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Transformation of library space
Space is one of the most valuable assets a library possesses. Space is required to collect, archive and access recorded information. Space is needed to study, to research, to engage in intellectual pursuits for the betterment of mankind. Changes from the printing press to virtual reality systems have reshaped the scale and scope of the library's role, along with the many changes in learning from shifts in instructional pedagogy to the availability of anytime, anywhere information access to the general populace.
Rapid expansions of electronic information systems have taken the easy and immediate availability of vast quantities of information to dizzying heights, expanding library space into the virtual realm and leading many to envision a future where physical library space would be an archaic and outdated model. As Kathryn Zickuhr points out while introducing the Pew Research Center's (2014)report on library engagement, "A common narrative is that Americans are turning away from libraries because of newer technology". Taking this challenge to heart, many libraries have innovatively expanded their service scope, using this valuable and limited resource creatively and deploying new technologies as positive avenues of advancement in their services. Far from withering on the vine, libraries are maintaining and even expanding as a focal point of intellectual stimulation, discovery and expansion. As Zickuhr continues, "the data shows that most highly-engaged library users are also highly engaged with new technologies".
Technology and space can be complementary, rather than adversarial. Technology alone does not meet all of a person's needs, and people continue to crave a physical location to access information and each other, and "where one can truly experience and benefit from the centrality of an institution's [or society's] intellectual community " (Freeman, 2005). As Bailin (2011) states, "technology and remote access are isolating people, whereas the physical library brings people together". This is part of what it means to be a library, and thus it is with the physical space that library planners must maintain the greatest focus.
In the past decade, the concepts and introduction of information, learning and knowledge commons have strategically redefined and creatively highlighted new uses of library space. Inside these commons, new technologies are effectively integrated to meet user needs in the digital era. Often accompanied...