Planning

This page includes outlines and sample plans for libraries, as well as links to the web sites of building consultants who specialize in library planning.  The inclusion of a resource in this page does not imply a recommendation of it.

The slide in the upper left corner is the model of the winning design, Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver, British Columbia.  If you click on the photo it will explode to a larger size. 

General Planning Guides

• Building the Perfect Library (Public Library Association, 2000)
• How to Find, Select and Engage an Architect (Architectural Institute of British Columbia,1998)
• Library Administration and Management Association Publication Checklist (LAMA, 2001)
• Library Space Planning Guide:  Library Buildings (Connecticut State Library. Pdf document under "Publications." 1999)
• Planning Shifts of Library Collections (University of Oregon,1997)
• (Un)Desiderata: 27 Snappy Rules for Good and Evil in Library Architecture (Fred Schlipf and John Moorman, 1998)
• Working With an Architect (Architectural Institute of America, no date)

• Planning and Constructing Law School Buildings: Ten Basic Guidelines (Drake University Law School, 1998)
• Public Library Space Needs: A Planning Outline / 1998 (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 1998)
• The Seven Deadly Sins of Public Library Architecture and

Public Library Construction Process (Fred Schlipf and John Moorman, 1998)

Academic Libraries
• Cornell University Library:  Library Annex Expansion Project (1999)
• Nathan and Marlene Addlestone Library (College of Charleston, 2000)

Public Libraries
• Chelsea District Library: Expansion Project (Michigan, 1999)
• Harrison Branch Library: Construction Project (Ohio, 2001)
• Keene Public Library:  Renovation Project (New Hampshire, 2000)
• Seattle Public Library: Libraries for All and

1998 Capital Plan includes individual facility proposals (Washington, 1998)
• Vancouver Public Library:  Library Square Tour (Canada, 2001)
• Viipuri Library: Restoration Project (Finland, 2001)

Library Building Consultants

• 1999 Library Buildings Consultant List (ALA, 1999)
• Building Consultants for Connecticut Public Libraries (1997)
• Library Building Consultants (New Jersey State Library, 2001)