What type of building is better for a library?
In the public library world there are two types of libraries, stand-alone libraries and built-in libraries in public spaces, like shopping centres most of the time. The Brisbane City council once had a library in City Hall but that is sadly gone now(along with most of the insides of city hall). I've often wondered about the advantages of each type of library compared to each other as they would appear to be very different types of libraries. They'd also be likely operating under different environments and settings compared to one another. Most of the libraries I'm used to using have been built in libraries but the few stand-alone buildings have their own charms and I'm interested in comparing them to one another.
Stand-alone buildings.
The most prominent stand-alone library I'm used to using was the Marsden branch at Logan, it was just off to the side of a shopping centre but was its own separate building from the shops, had its own carpark and assorted features. The big advantage of this set up was that the library was its own environment, the plumbing, everything from the ground up was built for the library. There was also windows on all four walls and plenty of space outside for anything they librarians might have wanted to do(there was also one of those giant chess boards that no-one was using, I found the pieces inside in one of my explorations of the space). Another stand-alone library is the Corinda Library where I upload this blog from sometimes and have done a lot of assignments at. This library is also good in that it's catered for the task and I can use the building after it closes for Wi-fi, in a built in library I wouldn't be as able to get close after closing time(I managed it at Toowong once but that was 7pm not really all that late) Marsden didn't have free wi-fi you had to ask for a password/login every day(you got it for free) so it's not exactly universal.
I've liked the stand-alone libraries because they're off on their own, usually smaller branches(in BCC anyway, the Logan ones based on their websites seem like a lot of the smaller branches are stand-alone but I can't confirm that) that have a sense of intimacy, they're quieter and have less people wandering around.
The Ashgrove library is also a stand-alone library that I've used once, it like the other two libraries I'm using as examples here, was in a mostly suburban location with a lot of houses around it. That meant that it is more community focused and the clients in the library are all more dedicated to actually using the library and not casual users. Toowong Library used to be a stand-alone, but they sold the building and moved it into Toowong Village back in 2004(I think, that's around the time I noticed it gone I think). I went in there once it was a very small building for a suburb as big as Toowong. Which is another reason that stand-alone libraries can sometimes need to go, they can't cope with a giant population. The West-End library has a huge turn-over of books because they're the hub of much of ESL population as a result the tiny branch they have there(which because all of West Ends population are Nimby's can't ever be expanded) has to traffic in a ton of material and then traffic out another ton every week. When a population spike happens a smaller branch can be overwhelmed.
Built In libraries.
The libraries which are built into a building, like a shopping centre or government building are very different types of libraries, they often have more space and books as they have a bigger potential market to use. People like to go shopping and they like having a chance to borrow books at the same time. Parents take their kids and other people use them as a place to hang out and just relax in. I find that they can sometimes be a bit loud, Indro and Kenmore are particular examples, teenagers and kids sit in them and often talk. It isn't loud enough that anyone but me would ever get angry about it, but it is annoying. I do like that the bigger libraries have a larger scope, they rent out rooms for presentations and social groups. The Kenmore library has a room that can seat 200 people(I think that was the number I was given eight months ago in a lecture I can only half remember) and I've used the Toowong Libraries rented space myself a few dozen times now. These allow the library to expand its scope as well as involve itself in the community. Also built in libraries are able to host other important things, like government and council help desks and community forums that might actually get attended. There is less of the small touches that you get from the smaller libraries but there is also much less of the gentle fighting for space that can happen in a Stand-alone library(especially when there are limited numbers of power-points). I think the QUT library has the best option for laptops, a giant table with power-points everywhere, but the upper levels are still woeful in their scarcity.
The future as I see it.
I don't see many stand-alone Libraries being built in the future. Shopping centre/built-in libraries offer more in what they can do and provide the public with. I hope that the smaller stand-alone libraries don't vanish however, they do serve a useful purpose. But having a built in library at every major shopping centre isn't entirely viable so councils will always have to make hard choices about whether to build or not. The Kenmore library was delayed for years while waiting for either the population to grow enough or the centre it is at to expand upwards. Hopefully something similar happens at Jindalee sooner or later.
Building a stand-alone library does give the council a lot more control over the features and resources available to the building but at the same time it increases the risks dramatically, buying up the land, designing the library and building it isn't cheap and slapping something into the free space left over at Indro or Toowong Village becomes a very attractive option.
My conclusion.
While I love smaller libraries I feel that the bigger built in libraries you find in places like Indro and Toowong and Kenmore are going to be better for the public in the long term. They also employee more people as librarians so I'll probably have to say they're better. The advantages of building up a library by itself by council are that they building is single purpose and better designed for the purposes of a library, but the empty space given to libraries in shopping centres comes close enough to this now days that I don't really see it as an advantage anymore. While I don't want smaller branches to go away entirely, I do think their days are numbered.
My day today.
I'm ignoring State of Origin for another year. I'm honestly sick of it. I slept in till midday again, because I was up till 5am watching ever more Breaking Bad as well as rewatching Drive over again. Because that movie was awesome. While I was watching it I started up my Minecraft world and have set myself the goal of bringing down an entire mountain range so that my castle will look even more imposing looking out over the landscape.
I was lucky enough to get my post up before 11pm last night which was the first time I've pulled that off so far.
After I woke up I was going to drive to Toowong and then go to university but instead I went to get petrol and went to Indro to get myself some new shoes, sadly the Amart AllSports I usually buy shoes from isn't there anymore because of the renovations they're doing so I went to Target instead and got what I hope is a good pair for $35(the price said $50 but everything at Target except Lego is always cheaper than the price, I've no idea why). After that I went home and had the usual conversations with my parents about stuff. My mum was pissed off at me for leaving some dirty dishes in the sink which she was right about I guess. After that I kind of tuned out for the afternoon, playing a bit of Tetris and watching some Doctor Who on iView again. It's been almost 5 years since the episodes I'm watching now aired and I still watch them all the way through. Although I really do hate the Companions mothers during the RTD years. God help me they were shrill. Also some of the enemies were just over the top melodramatic and camp. I prefer it when an enemy's motivation isn't so much personal gain but something they're compelled to do, like a virus or a migration. They don't think they're evil and aren't enjoying their destruction, when the enemy in Doctor Who is simply trying to survive that's when they show the most potential.
Before I left I had to clear out all the bike stuff I left on the front yard. It's everything I could harvest from the bike before we dumped it, like lights, seat, clips, pump and the bell. I hope to use these again soon when I buy my next bike.
I got a note in the mail saying that I'm due some cheque from the Government in the next month for the Carbon tax? So I'm going to have to go out and buy a bike with the money. This cash and my annual $1000 being a carer money means I can afford a bike of about $1500 now which puts me in the almost not horrible road bike territory.
With that I can probably start to try and ride from my parents place to Matts house in July.
I also checked out the latest blogs and stuff online. I've not really commented on anyone’s BlogJune this week, which is stupid, I can't expect to network and get to know other people if I don't talk to them. And online stuff is my thing, I'm shockingly good at it. But I did see someone talking about NZ librarians getting in on BlogJune or starting up BlogJuly which would be interesting, I didn't even know that BlogJune was Australian only until now. I hope that she and her compatriots do join in. It has been for me a fun exercise in writing about libraries and how I see them and with people who actually have experience in the library field they'll almost certainly know more than me.
I left my parents place and my computer(which needs a defrag urgently) and drove to Jindalee to get some final ingredients for dinner, I needed some Salmon for my brothers lunch as well. I ended up getting myself a Ceasar Salad and some olive oil. I don't really care for olive oil, it leaves a taste in my mouth I don't really enjoy.
After that I drove to Matts house and made this Qunioa Asparagus and Almond Dish for dinner, I got the recipe from Julia last week and have been meaning to make it myself for a while now.
It wasn't actually too bad, I've got some notes however for future referenc:
Once dinner was over I drove us to the shops and got food for the next three dinners. The guy working at the Fruit shop seemed really fond of Matt after I told him that Matt was disabled. I explained that I'd rather he couldn't talk than he couldn't walk, Matt was as always oblivious to the conversation at hand. The guy behind the counter offered Matt a free chocolate bar but I had to stop him because Matt can't have too much sugar or milk. I tried to apologise for it and I hope I didn't come off as rude, but he can't eat that stuff much. Matt didn't seem to notice the offer which was good, he might have started screaming if he had. In the shops themselves I found Gluten Free Spaghetti, the real point is that it has no Egg in it, which is what Matt is allergic to. We got the rest of the food for the week and left without much of a problem.
When we got came home, did the dishes and James put Matt in the bath. After that I told James he could go home early if he wanted to watch Origin because I sure as shit am avoiding it again this year. I plugged in Doctor Who and then the first hour of Evan Almighty before giving up on that rather shitty movie and going to write this blog. However just before I got up to do that the guy from next door showed up asking about the hot water system again. I had to tell him the same thing I'd said yesterday, my mum is dealing with it now and when she gives the word it is all his.
YouTube Clip of the day: Riverdale the movie. Anything can be made grim and gritty for a reboot. Archie has been crying out for this for years now.
Stand-alone buildings.
The most prominent stand-alone library I'm used to using was the Marsden branch at Logan, it was just off to the side of a shopping centre but was its own separate building from the shops, had its own carpark and assorted features. The big advantage of this set up was that the library was its own environment, the plumbing, everything from the ground up was built for the library. There was also windows on all four walls and plenty of space outside for anything they librarians might have wanted to do(there was also one of those giant chess boards that no-one was using, I found the pieces inside in one of my explorations of the space). Another stand-alone library is the Corinda Library where I upload this blog from sometimes and have done a lot of assignments at. This library is also good in that it's catered for the task and I can use the building after it closes for Wi-fi, in a built in library I wouldn't be as able to get close after closing time(I managed it at Toowong once but that was 7pm not really all that late) Marsden didn't have free wi-fi you had to ask for a password/login every day(you got it for free) so it's not exactly universal.
I've liked the stand-alone libraries because they're off on their own, usually smaller branches(in BCC anyway, the Logan ones based on their websites seem like a lot of the smaller branches are stand-alone but I can't confirm that) that have a sense of intimacy, they're quieter and have less people wandering around.
The Ashgrove library is also a stand-alone library that I've used once, it like the other two libraries I'm using as examples here, was in a mostly suburban location with a lot of houses around it. That meant that it is more community focused and the clients in the library are all more dedicated to actually using the library and not casual users. Toowong Library used to be a stand-alone, but they sold the building and moved it into Toowong Village back in 2004(I think, that's around the time I noticed it gone I think). I went in there once it was a very small building for a suburb as big as Toowong. Which is another reason that stand-alone libraries can sometimes need to go, they can't cope with a giant population. The West-End library has a huge turn-over of books because they're the hub of much of ESL population as a result the tiny branch they have there(which because all of West Ends population are Nimby's can't ever be expanded) has to traffic in a ton of material and then traffic out another ton every week. When a population spike happens a smaller branch can be overwhelmed.
Built In libraries.
The libraries which are built into a building, like a shopping centre or government building are very different types of libraries, they often have more space and books as they have a bigger potential market to use. People like to go shopping and they like having a chance to borrow books at the same time. Parents take their kids and other people use them as a place to hang out and just relax in. I find that they can sometimes be a bit loud, Indro and Kenmore are particular examples, teenagers and kids sit in them and often talk. It isn't loud enough that anyone but me would ever get angry about it, but it is annoying. I do like that the bigger libraries have a larger scope, they rent out rooms for presentations and social groups. The Kenmore library has a room that can seat 200 people(I think that was the number I was given eight months ago in a lecture I can only half remember) and I've used the Toowong Libraries rented space myself a few dozen times now. These allow the library to expand its scope as well as involve itself in the community. Also built in libraries are able to host other important things, like government and council help desks and community forums that might actually get attended. There is less of the small touches that you get from the smaller libraries but there is also much less of the gentle fighting for space that can happen in a Stand-alone library(especially when there are limited numbers of power-points). I think the QUT library has the best option for laptops, a giant table with power-points everywhere, but the upper levels are still woeful in their scarcity.
The future as I see it.
I don't see many stand-alone Libraries being built in the future. Shopping centre/built-in libraries offer more in what they can do and provide the public with. I hope that the smaller stand-alone libraries don't vanish however, they do serve a useful purpose. But having a built in library at every major shopping centre isn't entirely viable so councils will always have to make hard choices about whether to build or not. The Kenmore library was delayed for years while waiting for either the population to grow enough or the centre it is at to expand upwards. Hopefully something similar happens at Jindalee sooner or later.
Building a stand-alone library does give the council a lot more control over the features and resources available to the building but at the same time it increases the risks dramatically, buying up the land, designing the library and building it isn't cheap and slapping something into the free space left over at Indro or Toowong Village becomes a very attractive option.
My conclusion.
While I love smaller libraries I feel that the bigger built in libraries you find in places like Indro and Toowong and Kenmore are going to be better for the public in the long term. They also employee more people as librarians so I'll probably have to say they're better. The advantages of building up a library by itself by council are that they building is single purpose and better designed for the purposes of a library, but the empty space given to libraries in shopping centres comes close enough to this now days that I don't really see it as an advantage anymore. While I don't want smaller branches to go away entirely, I do think their days are numbered.
My day today.
I'm ignoring State of Origin for another year. I'm honestly sick of it. I slept in till midday again, because I was up till 5am watching ever more Breaking Bad as well as rewatching Drive over again. Because that movie was awesome. While I was watching it I started up my Minecraft world and have set myself the goal of bringing down an entire mountain range so that my castle will look even more imposing looking out over the landscape.
I was lucky enough to get my post up before 11pm last night which was the first time I've pulled that off so far.
After I woke up I was going to drive to Toowong and then go to university but instead I went to get petrol and went to Indro to get myself some new shoes, sadly the Amart AllSports I usually buy shoes from isn't there anymore because of the renovations they're doing so I went to Target instead and got what I hope is a good pair for $35(the price said $50 but everything at Target except Lego is always cheaper than the price, I've no idea why). After that I went home and had the usual conversations with my parents about stuff. My mum was pissed off at me for leaving some dirty dishes in the sink which she was right about I guess. After that I kind of tuned out for the afternoon, playing a bit of Tetris and watching some Doctor Who on iView again. It's been almost 5 years since the episodes I'm watching now aired and I still watch them all the way through. Although I really do hate the Companions mothers during the RTD years. God help me they were shrill. Also some of the enemies were just over the top melodramatic and camp. I prefer it when an enemy's motivation isn't so much personal gain but something they're compelled to do, like a virus or a migration. They don't think they're evil and aren't enjoying their destruction, when the enemy in Doctor Who is simply trying to survive that's when they show the most potential.
Before I left I had to clear out all the bike stuff I left on the front yard. It's everything I could harvest from the bike before we dumped it, like lights, seat, clips, pump and the bell. I hope to use these again soon when I buy my next bike.
I got a note in the mail saying that I'm due some cheque from the Government in the next month for the Carbon tax? So I'm going to have to go out and buy a bike with the money. This cash and my annual $1000 being a carer money means I can afford a bike of about $1500 now which puts me in the almost not horrible road bike territory.
With that I can probably start to try and ride from my parents place to Matts house in July.
I also checked out the latest blogs and stuff online. I've not really commented on anyone’s BlogJune this week, which is stupid, I can't expect to network and get to know other people if I don't talk to them. And online stuff is my thing, I'm shockingly good at it. But I did see someone talking about NZ librarians getting in on BlogJune or starting up BlogJuly which would be interesting, I didn't even know that BlogJune was Australian only until now. I hope that she and her compatriots do join in. It has been for me a fun exercise in writing about libraries and how I see them and with people who actually have experience in the library field they'll almost certainly know more than me.
I left my parents place and my computer(which needs a defrag urgently) and drove to Jindalee to get some final ingredients for dinner, I needed some Salmon for my brothers lunch as well. I ended up getting myself a Ceasar Salad and some olive oil. I don't really care for olive oil, it leaves a taste in my mouth I don't really enjoy.
After that I drove to Matts house and made this Qunioa Asparagus and Almond Dish for dinner, I got the recipe from Julia last week and have been meaning to make it myself for a while now.
It wasn't actually too bad, I've got some notes however for future referenc:
- Qunioa Flakes need about 2* the quantity of just raw Qunioa.
- My Asparagus needed to be cooked for longer.
- I guess I should have peeled the almonds? Or done something to facilitate less burning of them.
- My Garlic wasn't very good and I think it or the olive oil has given me a headache.
- The Craisens worked well.
Once dinner was over I drove us to the shops and got food for the next three dinners. The guy working at the Fruit shop seemed really fond of Matt after I told him that Matt was disabled. I explained that I'd rather he couldn't talk than he couldn't walk, Matt was as always oblivious to the conversation at hand. The guy behind the counter offered Matt a free chocolate bar but I had to stop him because Matt can't have too much sugar or milk. I tried to apologise for it and I hope I didn't come off as rude, but he can't eat that stuff much. Matt didn't seem to notice the offer which was good, he might have started screaming if he had. In the shops themselves I found Gluten Free Spaghetti, the real point is that it has no Egg in it, which is what Matt is allergic to. We got the rest of the food for the week and left without much of a problem.
When we got came home, did the dishes and James put Matt in the bath. After that I told James he could go home early if he wanted to watch Origin because I sure as shit am avoiding it again this year. I plugged in Doctor Who and then the first hour of Evan Almighty before giving up on that rather shitty movie and going to write this blog. However just before I got up to do that the guy from next door showed up asking about the hot water system again. I had to tell him the same thing I'd said yesterday, my mum is dealing with it now and when she gives the word it is all his.
YouTube Clip of the day: Riverdale the movie. Anything can be made grim and gritty for a reboot. Archie has been crying out for this for years now.