treehouse project - product documentation

8/14/2019 Treehouse Project - Product Documentation

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TABLE OF CONTENTSIntrod uc tio n: The c ha ng ing libra ry ........................................................................................................ 1

Cha p te r 1: The fo und a tion ..................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Persona l d eve lop ment ................................................................................................................. 2

1.2 Ed uc a tio na l the ories ..................................................................................................................... 2

1.2.1 The ory of Multip le Inte llige nc es ............................................................................................ 3

1.2.2 New M ed ia Lite rac y ............................................................................................................... 3

1.2.3 The Reg g io Emilia a p p roa c h to ed uc a tion ........................................................................ 4

1.3 Bring ing it a ll toge th er ................................................................................................................... 5

Cha p te r 2: From theory to d esign ......................................................................................................... 6

2.1 Lib rary sp a c es................................................................................................................................. 6

2.2 The mod el ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Cha p te r 3: Cohe renc y in the libra ry ................................................................................................... 11

3.1 The ta len t lab , a p rac tic a l examp le ......................................................................................... 11

Cha p te r 4: The c a ta logue ................................................................................................................... 13

Cha p te r 5: Further d eve lop ment ........................................................................................................ 14

Ap p end ixes ............................................................................................................................................ 15


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Prod uc t d oc ume nta tion Tree house Projec t

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INTRODUCTION:THE CHANGING LIBRARYThe role of p ub lic lib ra ries in the soc iety is c ha ng ing . While the a mo unt o f me d ia a nd me d iac ontent grows, the am ount o f spa re time p eo ple ha ve b ec ome s less with eac h pa ssing ye ar.Bec a use o f this, pe op le ha ve to p rioritise t he ir list o f p ossible a c tivities. In most c a ses, go ing tothe lib rary is fa r from the t op of th e list.

In o rd er to p rovide for the func tions the lib ra ry c urrent ly offe rs, pe op le use inte rnet servic essuc h a s Goo gle Sea rc h a nd Wikipe d ia to quickly find the informa tion the y need .Furthermo re, they o rde r b oo ks on line a t sto res like Am a zon a nd Bol.co m, which usua llyde liver the b oo ks on your do orstep the ne xt d ay. Even if som e p eo ple d on t like to rea db oo ks, almo st e ve ryon e rea d s the ir fa vo urite we b log s a nd news sites, disc usses on o nlineforums or rea d s to ns of m em b er p rofiles of va riou s soc ial netw orking site s (eg .

Hyves, MySp a c e).For lib ra ries to rem a in a me a ningful c om mo d ity to t he c om munity, its role ha s to c ha ng e. TheDutc h Pub lic Lib ra ry Assoc ia tion ha s a c knowled ge d this a nd launc hed the Lib ra ry 2040p rojec t in resp onse. A la rge numb er of pe op le a nd institutions with different b a c kground sga ve their po int of view on the future library, these a re d oc umente d in the b oo k Bib lioth eken 2040: De t oe komst in uitvoe ring .

In the c on text of Lib ra ry 2040, the Treehouse Projec t is the late st insta lmen t in a series of c o-op erations b etw ee n the Dutc h Pub lic Lib ra ry Assoc ia tion a nd the Utrec ht Sc hoo l of the Arts.The Treehouse Projec t te a m, a n interd isc iplina ry te a m c on sisting o f bo th Ma ste r a nd PSAUstud ents, wa s a sked b y the Dutc h Pub lic Lib ra ry Assoc ia tion to d eve lop a c onc ep t for thec hild ren s sec tion in the lib ra ry of t he futu re, in which sha ring a nd ima g ina tion should p la y ab ig role.

This rep ort c on ta ins the results of the Treeh ouse Projec t t ea m its effo rts to envision a p ossiblefuture for the Dutch pub lic libraries in which the y do not c omp ete with but supp leme ntpe op les e veryda y usag e of d ifferent me d ia.

During this p rojec t w e c hose no t to foc us on sp ec ific d eta ils within this vision, b ut to c rea te ab roa d sp ec trum sketc h of t he future lib ra ry. Thus, we me a n to p ush the Dutc h Pub lic Lib ra ryAssoc ia tion in the d irec tion we think is c orrec t b y han d ing t hem a solid found a tion, for themto b e a ble to c ontinue building on top of our work.

This rep ort is b uilt a round the p roc esses a nd no tions we think are imp orta nt in the lib rary ofthe future. The fa c t tha t these p roc esses wo rk is the n p rove n by the sup p lem ent ed test d a taof sp ec ific imp lem ent at ions. This rep ort d oe s not offer informa tion a b out o ur design p roc ess,which c an b e found in our p roc ess do c umenta tion instea d .


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CHAPTER 1:THE FOUNDATIONThe Dutc h Pub lic Lib ra ry Assoc ia tion ha s d efined five c ore func tions, which a re t he p rima rya rea s for which the lib ra ries p rovide servic es. The c ore func tions a re knowled ge &informa tion, ed uc ation, rea ding & literature a nd me eting & de ba te. These five c ore functionsma nifest the mselves in d ozens of d ifferent w a ys, but there is one threa d tha t runs throughthem all; libraries intend you to lea ve m ore knowledg ea ble o r wiser than you we re w hen youc am e in. In othe r words, all five c ore functions c ontribute to the p ersona l develop ment ofpeople.

1.1 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Persona l d eve lopm ent ho we ver, ta kes b oth time a nd e ffort. This p oses a p rob lem fo r tod a ys

soc iety, wh ere p eo p le c ont inua lly sea rc h for wa ys to d o t hings faster a nd with less effort. Weorder our bo oks from bo l.com or Ama zon, som etimes b ased on wha t o ther custom ersb oug ht, without the we b site exa c tly telling us why. Child ren b a se t heir essa ys on informa tionret rieved from Wikip ed ia , assuming eve ry wo rd tha t s writte n d ow n is true. Altho ug h theinternet, and othe r me dia, offer large am ounts of c onte nt, we increasingly tend t o forget t oreflec t on w hat it tells us and just a c c ep t the informa tion a t fac e va lue.

Thus, in orde r to stimula te p ersona l d eve lopm ent, pe op le nee d a n environm ent w hic hstimula te s c uriosity and insp ires the m to a sk qu estions. This is a q ua lity th a t m od ern med ia,suc h as the wo rld w id e we b, ca nnot offer. Mod ern med ia o verloa d p eo p le with informa tion,whic h o nly results in p eo p le not b eing a b le to a sk que stions. How eve r, this is exac tly the p oint

wh ere lib raries c an d istingu ish the mselves from o the r c on te nt p rovide rs. Libraries ha ve aphysic al spa c e and rea l peo ple w alking around who c an assist you in your que st forknowledge and / or wisdo m.

In ord er for this to ha pp en , sev era l thing s ha ve t o c ha ng e w ithin the c urren t lib raries. First o fall, libraries should stop offering ever mo re c ontent to pe op le and switch to a c ontext-ce ntred ap proac h instead . Overloa ding p eop le with information d oes not help them and ,even mo re imp ortant, it d oe s not he lp if a libraria n p oints to the c om pute r running sea rc hsoftw a re if you a sk a q uestion tha t s ha rd er to a nswe r tha n a sking for the sec tion with travelguides. A co ntext-c entred a pp roa c h to lib ra ries ma kes use o f the a dva ntag es the library hasover the use o f mod ern med ia in that it c a n be tter supp ort peo ple in their pe rsona ldevelopment.

For a c onte xt-centred ap proa c h to pe rsona l deve lop ment to w ork, libraries should no t o nlyinsp ire p eo p le to a sk que stions b ut a lso e na b le a nd a ssist the m t o find the a nswe r to the irq uestion a nd finally help the m reflec t on b oth q uestion an d a nswe r. In othe r wo rd s, thelib ra ry of the future ena b les a nd stimula tes p eo p le t o g et insp ired , use t ha t insp ira tion to finda nswe rs a nd reflec t b a c k on w ha t the y found . To h elp us envision t his environm ent, we ha veta ken eleme nts from seve ra l the ories on e d uc a tion.

1.2 EDUCATIONAL THEORIES

During the p rojec t, we have bo rrow ed from three d ifferent theo retica l and p rac tic ala p p roa c hes to lea rning. The first a nd mo st influentia l to o ur projec t is How a rd Ga rd ners


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Theo ry of M ultiple Intellige nc e, the sec ond a re Henry Jenkins idea s on new me d ia literac ya nd t he third is Reg io Emilia s a p p roa c h to p resc hoo l an d p rima ry ed uc a tion. Tog et her, the seap proa c hes to learning fo rm the sec ond c ornerstone of the lib ra ry of the future the wa y weenvisioned it.

1.2.1 Theory of Multiple Intelligences

How a rd G a rd ners the ory of multip le intelligenc e d ea ls with d ifferent wa ys of thinking a ndlea rning. It a c knowledg es that d ifferent pe op le ab sorb informa tion in d ifferent wa ys and thusha ve ta lents in d ifferent a rea s. The the ory d istinguishes betw ee n e igh t d ifferent intellige nc es:

Bodily Kinesthetic Interpersonal Verb a l Linguistic Log ic al Ma thema tic al Naturalistic

Intrapersonal Visua l Sp a tia l Musica l Rhythm ica l

Taken b a c k into c ontext of the library, the fac t that pe op le ha ve d ifferent ta lents, anda ssuming tha t a ll tho se ta lents c a n b e includ ed in one of Ga rd ners eight intellige nc es,me a ns the lib ra ry should e na b le p eo p le to p roc ess informa tion and d eve lop the mselves ind ifferent w a ys.

In to d a y s lib raries, a p erson c a n loo k at p ictu res in bo oks if he o r she is strong in the v isua l sp a tial ta lent o r liste n to music if the p erson is strong in the m usica l rhythm ica l talen t. It is

p ossible for eve ryone ha ving one to find informa tion in the lib ra ry which c a n b e p roc essedb y using the ta lent the p erson in q uestion is strong in. Thus, pe op le c a nnot imp rove the use oftheir talents within the lib ra ry, or in o the r word s, one s p ersona l de velop me nt is c urrentlylimited to p roc essing informa tion.

This brings us b ac k to the c onte xt-centred ap p roa c h, in w hic h d ifferent pe op le should b einsp ired b y and a b le to sea rch fo r a nswe rs in different w a ys. This is no t limite d to rea d ing abo ok or wa tc hing ep isod es of a tv-show , but c an also include c rea ting a movie yourself,lea rning to play or co mp ose a piec e o f music and building a rob ot, just to na me a fewexam p les. Bec a use p eo p le a re a c tua lly crea ting stuff, the a nswe rs to p eo p les q uestions,c an often b e a dd ed to the lib ra ry ag ain to a c t a s fuel for som eone else s c uriosity.

1.2.2 New Media Literacy

The sec ond p art of the oretic al b ac kground is ab out new med ia literac y. Henry Jenkinside ntified eleven skills de a ling with new me dia, which pe op le ne ed to func tion w ell in tod ay shigh-te c h. The se skills inc lude:

PLAY: The c a p a c ity to expe rime nt w ith o ne s surround ing s a s a form of p rob lem solving .

PERFO RM ANC E: The a b ility to a d op t a lternat ive ide ntities for the p urp ose o f imp rovisat ion a nddiscovery.


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SIMLATION: The a b ility to inte rp ret a nd c onstruct d ynam ic m od els of rea l-world p roc esses.

APPROPRIATION: The ab ility to mea ningfully sam ple and rem ix med ia c ontent.

M ULTITASKING :

The a b ility to sc a n o ne s environm ent a nd shift fo c us a s nee d ed to sa lient d eta ils. DISTRIBUTED C O G INITIO N:

The ab ility to interac t m ea ningfully with too ls that expa nd our menta l ca pa c ities. C O LLEC TIVE INTELLIG ENC E:

The a bility to po ol knowledg e a nd c om pa re note s with others tow ard a c om mo ngoal .

JUDG EMENT: The a b ility to eva lua te the relia b ility a nd c red ib ility o f d ifferent informat ion sourc es.

TRANSM EDIA NA VIG ATION : The a b ility to follow the flow of stories a nd informa tion a c ross multip le mo d a lities.

NETWO RKING : The a b ility to sea rc h fo r, synthe size a nd d issem inate informa tion.

NEGO TIATION: The a b ility t o travel a c ross d iverse c om munities, d isc erning a nd resp ec ting m ultip lep ersp ec tives, a nd g ra sp ing a nd fo llowing a lternat ive no rms.

Althoug h the se skills a re imp ortant in to d a ys soc iety, the y a re ra rely ta ug ht to pe op le. Skillsets d ea ling with new me d ia literac y, suc h a s using G oo gle to find wha t you a re looking foror distinguishing b etw een c om me rc ial a nd informa tive c ontent on w eb sites are o ftenlea rned throug h tria l-and -error. The lib ra ry c a n o ffer guida nc e in suc c essfully ta p p ing into thewea lth of information that c an b e a cc essed through m od ern med ia.

By helping p eo ple to lea rn a nd eventua lly ma ster the use of m od ern med ia, libraries c anoffer ac c ess to m uc h mo re c onte nt tha n c a n be sto red in physic a l me d ia . This furthe rd ec rea ses the imp ortanc e o f the lib ra ry as c ont ent p rovide r, but show s tha t lib ra ries c a noffer servic es suc h a s helping p eo p le to suc c essfully make use of o the r co nten t p rovide rs.

1.2.3 The Reggio Emilia approach to education

The third a nd last pa rt of the the oretica l b a c kground stem s from t he Reg g io Emilia a p p roa c hto ed uc ation. The philosop hy of Reg gio Emilia is c entred around the natural de velopm ent ofc hild ren, whic h c oinc id es with the lib ra ry of the future s foc us on p ersona l d eve lop me nt. This

development-centred approach manifests itself through the following principles: Child ren m ust ha ve som e c ont rol over the d irec tion of the ir lea rning. Child ren m ust b e a b le to learn throug h expe rienc es of to uc hing, moving, listen ing ,

see ing and hea ring. Child ren h a ve a relationship w ith o the r c hild ren a nd with ma teria l item s in the wo rld

that c hild ren m ust b e a llow ed to e xplore. Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.

These p rinciples ma tc h w ith th e How a rd Ga rd ners Theo ry of Multip le Intellige nc e, in tha tthey e na b le c hild ren t o lea rn a nd express them selves in va rious wa ys, de p end ing on th ep refe renc es of th e c hild ren. This a lso b ring s us b a c k to o ur targe t g roup a nd origina la ssignme nt: d esig ning the c hild ren s sec tion o f the future lib ra ry.


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1.3 BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

We en vision t he c hild ren s sec tion o f the future lib ra ries to b e a n insp iring p la c e w hichstimula tes c hild ren to lea rn, expe rienc e, crea te a nd sha re; fac to rs whic h all c ont ribute to ac hild s p ersona l de velop me nt. By using the Theo ry o f Multiple Intellig enc es a s a b a se,c hild ren c a n d o th is in the wa y tha t suits the m b est. When the lib ra ry a lso a c ts a s a guide tousing n ew me d ia , a ll c hild ren ha ve the c ha nc e to learn the skills they ne ed in orde r to fullyfunc tion in tod a ys soc iety. Furthe rmo re, the c hild ren s sec tion o f the lib ra ry of t he future isinfluenc ed by the Reg gio Emilia ap proa c h to e duc ation in that it g ives c hildren the c hoice ,what, when a nd how they wa nt to learn, expe rienc e, create and / or share.


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CHAPTER 2:FROM THEORY TO DESIGNIf the lib ra ry is to stimula te learning , crea ting a nd sha ring throug h m ea ningful experienc es,the insid e o f the lib ra ry has to c ha ng e. Sp a c e is nee d ed for thing s oth er than p hysic a l me d iac ont a iners (e.g. Boo ks or c om p a c t d isc s). To a c hieve t his, we sp lit up the lib ra ry into t hreed ifferent sp a c es, ea c h of the se sp a c es d ea ls with a sep a ra te ste p in the p roc ess ofinsp irat ion, c rea tion a nd expo sition.

Pa rt of the furniture of the se sp a c es co nsists of interac tive insta lla tions. In t he se insta lla tions,one or mo re of Jenkins new me d ia skills should b e p resent a nd the insta lla tion ne ed s tostimula te o ne o r mo re of Ga rdne r s intelligenc es. To m a ke it ea sier for de signe rs to t hink upgo od c onc ep ts, we d evelop ed a g rid b ased on the theo retica l side of this p rojec t.

2.1 LIBRARY SPACESIn our co nc ep t for the youth sec tion in the library of the future w e ha ve d ivid ed the a vailab lelib ra ry sp a c e into three sec tions. This ma kes it ea sier for a lib rary to inc orpora te the p roc ess ofinsp irat ion, c rea tion a nd expo sition. The three d ifferent sp a c es in t he library a re the insp ira tionarea , the w ork area and the flexible a rea .

Ea c h sp a c e serves a d ifferent p urpose. The insp ira tion sp a c e c ont a ins b oo ks, ma ga zines,new s p a p ers, mo vies, c a rtoo ns a nd oth er TV series, music a nd c om p ute rs with interneta c c ess a mo ng othe r stuff. All these sourc es of informa tion c an a c t a s a stimulus for one sima g inat ion. This still sound s a lot like a trad ition a l library, bu t th is is wh ere t he c ha ng es sta rt.One of the c ha ng es is tha t the insp ira tion a rea a lso c onta ins req uests from othe r peo p le. Likea no tic e b oa rd , eve ryone c an p ut a no te w ith a q uestion on the que stion b oa rd . Theseque stions c an b e a nswe red by p eop le w ho a lrea dy know the a nswe r or by peo ple whoha ve a n interest in the sub jec t a nd a re w illing t o sp end time into find ing t he a nswe r.


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Asid e from the no tice b oa rd , a large p a rt of the interac tive insta llations b riefly me ntionedb efo re a re p ositioned w ithin the insp ira tion a rea . These insta lla tions a re me a nt to insp irec hild ren in w a ys not p ossib le throug h trad itiona l lib ra ry c onte nt. One suc h insta lla tion is theKijkende Handen box. Kijkende Handen is a large b ox of a b out 9 sq ua re m ete rs in wh ic hc hildren c an e nga ge with an aud io story while b eing d ep rived from their sense o f sight.

Befo re e ntering , child ren ha ve to b lind fold the mselves a nd p ut on a set o f hea d p hone s. Thiswa y, the insta lla tion simulat es be ing b lind . But it do esn t stop b y be ing d ep rived from yoursig ht, the imme rsion is a lso inc rea sed b y the c om b ina tion of a ud io effec ts a nd the use o fp hysic a l objec ts.

Being engaged with installations like Kijkende Handen or find ing informa tion in trad itiona lme d ia c a n insp ire c hildren to c rea te som ething . This b ring s us to the sec ond of the threesp a c es, the w ork area . The w ork area c a n b e used to transform your insp ira tion intosom eth ing you c rea te yourself or with ot hers. This c a n b e a n e ssa y for sc hoo l, a p oe m, a songor just a b out a nything e lse. If you re intereste d in rob ots, it should b e p ossib le to b uild one . Ifyou w ant to form a b and with other pe op le a nd prac tic e song s, this should a lso b e p ossible.Working in the wo rk area c an b e d one alone o r with others, you c an w ork on a subjec t ofyour own c hoosing or pa rtic ipa te in a wo rkshop organised b y som eo ne e lse.

The intera c tive insta lla tions in the insp ira tion sp a c e a re a go od p la c e t o sta rt fo r workshop s.Let us ta ke Kijkende Handen a s a n exa mp le o nc e m ore. It is p ossib le t o o rg a nise va riouswo rkshop s a roun d t he insta lla tion, in wh ic h c hildren go through t he p roc ess of c rea ting the irow n a ud io-story step -by-step . Sta rting w ith a sto ry w riting wo rkshop , the c hild ren c a nc ont inue in a sensory workshop , a p rop b uild ing w orkshop a nd fina lly a n a ud io e d itingworkshop.

When w orking in a series of w orkshop s c en tred a round a n insta lla tion, it is imp ossible to d o a llthe wo rk on yo ur ow n. In the se c a ses, ch ildren w ith d ifferent roles wo rk tog ethe r to finish thewo rkshop . In c a se o f the w orkshop s c entred a round Kijkende Handen , som e ch ildren wo rk

on the prop s while som eone else is do ing the vo ic e a c ting a nd others are d oing the a udioediting.


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The result of wha t ha p p ens in the w ork a rea va ries a c c ording to the sub ject . A story ma d e fo rKijkende Handen ca n be p ut ba c k into the library and a drawing or movie c an b e upload edto t he inte rnet to a c t a s insp ira tion fo r som eo ne e lse. In this wa y, the sma ller c rea tions returnto the lib ra ry as new c ont ent. The large r-sc a le crea tions how eve r, c a nno t ea sily be exhib itedin the insp ira tion a rea . For this p urp ose, we a d d ed a third sp ac e t o t he lib ra ry, the flexib le

area.

The flexible a rea c a n b e used for various p urp oses. As suc h, the c onte nts of t he flexib le a reac ha ng e ove r time . It is entirely p ossib le to use it a s a n a rt g a llery one we ek, while c hild renp erform a p la y the w ee k afte r. There is one threa d running throug h a ll the a c tivities in theflexible a rea , the a c tivities are me ant to e xpo se the wo rk the c hildren ha ve c rea ted in thewo rk area . Sinc e the lib ra ry is still a p ub lic sp a c e, eve ryone c a n w alk in, take a look at thewo rk, me et o ther peo ple a nd d isc uss the w ork that is be ing e xpo sed at the m ome nt.

Besid es c hoo sing to show your wo rk in the flexib le a rea or p utting it b a c k in the insp ira tiona rea , c hild ren c a n a lso c hoo se to up load the ir wo rk to the internet. This c a n the n be sha red

with o the r peo p le throug h system s we c a ll hotsp ots. These hotsp ots are p lac ed within a s we lla s outsid e the lib ra ry. Hotsp ots a llow p eo p le to sea rc h through e verything t ha t s b ee nuploade d, c omme nt on c rea tions and co ntac t the p erson w ho up loa de d the c reation. Thiswa y, the ho tspo ts serve not o nly to e xpo se some one s wo rk, b ut a lso to c onnec t p eo ple w ithsimilar interest.

The d ifferent sp a c es a nd the hot sp ots helps the lib ra ry stimulate learning , crea ting a ndsha ring . The insta lla tions in the insp ira tion a rea , the w orksho p s in the w ork area a nd theexpo sure throug h the flexib le area a nd h otsp ots a ll help to d o this throug h me a ningfulexpe rienc es. How eve r, for the insp ira tion a rea to rea lly wo rk, different insta llations d ea lingwith d ifferent ta lents a nd skills ha ve to b e d esign ed .

2.2 THE MODEL

We d evised a m od el to help d esigners filter their id ea s a nd a na lyse the ir c onc ep ts forinterac tive insta lla tions. This mo d el is b a sed on t he t heory d isc ussed in a p revious c ha p te r. Itsb a se c onsists of a n 88-sq ua re g rid , co mb ining Ga rd ners eight multip le t a lents a long o ne a xiswith Jenkins new me d ia skills a long the othe r. Ea c h insta llation tha t c a n b e d esigne d for thelib ra ry ha s a d ifferen t fo ot p rint in this g rid , as d ifferent insta lla tions utilise d ifferent ta lents a ndhe lp t o ma ste r differen t skills.


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The m od el c a n b e u sed in two wa ys b y d esigne rs. The first is to a na lyse e xisting c on c ep ts orinsta lla tions a nd us it a s a filte r to find the mo st p rom ising c onc ep t. Using the mo d el as a too lfor ana lysis is p erhap s the ea siest me tho d , but p rob a b ly not the b est. The o the r wa y to use

the mo d el is b y ta king one or mo re t a lents a nd or new me d ia skills a s b a sis for ge nerat ingide as. A goo d examp le o f this sec ond usag e is the w ay w e ha ve d esigne d the SourceWell .The SourceWell is from the sta rt o n d esigne d for c hild ren t o m a ste r the skill Jenkins define d a sJudgement.

The SourceWell is a t ab leto p c omp uter on whic h you c a n put o ne o r multiple sources ofinforma tion for co mp a rison, suc h a s a new s p a pe r a rticle o r a b oo k. The SourceWell thendisplays informa tion a b out the writer and the pub lisher, b ased on w hic h you c a n d eterminethe va lue o f the sourc e s informa tion. This wa y, c hild ren lea rn t o d istinguish va lua b leinforma tion from go ssip or c om mercial c ontent.

Ana lysis of t he d ifferent insta lla tions we de sig ned show tha t the mo d el is a usa b le too l duringthe d esig n p roc ess. And a lthoug h this wa s our initial usa ge for the m od el, it c a n a lso b e usedb y lib ra ria ns to selec t a sub -sec tion from a ll the a va ilab le insta lla tions. To ma ke the selec tion

proc ess ea sier, we expa nde d the m od el to inc lude three ad ditiona l layers of informa tion.

The first o f these a d d itiona l la yers is a b out wha t w e c a ll the Amo unt o f Guide Units(short:AGU). Som e insta lla tions c a nnot b e used b y ch ildren without g uida nc e, althoug h theam ount of g uida nc e they nee d c an d iffer pe r ag e. The AGU laye r show s the a mo unt ofguida nc e, expressed in p ercenta ge s, a c hild of a c ertain a ge need s to safe ly andme a ningfully inte ra c t w ith a n insta lla tion. The sec ond a d d itiona l la yer show s in w hichba lanc e a n insta llation a dd s som ething to the impleme ntation of o ne o f the libraries c orefunc tions. The la st a d d itiona l la yer of informa tion is a b out the p roc ess of insp ira tion, c rea tiona nd exp ression. The laye r sho ws in whic h p a rt o f the p roc ess the insta lla tion fits b y d isp layingthe b alanc e b etw een t he d ifferent step s of the p roc ess in a pie-cha rt.


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The m od el brings theory and prac tic e tog ether. It is the b ridg e be twe en the Theo ry ofMultip le Inte lligenc e, Jenkins ide as on New Me d ia Literac y and the a c tua l d esign o finsta lla tions d ea ling eithe r d irec tly or ind irec tly with the se skills. Furthermo re, the m od el c a na lso b e used a s a to ol for selec ting insta llations to b e used in the three lib ra ry sp a c es; theinsp irat ion a rea , the w ork a rea a nd the flexib le a rea . The d esc rip tion of the three lib ra ry

spa ce s and the mod el help to b ridg e the ga p b etwee n our ide as and an a ctua limp lem enta tion of the future lib ra ry the w a y we envisione d it. They he lp ena b le lib ra ries tobe c om e an inspiring p lac e which stimulates c hild ren t o lea rn, exp erienc e, c rea te and sharein me a ningful wa ys.


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CHAPTER 3:COHERENCY IN THE LIBRARYAlthoug h the three lib ra ry sp a c es, the d ozens of d ifferent w orkshop too ls a nd insta lla tions a llc ontribute to the library of the future, things c an b ec om e an inc ohe rent mess at this p oint.When d on e w rong , future lib raries c a n look like institutions w ith d ifferent p urpo ses me she dtog ethe r. To ma ke sure the lib ra ry still feels like a c ohe rent who le, w e used them es toc onn ec t the th ree lib ra ry sp a c es a nd t heir c onte nts. Them es c a n d iffer in ma ny wa ys fromea c h other, but the y always streng then the c onnec tion b etw ee n the different spa c es andthe d ifferent step s in the p roc ess of insp irat ion, c rea tion a nd expo sition.

Althoug h b eing the m ost c om mo nly see n element of a theme , the different library themesnot o nly c onta in style guides. Library themes also c om e w ith p rop s which c an be plac ed inthe lib ra ry, insta lla tions wh ic h fit the the me a nd a d vise on d ifferent w orkshop s stem ming from

the insta lla tions inc luded with the the me . As d ifferent lib ra ry them es c om e w ith d ifferenta rte fac ts, ea c h lib ra ry them e ha s a d ifferent foo tp rint in the grid . Also, the the me s c an d ifferac ross a wide va riety of subjec ts. A lib rary theme c an be c entred a round a plac e suc h a s anoa sis, the o c ea n or a jungle, it c a n b e c entred a round a nc ient c iviliza tions suc h a s theRom a ns, Greeks or Egyp tians or a round a sc ientific sub jec t suc h a s a strono my, p hysics orb iolog y. The p ossibilities a re end less. To show ho w this works in p ra c tice, w e d esigne d a singletheme : the Talent Lab .

3.1 THE TALENT LAB, A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

A lib ra ry them ed with the Ta lent La b p oses itself as a n e xp erime nta l area, a fac ility tha t

p rovide s c ont rolled c ond itions in whic h resea rc h, exp erime nts, a nd m ea sureme nt ma y bep erforme d a nd whe re informa tion, p rodu c ts a nd servic es a re e xc ha ng ed . The Ta lent La bc ont a ins grap hic e leme nts in six different c olours suc h a s the one s p ic tured b elow :


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Asid e from th e g ra p hic e lem ents, the Ta lent Lab c ont a ins p rop s for use in the w ork sp a c e,suc h a s c ordo n ta p e, m a g nifying g la sses, nam e ta gs, la b jac kets, sa fety g lasses, clip b oa rd s,la b a c c ess tickets a nd a ha nd sc a nner. These p rop s a re no t just for de c oration, mo st of th emare a c tually useful in the wo rk area and the a c c ess tic kets a nd hand sc anne r providec hildren w ith a c c ess to the w ork area .

Finally, the Ta lent La b ships with th ree insta lla tions, the mix ma c hine, the m icrosc op e a nd the

info p od . The three insta lla tions a re a ll linked to the Ta lent Lab throug h the use of p rop s orothe r elem ents that ma tc h w ith the Ta lent La b . The mix mac hine remixes sto ries. Child ren c a nga ther tag s with wo rds on them from within the wo rk area and put these in te st tub es. Whenthe te st tube s are p la c ed in the m ix ma c hine, the ma c hine w ill com pile a new story out ofothe r stories tha t m a tc h the ta gs. The sec ond insta lla tion, the m ic rosc op e, is a d evic ethrough whic h c hild ren c a n review rec ordings of p a st w orkshop s. By selec ting a p etri d ishand plac ing it under the microsc op e, the c orrespo nding reco rding is loa d ed and d isp laye d.It is then p ossib le t o wa tc h the rec ording throug h the mic rosc op e. The la st insta llationinc luded with the Ta lent La b is the info p od . It is simila r to th e mic rosc op e insta llat ion in tha t itgives informa tion a b out w orkshop . The info p od is a h elmet -like d evic e, whic h a c hild c a np ut ove r his or her head , the c hild will the n rec eive sp oken informat ion a bo ut the w orkshoptha t is c urrently in p rog ress. More informa tion on t he m ix mac hine, mic rosc op e a nd info p odca n be found in the a pp endixes.

As sho wn w ith the Talent Lab , throug h sma ll enhanc eme nts to the overall experienc e of thethree lib ra ry sp a c es, the lib ra ry them es c rea te a fee ling o f c ohe renc y in the w hole lib ra rywhile a lso c rea ting a m ore joyful exp erienc e.


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CHAPTER 4:THE CATALOGUETo b ring a ll the se insta lla tions a nd them es to the lib ra ry, we d evised a c a ta log ue. Thec ata log ue is a we b ap plic ation not unlike the w ell known w eb stores Ama zon a nd Bol.c om .Lib ra ria ns c a n use the c a ta logue to step -by-step b row se throug h its c onte nts a nd selec t alib ra ry the me a nd one or mo re insta lla tions. To ma ke it p ossib le for lib ra ria ns to ma ke a ned uc ate d c hoice, we b uilt our c ata log ue a pp lic ation around the m od el disc ussed ea rlier.

When using the c a ta log ue, lib ra ria ns a re first op ted to selec t a the me for their lib ra ry afte rwhic h the y c a n selec t o ne or multip le insta lla tions. This is d one a fter ea c h o the r, so a s not tonee d lessly ma ke the p roc ess mo re c om p lic a ted . As a lib ra ria n na viga tes through th ea p p lic a tion, the c om p lexity sligh tly inc rea ses with ea c h step , so a s not t o c rea te to o stee p alearning curve.


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CHAPTER 5:FURTHER DEVELOPMENTIn the p ast c hap ter, you ha ve b een introd uce d to the various c omp onents we created tosupport our vision of the library of the future. From the foundation consisting of the librariesc ore functions a nd ed uc at iona l theo ries to t he d ifferent spa c es in the lib rary, the m od el andits va rious uses. This c ha p ter ta lks a b out wa ys in which the Verenig ing va n Op enb a reBibliotheken c an b uild up on the found ation we ha ve laid out.

One o f the wa ys in which the Vereniging va n Op enb a re Bibliotheken c a n build up on thisfra mew ork is by having p eo ple d esign new installat ions and prototyp ing our co nc ep ts forinsta lla tions. Altho ug h va riou s insta lla tions ha ve b ee n d isc ussed in the p rev ious c ha p te rs, onlyone of the se, the Kijkende Hand en, has be en p roto type d a nd tested . There ha s be enthoug ht a bo ut the tec hnic a l req uireme nts to c rea te prototyp es for these installations, as ca n

b e see n in the a p p end ixes. Besid es c onc ep tua lizing a nd p rot otyp ing new insta llations, ab usiness mo d el ha s to b e tho ug ht o ut t o ma ke this wo rk for the lib ra ries. Sinc e it should b ep ossible for bo th sma ll a nd large lib ra ries to exch a ng e the ir them e a nd insta lla tionsperiodically, letting libraries purchase their installations is out of the picture.

The b usiness mo d el for the d ifferent the me s a nd insta llations ha s to b e e mb ed d ed in thec ata log ue ap plic at ion, whic h need to b e further d evelop ed itself. The c a talog uea p p lic a tion is no t finished yet . Ea rly usa b ility testing w ith w irefra me s ha s sho wn severa l po intsof imp rovem ent a nd b eside s that, the w irefram es have to b e d evelop ed into a fullyde signe d a nd func tiona l we bsite.

Besid es the se p ointers, evidenc e th a t this a p p roa c h to the lib ra ry of the future wo rks a lrea d yexists. The p ub lic library of Heerhugo wa a rd is a g oo d exam p le, in wh ic h c ertain eleme ntssuc h a s the c om bination of trad itiona l lib rary spa c e w ith a wo rkshop c a n b e found . What isleft is to g o a few step s furthe r a nd a c tua lly b uild the future lib ra ry.


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APPENDIXES


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APPENDIX A: REFERENCES

Bruynzeels, R. & Tiggelen , N. va n (2001)Bibliotheken 2040: De toekomst in uitvoeringBiblion Uitgeverij

Jenkins, H. (2006)Confronting the challenges in participatory culture: Media education for the 21 st century

WikipediaThe Reggio Emilia approach Retrieved from http:/ / en.wikip ed ia.org/ wiki/ Reg gio_Emilia_ap proa c h

WikipediaThe Theory of Multiple Intelligences Retrieved from http :// en.wikip ed ia .org / wiki/ Theo ry_of_multiple_intellige nc es
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

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