Library space design framework: A conceptual analysis

• Main Authors: Flores, Roana Marie L., De Leon, Simon V., Valerio, Marita G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Library buildings—Design and construction; Library and Information Science
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/9298
• Institution: De La Salle University

Library spaces are a crucial element in library management that should be taken zealously because it serves as the frontispiece of the entire library. It is more than sketching a floor plan as it transcends beyond the physical layout of the library to provide new opportunities for collaboration among patrons with an emphasis on diversity, personal adaptability, and customization. This paper reviews scholarly literature on library space and design frameworks to guide librarians, researchers, Library and Information Science (LIS) students and faculty who intend to gain a better understanding of the concepts and elements of library spaces and designs. It employs a systematic literature review approach to critically examine the space design frameworks published in scholarly journals and identify the essential components of planning and designing library spaces for targeted users. This paper is an exploratory study that attempts to provide a modified conceptual framework that can be applied to academic libraries in designing and repurposing spaces for better user experience. It reviews the different concepts and elements of library space frameworks of extracted articles from Google Scholar, published between 2009- 2020. Since exploration examining library space design frameworks are a scant research topic in the LIS field, this paper fills the gap in the literature. The resulting framework accentuates three major commonalities across the sourced literature: demographics, linkages, and space design. This framework is the most organic and serves as the foundation that would justify and direct all succeeding actions in the creation of spaces.