ABSTRACT
Designing publically accessible libraries required two objectives with respect to lighting, those of enabling navigation whilst ensuring adequate levels of surveillance. Whereas private precedents for library buildings had concentrated light for the task of reading or browsing, public libraries would prioritise light for the operational requirements of control and security and for the individual requirements of navigability and signage. The transatlantic influence of Carnegie’s programme on the library movement added particular emphasis to the standardisation of responses to these design components.
