Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors
Column by Barbara Opar

We think you will all agree that architects love books. There is still something satisfying about opening a new book for the first time. As you take off the shrink wrap, you look forward to settling down in a comfortable chair and flipping through the pages to revisit old topics or explore new material. There is the anticipation of wondering what images the author has selected and if they will be recognizable to you.  Well, if all you want is a new book to peruse, then here are some suggestions you might give to Santa:

Adjaye, David. David Adjaye: Living Spaces. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2017. ISBN: 978-0500343258. 288 pages. $40.80

A dazzling tour of fifteen contemporary houses designed by David Adjaye, one of the most influential architects of his generation.

Houses or domestic buildings are often among the first projects young architects design. For David Adjaye, such early commissions connected him to a rising generation of creators with whom he shared a range of sensibilities. His artistry, clever use of space, and inexpensive, unexpected materials resulted in many innovative and widely published houses.

After fifteen years of practice and a raft of high-profile projects around the world_including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC_houses represent a smaller portion of Adjaye’s work but are more potent as a result. Selecting projects that are challenging because of their sites, complexity, or architectural possibility, Adjaye has both expanded and sharpened his domestic design, taking it in new directions and to new locations.

This monograph presents the fifteen finest and most recent examples, from Africa to Brooklyn, from desolate farmlands to urban jungles. Chronicled through informed descriptions and detailed and photographically rich visual documentation, the results testify to the importance of Adjaye’s growing inventiveness and provide powerful ideas for residential architecture.

Bendov, Pavel. New Architecture New York. New York: Prestel, 2017. ISBN: 978-3791383682. 224 pages.  $30.59

A magnificent photographic compilation of New York City’s best new architecture, this book features projects by leading firms working today. From Bjarke Ingels Group’s VIA West 57 to SHoP Architects’ Barclays Center, and from Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s High Line to SOM’s One World Trade Center, New York City has been home to some of this century’s most exciting new architecture. Profiling more than fifty projects that are shaping the city’s streets and skylines, this book features color photographs of each building and a brief, informative text about its significance. Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Foster + Partners, Selldorf Architects, Gehry Partners, and Adjaye Associates are just some of the firms that have recently completed projects in New York City. Visitors to the city as well as its denizens will find this book an exhilarating guide, while fans of architecture will gain an even greater appreciation of the city’s unprecedented development in the past fifteen years by the world’s best architects.

Emden, Cemal. Le Corbusier: The Complete Buildings. Munich: Prestel, 2017. 978-3791384023. 232 pages. $31.42

This visual tour of every one of Le Corbusier’s buildings across the world represents the most comprehensive photographic archive of the architect’s work. In 2010, photographer Cemal Emden set out to document every building designed by the master architect Le Corbusier. Traveling through three continents, Emden photographed all the 52 buildings that remain standing. Each of these buildings is featured in the book and captured from multiple angles, with images revealing their exterior and interior details. Interspersed throughout the book are texts by leading architects and scholars, whose commentaries are as fascinating and varied as the buildings themselves. The book closes with an illustrated, annotated index. From the early Villa Vallet, built in Switzerland in 1905, to his groundbreaking Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, completed in 1947, this ambitious project presents the entirety and diversity of Le Corbusier’s architectural output. Visually arresting and endlessly engaging, it will appeal to the architect’s many fans, as well as anyone interested in the foundation of modern architecture.

Glancey, Jonathan. What’s So Great About the Eiffel Tower?: 70 Questions That Will Change the Way You Think about Architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2017. ISBN: 978-1780679198. 176 pages. $12.80

Why do we find the idea of a multi-colored Parthenon so shocking today? Why was the Eiffel Tower such a target for hatred when it was first built? Is the Sagrada Família a work of genius or kitsch? Why has Le Corbusier, one of the greatest of all architects, been treated as a villain?

This book examines the critical legacy of both well known and either forgotten or underappreciated highpoints in the history of world architecture. Through 70 engaging, thought-provoking, and often amusing debates, Jonathan Glancey invites readers to take a fresh look at the reputations of the masterpieces and great architects in history. You may never look at architecture in the same way again!

Goldberger, Paul. Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. New York: Vintage, 2017. ISBN: 978-0307946393. 544 pages. $13.49

Here, from Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Paul Goldberger, is the first full-fledged critical biography of Frank Gehry, undoubtedly the most famous architect of our time. Goldberger follows Gehry from his humble origins—the son of working-class Jewish immigrants in Toronto—to the heights of his extraordinary career. He explores Gehry’s relationship to Los Angeles, a city that welcomed outsider artists and profoundly shaped him in his formative years. He surveys the full range of his work, from the Bilbao Guggenheim to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. to the architect’s own home in Santa Monica, which galvanized his neighbors and astonished the world. He analyzes his carefully crafted persona, in which an amiable surface masks a driving ambition. And he discusses his use of technology, not just to change the way a building looks, but to revolutionize the very practice of the field. Comprehensive and incisive, Building Art is a sweeping view of a singular artist—and an essential story of architecture’s modern era.

Mayne, Thom. 100 Buildings. New York: Rizzoli, 2017. ISBN: 9780847859504. 264 pages. $17.00

For this volume, over forty internationally renowned architects and educators—from Peter Eisenman and the late Zaha Hadid to Rafael Moneo and Cesar Pelli—were asked to list the top 100 twentieth-century architectural projects they would teach to students. The contributors were encouraged to select built projects where formal, spatial, technological, and organizational concepts responded to dynamic historical, cultural, social, and political circumstances. The capacity of these buildings to resist, adapt, and invent new typologies solidifies their timeless relevance to future challenges.

Olonetzky, Nadine. Inspirations: Time Travel Through Garden History. Basel: Birkhauser Architecture, 2017. ISBN: 978-3035613841. 206 pages. $39.99

Every garden is an imagined paradise – a garden paradise that incorporates the personality of the individual who created it, but also the long history of horticulture.

The book recounts the history of gardens from their likely origins in Mesopotamia to today; in chronological order and in sections with keywords, it introduces the most important styles as well as the people that have influenced developments in Europe.

Although the famous and influential gardens often needed extensive funds for their creation, gardens are not designed for the privileged of this world. Whether it is an allotment, a landscape park, a cemetery, or a city park – small and large gardens interweave with the built landscape and are an inspiration for all of us.

Paul, Stella. Black: Architecture in Monochrome. New York: Phaidon Press, 2017. ISBN: 9780714874722. 224 pages. $37.84

A stunning exploration of the beauty and drama of 150 black structures built by the world’s leading architects over 1,000 years. Spotlighting more than 150 structures from the last 1,000 years, Black pairs engaging text with fascinating photographs of houses, churches, libraries, skyscrapers, and other buildings from some of the world’s leading architects, including Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson, and Eero Saarinen, David Adjaye, Jean Nouvel, Peter Marino, and Steven Holl.

Rau, Cordula. Why Do Architects Wear Black? Basel: Birkhauser Architecture, 2017. ISBN: 9783035614107. 260 pages. $22.99

Why is it really that architects wear black?” was a question put to Cordula Rau by an automotive industry manager during an architectural competition. Even though she herself is an architect, and wears black, she did not have an answer on the spot. So she decided to ask other architects, as well as artists and designers. She has been collecting their handwritten replies in a notebook since 2001.

In 2008, this collection of autographs appeared as a small publication – obviously bound in black. For the purpose of the new edition, this legendary collection was expanded by new notable, amusing, pragmatic, and quirky reasons: “Please read it and don’t ask me why architects wear black!”. (Cordula Rau)

Ryan, Zoe. As Seen: Exhibitions that Made Architecture and Design History. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2017. ISBN: 978-0300228625. 144 pages. $30.49

Exhibitions have long played a crucial role in defining disciplinary histories. This fascinating volume examines the impact of eleven groundbreaking architecture and design exhibitions held between 1956 and 2006, revealing how they have shaped contemporary understanding and practice of these fields. Featuring written and photographic descriptions of the shows and illuminating essays from noted curators, scholars, critics, designers, and theorists, As Seen: Exhibitions that Made Architecture and Design History explores the multifaceted ways in which exhibitions have reflected on contemporary dilemmas and opened up new processes and ways of working. Providing a fresh perspective on some of the most important exhibitions of the 20th century from America, Europe, and Japan, including This Is Tomorrow, Expo ’70, and Massive Change, this book offers a new framework for thinking about how exhibitions can function as a transformative force in the field of architecture and design.

Stech, Adam Sally Fuls and Robert Klanten.; Inside Utopia: Visionary Interiors and Futuristic Homes. Berlin: Gestalten, 2017. ISBN: 9783899556964. 288 pages. $46.91Top of Form

Spectacular and reflective, unpretentious and efficient: the breathtaking Elrod House by John Lautner; the Lagerfeld Apartment near Cannes that seems like a set from a science fiction film; Palais Bulles in France with its organic and unique architecture. These interiors welcome habitation and spark curiosity while embodying the foundations of minimalism and bygone visions of the future. Inside Utopia delves into the rhyme and reason behind past designs that we still interact with today.

The architects, the owners, and the craftsmen like Gio Ponti or Bruce Goff who work behind the scenes created amorphous interiors that invite the mind to wander. At the time they were futuristic, confident, utopian, idealistic— we may not realize it, but they have shaped our current living concepts, and even now, they inspire us anew. Previously it has been difficult to attain access to these preserved interiors, but Inside Utopia unearths what was before unseen.

Yeang, Ken. It’s Not Easy Being Green. Novato: ORO Editions, 2017. ISBN: 978-1939621863. 100 pages.  $25.23

It’s Not Easy Being Green, literally tells the reader that the idea of ‘Green architecture’ is not as simple as many expected. It’s not solely about energy efficiency or putting out different levels of vegetation, but it is an extensive dedication and cautious action towards natural and built environment. Ken’s work has demonstrated a comprehensive set of strategies making Green Architecture feasible and practical for architects and professionals from other fields to understand the importance of saving the world from environmental devastation. The book intends to raise awareness and concern on environmental issues, and suggests ways of how architecture can be design now in favor of a benign living environment.

See anything you like? Hope so! Obviously this list is just a small sampling of newly released titles and many of you may have specific ideas about the books you want to add to your collections. But if you need further suggestions, take a look at your library’s new book display or site. You can even ask your subject librarian! Either way, enjoy a little downtime with your favorite new book.

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Column by Barbara Opar (Syracuse University), Kathy Edwards (Clemson University) and Rose Orcutt (University of Buffalo)

As the library association most closely linked to serving the direct needs of faculty and students in Architecture, AASL members strive to provide appropriate resources to meet the ever changing field of architecture and design. To this end, AASL has assumed responsibility for creating a core list of periodicals aimed at first degree programs in Architecture.

The core list was first compiled in 1995. The need for such a resource was initially suggested a few years earlier by Pat Wiesenberger, then architecture librarian at Kansas State. Sharing her thoughts at an annual meeting of AASL, she proposed preparing a list of titles “without which we cannot operate.”

This principle has defined the core list through four subsequent editions. The list began with several members trying to create their own versions. Then Jeanne Brown of the University of Nevada- Las Vegas and Judy Connorton from City College compiled an extensive list of architecture periodicals and surveyed members about their holdings. Michael Leininger of MIT, Kay Logan-Peters of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Pat Weisenberger reviewed the survey data, taking into account the discussions held at the annual meeting and created the first core list. In creating the first list, the number of holdings of the title at member libraries became part of the criteria.  New versions of the list with additions and deletions as necessary were compiled in 1998, 2002 and 2009. By 1998, Progressive Architecture and Design Quarterly had ceased to exist. Detail was added. El Croquis was moved to core. With each new edition, volunteers from the larger membership reviewed titles and prepared the list, gathering input from the memberships of both AASL and ARLIS/NA (Art Libraries Society of North America). Martin Aurand of Carnegie Mellon and Margaret Culbertson of the University of Houston volunteered to update the list in 2002. This version added electronic titles and expanded the supplementary list. In compiling the 2009 version, Barbara Opar of Syracuse University again surveyed members via email. Discussions included whether or not the list should be a “stretch” or kept to key holdings most libraries held. Certain regional and foreign language titles were debated.

Throughout the process of creating each new edition, knowledge of the current state of architecture as well as survey data from members has been key. The compilers of the fifth edition- Kathy Edwards of Clemson University, Rose Orcutt of the University of Buffalo and Barbara Opar –expanded the data they gathered about each title. Barbara tallied browsing statistics of current print titles for several weeks. While faculty often chose titles like Architectural Review, students repeatedly looked at titles like Dwell and Surface, leading to a conclusion that patrons do not always chose key titles when browsing. The availability of indexing as well as format (print, electronic) was investigated. The quality of graphic documentation (e.g. plans, sections, notation of scale) and image quality was considered. The length of the articles, and notable contributors were carefully noted.  In addition to peer review, Rose and Kathy sought out impact data when available.

This version was begun after the annual meeting in 2014 with survey data gathered from faculty via ACSA News as well as input from both AASL and ARLIS members. Indeed, the survey data at one point actually became a stumbling block. Input included removing Casabella from core; while others advocated expanding the core list to include titles like Axis, Cabinet, Candide and Pidgin. Only by returning to the original concept of titles “without which we cannot operate” was the group able to finalize the list.

The working group came to realize that some librarians might be taking issue with the categories of core and supplementary. So the categories used in this version are core, recommended and topical. By topical is meant highly specialized or regionally focused. Titles to watch, also a new category, consists of titles new to the market or ones which may be evolving. Titles also may cease as in the case of Praxis, a core title.

The list which follows is meant as a guideline for faculty and students and as a working tool for collections librarians. New or small schools may only be able to add core titles, while larger institutions may even consider more topical journals or additions from outside the immediate field. Regionally important titles should become part of every collection. Hopefully this list will enable users to become more aware of the breadth of architectural periodic literature.

See the complete list at: https://www.architecturelibrarians.org/coreperiodicalslist

            .

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Column by Janine J. Henri , Architecture, Design, and Digital Services Librarian, UCLA Arts Library (jhenri@library.ucla.edu)

Many architectural publications are still only published in print. Not everything researchers need is available from architect or firm websites or blogs, and many older architecture titles have lasting research value. Faced with a broad collecting mandate in support of professional and academic degrees, and a library facility that reached capacity many years ago, selecting materials for remote storage has become a part of my weekly routine.  Recurring queries on librarian discussion lists regarding selection of materials for storage is evidence that UCLA is not facing this issue alone.

Overflow books that cannot be shelved due to lack of stack space. The library has book trucks in aisles and every nook and cranny.

Many collection managers select material for remote storage or withdrawal based on circulation activity. However architecture collections are frequently browsed and used on site. Some books may be too heavy to carry to studios, workspaces may be unsecured, and when the library provides free scanning, scans may be all that are desired. Some libraries track in-house use, but this can miss researchers who sit in the stacks, perusing each book on a topic. Besides circulation statistics, how can we select materials for remote storage? My approach has been to consider the relationship between intellectual access, browsing, and expected use.

A student browses a section of stacks looking for suitable content.

For back issues of journals the decision is easier. The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals does such a great job of indexing articles down to the project level, with descriptions of specific types of illustrations (plans, site plans, elevations, sections, models, axonometric views, etc.). Volumes can be retrieved from storage the same day or next weekday, depending on when a request is submitted. However book descriptions are less detailed. When a book concerns a single building (or project), we can expect that it is described in our library catalog with the name of the building (or project) as a subject. This subject access, plus the mention of illustrations and plans, is enough for a user to know whether the book is on topic. Users can determine (sight unseen) that these books are worth requesting, and I often select these types of books for remote storage. When a book features several buildings (as in discussions of typologies, materials, fabrication technologies, design methods, etc.), the book’s subject(s) will not necessarily include building names. Our users will be unable to determine which building might be illustrated from the description in the catalog. I am more likely to keep these types of books on site so researchers can browse them to quickly determine relevance. I also tend to keep books with plans that include a scale on site, since researchers frequently seek this information. I also use my knowledge of the curriculum, local research needs, and the ways different books are consulted, in order to decide what to store. For example, books used primarily by historians and theorists who tend to plan out their research and are able to wait a day for a book’s retrieval are better candidates for remote storage than books primarily used by designers who tend to have unanticipated research needs during the design process. At UCLA, which is on the quarter system, a single day delay can derail a project.

A section of stacks with books about tall buildings. Many patrons search for materials on a specific subject by browsing.

Several years ago when I discussed my storage selection process with a faculty member, he responded by stating he believed that we must keep as many highly illustrated books on campus as possible. One of his important considerations when browsing illustrated materials, is that he is looking for specific views or details. No bibliographic description will help him identify which title includes the one photograph that shows a building from the specific angle he seeks. Over time, through browsing, he has developed his own knowledge of which books have the specific views he needs to make his point (or that one view no one else has published), and he wants to make sure his students are also able to develop that kind of familiarity.  I acknowledge that this way of browsing physical books is lessened somewhat by the growing availability of titles in Google Books, but since Google’s ‘snippet views’ do not necessarily show the needed illustrations, for now, browsing physical books in the stacks is still a core architecture research method.

Barbara Opar and Lucy Campbell, Column Editors

Column by Cindy Derrenbacker, Laurentian University, McEwen School of Architecture Librarian Sudbury, Ontario Canada

We wanted to share something a little different with you this month- an approach to productive summer reading.

One of my cherished memories is of summertime reading on a chaise lounge on a screened-in porch at my childhood home.  I recall eating cherries and nectarines while reading C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia with the sound of summer cicadas in the background.

Recovering Reading for Pleasure
I am inspired to write this column for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, in part, because I, like many of you, wish to recover such carefree days and hours of reading. With summer in the offing, I am sure many of you look forward to reading for pleasure, moving beyond a reading repertoire that is driven by academic work or books we feel obliged to read for one reason or another. We anticipate a break in routine with new opportunities and adventures.

This is aptly reflected in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, as the narrator muses: “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. There was so much to read, for one thing, and so much fine health to be pulled down out of the young breath-giving air.”¹

While we long to recover the easy summer days of our youth, we may feel a sense of guilt indulging in the pleasures of idle reading, when certain responsibilities must surely go by the wayside. Given the sheer number of available books, we may be overwhelmed by which title to choose. And with the allure of the Internet, our sustained engagement with the printed word is more tenuous than in the past.

Some years ago, I came across Steve Leveen’s book, The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life, at an airport kiosk. Since then, I have periodically referenced this book as it shares effective ideas for getting more books into your life and more life from your books. Leveen’s recommendations remind us to think intentionally about our reading habits.

Reading to Live

There is a quote by Gustave Flaubert in the front matter of this book: “Read in order to Live.” And from the outset, Leveen suggests that finding the time to read results in living “a larger life”²—a life connected to “the world, yourself, and your untapped capabilities”³ This is no easy task, given time constraints and numerous distractions. Making room for reading is, in fact, a luxury.

Perhaps you recall reading a particularly moving text or when a book made a marked impact on your life. When I first encountered The Great Gatsby, I was immediately drawn to this acclaimed novel based on Fitzgerald’s opening, dynamic description of the grounds of a Georgian-styled Colonial mansion on the bay of Long Island Sound. He writes, “The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens—finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run.”⁴

I never tire of Fitzgerald’s animated language or well-crafted story of “the romance and glitter of the Jazz Age;”⁵ this literary classic moves me. As a result, my life is personally enlivened, and as Leveen suggests, “in color rather than black and white.“⁶ Your well-read life, however, may not include Fitzgerald or other literary giants you are “supposed to have read.” Your reading list is certain to look different from mine, as it should.

Reading with Purpose

But how do you choose books to read? Now, a librarian might direct you to known booklists, such as Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust series or the New York Times best sellers list or CBC’s Canada Reads: the 2017 shortlist. The discerning reader may refer to goodreads.com or recommended book titles by a favorite blogger, online. You might turn to a handful of books in your home that you’ve been intending to read or that were given to you as gifts. But most of us do not put a great deal of thought into our choices; it’s “kind of accidental and ad hoc.”⁷ Leveen writes “[s]o casual an approach is unfortunate when you think about how much a great book can mean. A single right book at the right time can change our views dramatically, give a quantum boost to our knowledge, help us to construct a whole new outlook on the world and our life.”⁸ And when you consider how relatively few books for pleasure we can read in a year—let’s say one book a month—and over a lifetime—we really should be more particular about building a list of, what Leveen refers to as, “candidates,” worthy options but not necessarily final reading choices.

Building a List of Candidates

Steve Leveen suggests some possible strategies for building a list of candidates:

• Begin with a list of books or authors you know you want to read. Group titles and authors under subject headings such as work, travel, nutrition & health, biography, and classics, listing the sources of these recommendations.
• Reconstruct a list of books or authors you have enjoyed in the past that might shed light on future selections. Three decades ago I enjoyed Fredric Buechner’s novel tetralogy The Book of Bebb, but I have not read this author’s other acclaimed works that might make worthy reading candidates. Likewise, there could be merit in re-reading The Book of Bebb at this stage in my life; I would inevitably read the text differently. Buechner has sometimes been compared to English author Grahame Greene and Canadian author Robertson Davies and so it would be interesting to determine if either of these authors has written material I might want to include on my list of candidates.
• Beware of well-intentioned friends recommending titles that may or may not make good candidates for personal reading, but take note of book recommendations from acquaintances who are experts on a particular subject in which you share a common interest. Your local public librarians could be useful in this regard as well.
• Probably the most practical advice that I took away from Leveen’s Guide was a quote by Atwood H. Townsend that says “[n]ever force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give you pleasure.”⁹ Likewise, in a 2012 Ted Talk, Nancy Pearl advises not to read beyond fifty pages of a book if you are not enjoying it. “Life is too short and your list of good books beckons”¹⁰

Reading Actively

Leveen suggests “[t]he point of reading is not reading but living. Reading helps you live with greater appreciation, keener insight and heightened emotional awareness.”¹¹ But just as you can practice a musical instrument poorly and without focused attention, you can also be a disengaged reader. Leveen recommends that “if you want to read well, read actively.”¹² Rather than diving in, begin by previewing the book. Once you’ve started, don’t hesitate to put a book down if it doesn’t speak to you, even if others hold it in high regard. If you own the book, freely take notes in the margins and define vocabulary with which you are unfamiliar. Once you have finished a book, spend time reflecting on what you have read, re-reading favorite sections, writing down quotes that speak to you, and talking with a friend who has also read the book. These strategies will help you remember some of the characters and ideas you engaged with in the book. And for the most part, Leveen discourages speed-reading, in favor of lingering with the text—taking a “slow foods” approach, if you will, to reading.

Reading with your Ears

Leveen devotes an entire chapter to “Reading with Your Ears.” In my experience, listening to unabridged audiobooks while commuting or cleaning is probably the single best way to get more books into your life. In particular, if the voice of the reader is cast well, listening to an audiobook can be an enjoyable experience.

Reading with a Book Group

I might have missed some wonderful stories if it had not been for my participation in a book club for several years. Leveen points to the advantages of “Sharing the Fellowship of Books”¹³ and I have to agree. He quotes reading group expert Rachel Jacobsohn, “Reading confirms your aliveness. It’s very validating. That’s what book groups ultimately are; you get validated in the human condition—the conditions and puzzles, the good stuff and bad, the aspirations and hopes and despairs. You’re not alone out there.”¹⁴ Developing friendships, reading beyond personal interests, and having the opportunity to analyze and critique books in a group setting, can enhance your well-read life.

Reading for Empowerment

And so we read to live and what we read counts, especially in relation to the life of the mind. The ideas and impressions that are aroused by reading influence our beliefs and actions. There is a profound book that echoes and expands on these sentiments entitled, In Bed with the Word: Reading, Spirituality, and Cultural Politics. The author, Daniel Coleman, writes: “Reading is not solely an exercise to feed one’s inner life. Rather, eating the book—not just nibbling at it, or having a little taste here and there, but eating it wholesale—produces a changed person, an empowered person, a different kind of person, and changed people means social and political change, not just personal change.”¹⁵

In sum, on the cusp of summer, we have the opportunity to nurture a well-read, transformed life. This means thoughtfully drawing up a list of book candidates, selecting one or two titles from the list, carving out precious time (perhaps by turning off the T.V. or limiting our binge-watching of Netflix movies), and doing something countercultural: reading for pleasure!

Barbara Opar and Lucy Campbell, column editors
Column by Rachel Beckwith, Access and Arts Librarian, Hampshire College

From the editors: Many schools of architecture are currently addressing library design and renovation. One college library is looking to its past for ways to move forward.

Established in 1970, Hampshire College was modeled on delivery of educational through non-traditional structures. It is experience-based, learner-centered, and inquiry-driven. Against this backdrop, the fledgling College Library was envisioned in 1969, as Mt. Holyoke, Amherst College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst were planning to become the Five College consortium.

In the 1969 report, “The Extended and Experimenting College Library: Configurations and Functions of the Academic Library in Transition,” Hampshire librarian Robert Taylor reported “a library can no longer be a sophisticated warehouse storing and dispensing knowledge to students who happen to come through the door.” Instead, it “must be the center for the creation, use, and distribution of knowledge in a variety of media, communications-oriented rather than book oriented.” This vision was rather prescient, given that today, almost 50 years later, many are re-envisioning and re-imagining libraries technology is altering the learning landscape.

Many ideas brought forth in Taylor’s forward-thinking report have since become established trends in academic libraries. In fact Hampshire College Library Director, Jennifer King was able to return to this founding document, unearthed in our Archives, and consider its significance in her paper, “Extended and experimenting: library learning commons service strategy and sustainability” published in the journal, Library Management, in 2016.

Hampshire Library was initially designed with innovative and experimental ideas. However in recent years, the library became increasingly conventional. When we hired Jennifer King in 2012, the search committee, myself included, wanted someone who would be “transformative” while returning our library to its experimental roots. The advantageous timing of a simultaneous new President and Vice President for Academic Affairs allowed Jennifer to propose a plan bringing together academic support services (such as the Writing Center, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Transformative Speaking Program, the Quantitative Resource Center, and Disability & Learning Support from the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services) into the library building.

Hampshire began a comprehensive planning process overseen by a Knowledge Commons Steering Committee. Through a process of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, and with guidance from Brightspot, an “experience design consultancy,” the committee collected feedback from constituents across campus. We knew from this feedback that better access, visual branding, wayfinding, and publicity were on our list of needed improvements.

In May 2015 the Library Knowledge Commons Service Strategy Report was finalized. In December 2015 the library received a generous $1.2 million dollar grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for implementation of a Learning Commons 3.O. The charge to “reinvent” our library officially began! I was on a “consolidated service point” task force last winter that helped merge components of our access services, media services, and IT departments. A combined circulation point for print and digital resources would allow quick access to information, resources, and collections. Equipment lending would also be brought to the combined service point. There is still work to be done in this area as the Hampshire College library has a growing game library (both analog and digital games) as well as a seed lending library (yes, we circulate packets of seeds that have a barcode on them that you can check out!). Because of our ever-changing curriculum, we have circulated everything from a metal detector to a trash can over the years, so designing a flexible, “open-ended” circulation point remains a design challenge.

Successes over the past two years include the Writing Center. Alumni fellows are hired to work evening hours offering writing help in the library. The library is a more centrally located on our campus than the Writing Center, resulting in increased use of this service. The Transformative speaking program hired and trained student peer mentors, who work with the Director out of a reserved room in the library. The program and has met lots of success integrating speaking programs into courses and helping students individually prepare for public speaking and presentations. The Office of Accessibility Resources and Services has also expanded and connected with the library through their Alumni Fellow. The grant included funding for several alumni fellows. We have so far hired a Library Research Alumni Fellow, an Instructional Technology Alumni Fellow, a Student Success Alumni Fellow, and a Center for Teaching and Learning Alumni Fellow. Next we will be hiring a Media Alumni Fellow to help students find the right equipment and offer guidance with tools and technology to create scholarly and creative work. Our Media Labs include facilities for digital photography and filmmaking; animation; music; audio; print; and video.

As we have just passed one year since the grant, we are reflecting back and looking forward. We now plan to divvy up responsibilities for the Knowledge Commons among the research librarians,, in order to create a sustainable model for partner services going forward. One of my colleagues will supervise all of the current the alumni fellows, developing infrastructure (training, project management tools) for team-based work, and leading a summer training institute in addition to maintaining her identity as a vital member of our research instruction team. Our current science librarian will add needs assessment and analysis for the Knowledge Commons, service assessment, and budget support and management to her job. She will also develop numerical/ visualization data to help advocate for funding. In addition to my current responsibilities as Access and Arts Librarian, I will be working on project management, space assessment and planning, renovation, marketing, self-help options for booking appointments and rooms in the library, as well as facilitating communication and coordination across library staff.

We have also begun to prototype new spaces, including a renovation of our 24/7 study space affectionately dubbed “The Airport Lounge.” We will be renovating a space in our Media Services department that we are calling “The Inquiry Center” which will have a flexible classroom space and several consultation spaces for the expanded academic services. Here, alumni fellows, as well as librarians, writing center fellows, transformative speaking mentors, and media staff with expertise can meet with students in one centralized location. These renovations have just begun.

While still very much in progress, our Knowledge Commons vision brings Hampshire full circle back to its original, innovative library design, while also looking to the future. We are combining our carefully curated print with collaborative partners, returning the library to Robert Taylor’s vision of the “nerve center” of the College, and continuing to explore and develop an active role for the library in the teaching and learning process. In these turbulent times, the library’s role offering free resources and services to ALL people becomes even more critical. The library must, indeed, remain “open-ended.”