Library Buildings around the World

( Lit.: von Kamp, Anne, Die bauliche Entwicklung der Firestone Bibliothek, Berlin 2003 – http://www.ib.ha-berlin.de) opened door,
and Chancellor Green and East Pyne were converted to office uses. (Princeton University Library is the main library of Princeton
University. It is headquartered in the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library building, named after tire magnate Harvey Firestone.
Firestone Library opened in 1948, as the first large American university library constructed after World War II. Roughly 1.5 million
volumes were moved during the summer of 1948 from East Pyne Hall, which until then had served as the University's main library.
The library building was expanded in 1971 and again in 1988 – see: http://koetterkim.com - and currently has over 750 miles (1,210
km) of bookshelves. The Firestone building itself does not appear very large from the outside, because most of its books are stored in
one of the three partially-underground levels and 20 underground levels that extend beyond the footprint of the main building.
Firestone has four smaller above-ground floors, the second and fourth of which are accessible only to library staff. Princeton's book
collection has outgrown Firestone's present capacity. Therefore, volumes relating to many academic subjects are no longer housed at
Firestone, but at more than a dozen other library buildings or spaces located around the campus. In addition, two annexes in the
Princeton University Forrestal campus are used to store volumes and materials that are less frequently used. Though it is not the
largest university library in the world, Princeton librarians boast that the library has the most books per student of any university in
the country. Firestone is one of the largest open-stack libraries in existence. The library contains many study spaces, most
prominently the Trustees Room (an open study space bounded on one side by glass panels containing the names of all present and
past university trustees and presidents) and the atrium. It also has hundreds of carrels (offices about the size of a large closet) that
are reserved for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate seniors working on their theses. In addition, the library has a social
science reference center and a reserved books area, and many departments have their own private seminar and study rooms. The
University's interlibrary loan services and most staff librarians have offices in Firestone.(http://en.wikipedia.org)
In light of the library's importance in teaching and research at Princeton, the University has begun planning for a complete
renovation of Firestone Library. The renovation architects, Shepley Bulfinch, are working with a late September 2010 deadline to
submit a set of plans for a total renovation. During the fall 2010 semester, the library will host an open house to give the entire
campus a chance to see and comment on the overall design, which to date has been informed by meetings with the Faculty Steering
Committee on the Firestone Renovation, focus groups with library users, and meetings with library staff. Project goals: The
planning for the renovation of Firestone is focused on creating a building that is well-suited to support modern library services and
contemporary approaches to scholarship while also providing the proper environment for one of the world's great book and
manuscript collections. Principles guiding the renovation include:
■Improving navigability and wayfinding throughout the building, especially in the open stacks.
■Improving the quality of user spaces, including graduate study rooms, carrels, quiet public reading rooms and seating in the stack
areas.
■Creating more efficient shelving layouts.
■Creating a larger and consolidated space for the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
■Concentrating exhibit spaces on the first floor.
■Consolidating library service points into more efficient and effective groupings.
■Designing efficient and comfortable staff spaces.
■Bringing the building into compliance with current building and fire codes and accessibility standards.
Timeframe: The renovation and reconfiguration is conceived as a long-term phased project taking more than 10 years, during which
the library will remain open and occupied. Efforts will be made to schedule the most disruptive work at times of the year when the
library is not as heavily used, and to create temporary spaces to keep noise and dust to a minimum. Some preparatory work began in
summer 2010 primarily in limited areas on floors A, B and C. Isolated areas on floors A and B are being improved to serve as
temporary office space. This work will be completed by August 2010. Space on C floor will be renovated to provide more shelving;
this work will be completed by fall 2011. The existing stairway in the northwest corner of Firestone, which currently connects level C
through the first floor, will be extended from the first through the third floors. This work also will be completed by fall 2011.
(http://www.princeton.edu)
Georgia State University, New Law School Building, Atlanta, GA – USA on design
This facility for Georgia State's College of Law will create a gateway for the central campus and transform the surrounding precinct
in urban Atlanta. With the law library as its intellectual hub, the facility will strengthen the College's internal sense of community.
The design emphasizes flexibility and adaptability as a way to accommodate program growth and curricular change. With
courtroom and library space that supports the legal community and event space for the campus as a whole, the facility supports the
College's expanded interdisciplinary collaboration with clinical programs and policy centers. New outdoor gathering spaces and
strengthened connections to Hurt Park are central to the design, as are the use of daylighting and other visible sustainable design
elements. The project's 2010 conceptual design study explored ways to fulfill these aspirations, together with budget and design
implications. Shepley Bulfinch is the design architect in association with Collins Cooper Carusi Architects of Atlanta. (Shepley)
George Mason University, Fenwick Library Expansion, Fairfax, VA - USA 2015
150.000 sqf.
The Fenwick Library expansion redefines the central library as the intellectual heart of George Mason's distributed campus and
promotes the University's aspirations for growth as a major research institution. The focal point of the expansion is a new research
commons, supporting student scholarship with integrated resources, including sample access to technology, specialized librarians,
special collections, writing tutors, and data services. The new research-focused expansion is designed to reinforce the library's
connection with the adjacent Johnson Center Library, serving the undergraduate community, and designed by Shepley Bulfinch in
1994. Stewardship to the environment is expressed in the building's design to LEED silver standards, including cooling with chilled
beams, external shading devices, a naturally irrigated rain garden, roof garden, and preservation of a natural grove of trees at the
south of the site. (Shepley)
City of Austin, New Central Library, Austin, TX – USA 2015
180.000 sqf.
The New Central Library gives Austin an iconic landmark and a flexible facility that reflects the city's rich cultural and social fabric.
Located next to Shoal Creek, the library will help define the western portal to downtown and provide a welcoming community
gathering place.
Reader seats wrap the sunlit perimeter, spilling onto screened outdoor reading porches that overlook Lady Bird Lake. In addition to
a reading room and dedicated areas for children and teens, the library features a mix of lively and contemplative spaces that support
imaginative programming. This includes a 350-seat event forum for presentations and performance; display and demonstration
areas; community meeting rooms of varying sizes; and collections displays that encourage discovery.
The library embraces Austin's environmental commitment: in addition to the generous use of natural light, the project includes
energy-efficient systems focused on reducing water use and the building's overall footprint. These include rainwater harvesting and
189