Builders, Academy Editions, Z679.M53 1997

“City Libraries,” Architecture, October 1995, (Theme issue)

Codrescu, Andrei, "The Might of Bytes," Architecture, January 1999, p.154

“Libraries,” Architectural Review, June 1998 (Theme issue)

Marcheso Moreno, Elena, "Where Print and Electronic Worlds Collide," Architectural Record, May 1995, p.30-33

New American Library Design,” JAE, February 1994 (Theme issue)

"Tools of Civilization," Architectural Review, June 1998 (Theme issue)

 

​Futagawa, Yukio, GA Contemporary Architecture: Library, A.D.A. Edita, Office-Z679.R34 2006

“Libraries: hubs of learning,” Architectural Record, February 2003 (Theme issue)

"Libraries: a New Chapter," Architectural Record, October 2000 (Building types study)

OMA/LMN, Seattle Public Library Concept Book, December 1999 (Library building proposal)

Manfredi, Michael, “Power of Place: a school play,” Metropolis, October 2002, p.90-95, 134

Shannon, “Just how public is the Seattle Public Library?” JAE, September 2003, p.5-18 (via JStor)

Antonelli, Monica and Mark McCullough, Greening libraries, Library Juice Press, 2012 (via Ebook Central)

Bon, Ingrid, et al., Designing Library Space for Children, De Gruyter Saur, 2012 (via Ebook Central)

Leeder, Kim, et al., Planning Our Future Libraries: Blueprints for 2030, ALA Editions, 2013 (via Ebook Central)

Li, Chan, Libraries, Liaoning Science & Technology, NA6612.L697 2012

Prizeman, Oriel, “Typology quarterly: Libraries,” Architectural Review, November 2011, p.83-95

Siddiqi, Anooradha Iyer, Library Book: Design Collaborations in the Public Schools, Princeton Architectural Press, 2010 (via Ebook Central)

 

Baker, Nicholson, "The Author vs. the Library," and "Discards," in The Size of Thoughts, Vintage, PS3552.A4325 S5 1996

Erikson, Rolf, Designing a school library media center for the future, American Library Association, 2007 (via Ebook Central) 

Hartman, Craig, "The Future of Libraries," Architecture, October 1995, p.43, 45, 47

Kusnerz, Peggy Ann, The Architecture Library of the Future, University of Michigan Press, Z675.A83 A73 1989

Please note

  • These guides are intended to provide initial orientation, and suggest a variety of different lines of investigation—not take the place of individual research.
  • All the resources cited here--print and digital--are available through the Kappe Library at SCI-Arc.Items not available at SCI-Arc are not included.
  • Surveys covering multiple projects are preferred over monographic studies focusing on specific works or individuals.
  • Resources on Los Angeles and Southern California are stressed.
  • Proprietary digital resources (Avery Index, Oxford Art Online, ArtStor, etc) can be accessed on-campus at SCI-ARC via any SCI-Arc internet provider. Off-campus they can be accessed 24/7 via the Kappe Library proxy server, and a valid SCI-Arc Network username and password.

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