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ABSTRACT
In the early 19th century, public libraries in America tended toward grand appearances befitting seriousness of purpose. Library design changed gradually throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and more dramatically with automation and new technology. True to its roots, the public library continues to maintain areas for quiet, individual study. But, in addition, today’s library has become a cultural center in the community, offering art galleries, auditoriums, meeting rooms, spaces for collaborative work, digital information and instruction, and even cafés. Change is inevitable, as innovations in library design and patron use illustrate. Yet, from the earliest libraries to modern times, one overarching constant defines their purpose: libraries inspire.
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Notes on contributors
Peter A. Gisolfi
Peter A. Gisolfi, AIA, ASA, LEED AP, is the senior partner of Peter Gisolfi Associates Architects, Landscape Architects, LLP, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut. He is also a professor of architecture and landscape architecture at the City College of New York. His articles and essays have been widely published nationally. He is the author of two books, Finding the Place of Architecture in the Landscape, which expresses his ideas about architecture and landscape architecture and their relationship to setting, and Collaborative Library Design: From Planning to Impact, which illustrates how the collaborative process can lead the way to better libraries that respond to the communities they serve.