ABSTRACT
Though libraries are now taking increasingly different stylistic forms, the core programme has remained much the same. Today's designs do, however, have to emphasise flexibility, given the rapidly changing material forms and modes of consumption which contemporary culture is developing. Hence the rise of the open-plan, non-segmented library floor plan. Given the rise of many new media formats available in libraries it has to be decided whether to keep books and digital media separate, or integrate them along with study spaces and reading areas. Circulation patterns were once almost wholly determined by book-shelving layouts; today the mixture of spaces and the sequencing of them is an important element in way-finding — which also needs clear signage. Opening hours are longer, and people are likely to stay longer if they are studying — hence the need for coffee shops and toilets, along with spaces for events.
