Slide 1

School Library Design –

All Hallows’ School, Potter Library

Anne Weaver

http://readingpower.wordpress.com/

Edutech 2014

Images of our old, but beloved Potter Library

Hello, I am Anne Weaver, Head of Library and Information Services at All Hallows’ School, Brisbane. We are the oldest school in Queensland, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1861. Library services commenced operation from 1866. In 2013, our school enrolment was about 1430 girls, from years 5 to 12 i.e. 10 to 18 year olds. On the slide there are images of our old library. Some people asked why we were renovating as it was a great library. But it was a library renovated in 1998 when mass mobile devices did not exist. In 1994 only 3% of American classrooms had access to the Internet while by 2002 92% did (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet). It was a library for the past, not the future. This renovation was part of a process of curriculum review in 2013, focusing on Year 7 and 8 which continued into 2014. The school established priorities which included creativity and innovation as a vision. Years 7 and 8 in 2015 will feature new subjects: Transdisciplinary, Media, Visual Arts and Technologies, that provide a futures approach to the Australian Curriculum,

Slide 2

Rationale : Why a new library?

The last time I spoke at an event such as this was the SLAQ / IASL Conference in Brisbane in 2010 when I spoke about how school wide one-to-one mobile computing devices impacted on our library program. I spoke about our virtual presence and how we supported learning 24/7. Today, is another step in this journey which extends the impact of one to one computing devices to the design of a particular learning space: the Potter Library. The rationale behind the design of the learning spaces in the library will be discussed, the process, and then there will be a walkthrough video. This presentation is available via my blog readingpower.wordpress.com which already features many photos of the library renovation. We have the internet, so do we need libraries at all? Our teaching school community strongly values blended learning, that is both print and digital resources, and the library facility. The Potter Library was busy from 7.30 until 5 pm every day, both in and out of class time. Statistics for bookings and staff feedback indicated a demand for more spaces, especially at peak assignment times. Over a term, we averaged 120 students per day at lunchtime. More space was needed for senior students in the Senior Study Centre, which is part of the Library and open from 6am to 8pm on school days.

Slide 3

Rationale: Old library

Libraries can modernize without renovating. Even while our library staff were temporarily accommodated in our junior school library, during the renovation, we provided maker space activities including soft circuits. So being contemporary is more about the library program than just the library space. We did consider shifting or rebuilding a library, but it was a space that worked very well and since 2004 a lift had been installed due to the renovation of another building and the tuckshop had been moved to beside the library, so it was very well located. Finding a space of similar or bigger size on our central city site was unlikely and completion by 2015 of anything in a new location would not only have been more expensive, but impossible in this time frame. In the slide, the big round tables, though heavy and hard to move, at the time were the height of social learning. The cubicles were the 1990’s answer to individual learning spaces. The computer hubs meant a teacher who booked any research area got 30 seats, 8 PCs and access to books. This was blended learning 1998 style. When I look back over the last ten years of running a library, there has been a change from the ‘shoosh’ mentality to a social environment. However, with large numbers of students, the need for crowd control and some reminders about noise will still be needed to provide balance between those socializing and those doing focused work

Slide 4

Rationale: Old library

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us” Winston Churchill

The Library had last been renovated in 1998 as in the attached images. In our old library, the nonfiction and fiction books were in a big clump and along with the computer hubs, took up a lot of the library space. Around March 2013, the Principal hinted a renovation might occur, so we started heavy culling aiming at a 40 percent reduction in books. We asked Heads of Departments or their delegates to determine what would go and achieved 30%. Our collection is assignment focused, rather than a general collection, so with the changes wrought by the National curriculum, there were topics that were no longer needed. We researched genre shelving that concluded this increased lending. So, we culled fiction and re-badged it into genres.

Slide 5

Rationale: Old library

Between 2004 and 2010, we had done many mini renovations. We removed non-fiction shelving, thanks to dedicated culling to create an additional class area. We added more PCs to the Senior Study area and increased printing and scanning equipment throughout the library. We moved about 12 OPACs that were located together near the front door to the fiction and non-fiction areas and inter-shelved reference. This created space for a bean bag/ magazine area. We had tried a variety of means to deal with different noise needs. There was a classroom in the library that we dedicated to quiet study outside class time. However, very few students used it and those that did were often talking. So, it became apparent that students who wanted quiet would not use a "quiet area" but would use headphones, go outside, or tolerate the noise, rather than use a separate space.

Slide 6

Process

http://www.innovatemyschool.com/blog/item/976-classroom-design-can-improve-performance-by-25-research-reveals.html

Active Learning Areas, All Hallows’ School

Our school was interested in research about how learning space design can improve performance; some recent research suggesting by as much as 25%. We visited other leading libraries and learning spaces. The school had already developed 3 Active Learning Areas elsewhere in the school, on a similar model to QUT Cube. The image shows one of our 3 Active Learning Areas, located in another part of the school.

Slide 7

Process

Images of the Hunt Library in North Carolina

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hunt+library&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=C87DEA755676591BCB850B7A694242328CAB9A0B&selectedIndex=110

We visited both QUT Libraries. St Rita’s Library had just been completed and this space resonated with us in terms of meeting the needs of our students. Loris Phair at Hillbrook Anglican College had long provided “library envy” with the booths in her library, genre shelving and a dispersed non-fiction collection. This slide shows The Hunt Library in North Carolina which had just been built and inspired us at the time. You will see round shelving in our new library and instead of the yellow stairs, we have neon lights as the surprise factor.

Slide 8

Process: the library evolves

http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/educational/documents/ses_active_learning_spaces_interactive.final.pdf

Many common principles arose from research into learning spaces, such as that by Mary Featherstone and Stephen Heppel. We wanted a space for different learning styles and needs, spaces for individuals and groups. We wanted more flexibility about where students could sit and use devices. Steelcase furniture has great research on its site into the evolution of libraries from information to social spaces, as shown in the image which represents how the library has evolved from being reading and storage centred, to being learning centred.

Slide 9

Process - AHS library staff imagined…

In May 2013 we presented renovation ideas to leadership. We surveyed students, marched out statistics of high library usage, and further researched library and learning space design. We explained how most learning actually occurs outside class time and that the library is a supervised space for individual and social learning and collaboration, providing access and support for a wide range or learning needs and resources, both academic and pastoral. Our proposal asked for a better entrance; moving the careers office so visitors did not need to wander through the whole library, dispersing shelving to create more class areas, expansion of the Senior Study, a new counter and more flexible and modern furniture. Then, we were advised that architects were being tendered. By September we were meeting with architects Fulton Trotter and by October we were looking at plans. Fulton Trotter had done other school and public libraries, so brought expertise in this area and much more creativity and bravery to expand thinking than our more limited ideas shown in the mage. Fulton Trotter brought ideas of big boulders, first, small boulders, later. So, we started with the big ideas. They asked us for a normal day in the library, they looked at the school story and its location and sightlines.

Slide 10

Rationale: Why a new library?

Before

After

So the project commenced officially around May 2013, and we opened for students April 18, 2014. It was practically completed for our annual Open Day on June 1, 2014, when we welcomed about 1200 visitors to the school. The old Potter Library accommodated about 260 students, the new one will accommodate about 450. We have another library on site, so all up, our library services can accommodate up to 600 students, at one time. The images show how our library entrance went from a dark hole in the building, to become more open and intriguing.

Slide 11

Process

New writeable tables at AHS

Fulton Trotter met with students and staff, asking what they wanted in a library. Students wanted: food, more flexible seating and table options that were more easily moved, more whiteboards, more relaxed furniture, more light, better printing, more PCs/technology and bigger screens, seating near windows, noisy and quiet spaces, better access to Careers, more space, more modern decor and more variety in spaces and furniture. Leadership wanted: no food, library to be future oriented to meet needs for the next 15 years. The design recognizes the trend away from printing to online submission, and also increased use of mobile devices, so not PC based. Leadership wanted a library that was based on research about learning in high technology contexts, cost effective to build and maintain, that would meet the needs of modern learners, be flexible, and an inspiring destination.

Slide 12

Process

New node chairs at AHS (more commonly called “zoomy chairs”

Support and teaching staff wanted: more space, more flexible work options, display areas, print books, to be able to go to the library for an out-of-classroom experience, more interactive and less didactic spaces than the classroom, more collaborative learning/active learning areas, more digital resources, more media, student driven learning, the fiction/reading area were important, Discussion Rooms- space for students to meet without teacher supervision - acoustic privacy with visibility maintained. The Career’s Office needed to cater for meetings of up to 4 and needed to be soundproof for privacy. Above are our new node chairs from Steelcase furniture, which enable quick movement into different group configurations.

Slide 13

Process

The Forum at AHS Potter Library

The Design team included library staff, the Deputy Curriculum, the Principal, the Business Manager, the AP Technology and the architects, so was very collaborative and represented the main stakeholders. A schedule was made for progress and plans appeared. The library has a long line of rectangular columns through the centre. Traffic ways became very important, as schools are defined by lesson bells, where large numbers of students move at once. We were fortunate that most of the walls were not load bearing and could be removed. When the Year 12s finished school in November 2013, the Potter Library was closed as soon as they walked off the premises and library staff operated out of the Middle School Library until Potter reopened in April 2014.

Slide 14

AHS Potter Library

As can be seen the plans heavily feature circles which reflect “The Circle of Mercy,” a popular All Hallows’ and Mercy symbol and hymn. We review our library program yearly, but with this space barely finished, we are reviewing our library program, looking at the research, visiting other future oriented schools, to ensure our practices are as innovative, collaborative, connected and effective as this space we have designed. We have started implementing maker spaces events and we are looking to expand lunchtime activities. We already offer activities like book clubs, craft and writing workshops, and are hosting a student careers expo. We want the library to be a happening destination that welcomes the community and provides support for learning. We look forward to aligning our middle school library space to the new concepts applied in the Potter Library. As Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

Slide 15

Process

Research Areas 2 and 4 at AHS Potter Library

There is a clear correlation between the key qualities of good learning space design and what is wanted by schools from library professionals. The qualities in good design are collaboration, provision of focused, social, creative, flexible learning, evidence-based best practice, good way-finding, high and low technology, connected and future thinking. These same criteria might be used to evaluate teacher librarians and library programs. This image shows a panoramic view of Research Areas 2 and 4.

Slide 16

Process

Counter, Research Area 1 and Senior Study Centre at AHS Potter Library

This image shows a view from the Senior Study Centre, across to the counter and front door, then around to Research Area 1.

Slide 17

Process

Writeable walls and tables at AHS Potter Library

Feedback from staff and students: We offered a prize of movie tickets for feedback on the new library, and in 2 days had 410 responses. Comments were too many to list, but included: spacious, like the wood, like connection with outside, it's spacious, has various comfortable and cool areas and has tables and areas which can be easily moved around, like the “zoomy” chairs, really love the fiction area and how all the books are so easy to find in categories, like the area with the magazines and beanbags, it is mostly more modern and has integrated more areas to sit, read and work and is more suited for group activities. Students greatly enjoy the whiteboard tables and walls.

Slide 18

ProcessResearch Areas 3 and 5 at AHS Potter Library

https://www.diigo.com/user/anneweaver

More feedback from students: Now caters for a larger variety of uses, is more open and has great spaces for specific purposes (eg. stapling bench). It looks nicer, has better learning spaces, is “funner” and more comfortable. I love the senior study centre. I have found it so helpful, especially after school, because it has really great resources and stays open so late, I like all the cool obstacles, desks arrangements, cafe' booths, and it's really spacious. Feedback from staff - library full, neon lights a surprise (Mothers' Network paid for these, so we are grateful for their support), more spacious, everything I asked for. Feedback from public on Open Day - wonderful, amazing, the students are so lucky

Slide 19

All Hallows’ School Library Renovation:a walk-through.

Connection with the outside is emphasized in the walk-through as this has been shown to increase learning space patronage. http://www.steelcase.com.au/en/products/educational/research/Documents/360_Education_Low-Singles_Mech.pdf

http://youtu.be/n-ZwdDVVAsA

See also:St Rita’s Library renovation http://readingpower.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/st-ritas-college-library/

Brisbane Boy’s Grammar Library http://readingpower.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/space-out/

https://www.diigo.com/user/anneweaver Search for “library design”

Older links http://readingpower.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/libraries-and-design-especially-in-brisbane/