ABSTRACT
The evolving role of the library has created a set of new and complex challenges for those delivering library buildings and services. The libraries of the twenty-first century are no longer simply familiar repositories for books with space for reading and lending. The university library too has undergone considerable change as the emphasis shifts from libraries as storehouses of knowledge to places where new knowledge is generated and existing knowledge is openly shared in teaching, learning and research. The revival of interest in the library as a building type has three main roots. The library, whether public or academic, is a place to meet, discover, learn and exchange information within welcoming, light and airy surroundings. The twenty-first-century library is typically a building with exciting external public spaces, interesting architectural forms and a more 'market place' interior quality. Although books remain vital to the library, the first point of contact is usually the catalogue screen or digitised media messaging.
