In recent years the library community has seen a renewed interest in library architecture and design. This is due to the change of focus from content and collection development to how libraries engage with their users in a digital age. This means that librarians, architects, politicians and patrons must develop new visions, concepts and ideas for the design and building of libraries. This book brings together a number of articles based on presentations from the IFLA World Congress 2009: historical view of the development of children's libraries over the last century, a look at how children use new media, libraries of the future, innovative design projects for children's libraries from around the world. current theme historical view and new projects

Providing tips, suggestions, and guidelines on the critical issues that surround designing spaces for children and teens, this how-to book will help you create a space that they will never want to leave. This must-have guide includes How to select an architect or design professional The importance of including YA librarians in the design and implementation Information on how children and teens view and use space 20 color photos of example spaces Whether your space is large or small, in a library or public place, this resource will give you creative and practical ideas for using the space to its full potential!

Don't simply accommodate families with young children—draw them in and make your library a destination!

As a developmental psychologist with a strong interest in children's re sponse to the physical environment, I take particular pleasure in writing a foreword to the present volume. It provides impressive evidence of the con cern that workers in environmental psychology and environmental design are displaying for the child as a user of the designed environment and indi cates a recognition of the need to apply theory and findings from develop mental and environmental psychology to the design of environments for children. This seems to me to mark a shift in focus and concern from the earlier days of the interaction between environmental designers and psy chologists that occurred some two decades ago and provided the impetus for the establishment of environmental psychology as a subdiscipline. Whether because children-though they are consumers of designed environments are not the architect's clients or because it seemed easier to work with adults who could be asked to make ratings of environmental spaces and comment on them at length, a focus on the child in interaction with en vironments was comparatively slow in developing in the field of environ ment and behavior. As the chapters of the present volume indicate, that situation is no longer true today, and this is a change that all concerned with the well-being and optimal functioning of children will welcome.

Get the 'inside story' on creating those special places in your library that promote and encourage children's and young adult's curiosity, learning, and reading - and support their lifelong love of books and information.

Now that fewer new libraries are being built it is particularly important to maximize space in the buildings available, and to ensure that library plans are determined by the needs of the users. Often the interior of a building will be redesigned, and the librarian can influence the architect's plans. Planning and Designing Libraries for Children and Young People introduces the concept of space as a resource available to the library manager - along with stock, staff and finance - and it will need managing in exactly the same way as any other resource. This publication will enable school and children's librarians to develop a critical and evaluative attitude to the utilization, layout, appearance and environment of their libraries. Dealing both with the needs of the children's and teenage sections of the public library and with the needs of the school library, the book takes the reader through the different stages in the creation of a library space resource, and includes a consideration of the location of the library; the range of accommodation; standards and guidelines; policy, committees and teams; spatial relationships and the library layout; and furniture and equipment. Illustrated with library plans and photographs, and full of practical advice supported by case studies, this book will be an indispensable aid to school and children's librarians, as well as managers of library space, who wish to create a positive environment for children and young people in school and public libraries. It will also be invaluable to practising architects and to those responsible for running courses in layout and design.

THE BEST NEW DESIGNS FOR CHILDREN. COLORFUL, PLAYFUL AND SAFE. ORIGINAL IDEAS THAT ARE SURE TO INSPIRE.