Once a quiet somber place, with tall narrow aisles and cold hard floors, the public library of yesterday bears little resemblance to the library of today. Almost all libraries have a play area for children, a computer center to provide internet access, and a section for music and videos. Community meeting rooms and large open areas with comfortable furniture are now beginning to combine with those offerings to make the modern library a hub of the community. Libraries who embrace these changes often see a broadening of their role in their communities along with increased user ship and public support.
Unfortunately, while the role of the library in the community is growing, the building quite often is not, creating a real challenge for administrators; how to make room for all of the amenities the community needs and is coming to expect. To meet this challenge, it is necessary to utilize all of the space available in the building. This can include compact storage solutions or mobile storage units to condense collections into smaller spaces, off site storage for less used collections, and reconfiguring library layouts to provide more open space and meet changing needs.
Consider, for example, high-density mobile storage can increase storage capacity by up to 100%. This frees up a lot of floor space and is dramatically less expensive than increasing the size of a building. These systems can be designed with power assist or manual options depending on the activity of the collection, the number of expected users and other needs of the facility. While compact book stacks are not the focus of most repurposing projects they quite often are the only means of gaining the required space needed to achieve the other objectives.
When considering a repurposing project, the first consideration is the needs and wants of the community. Projects often start with public meetings and online surveys that identify and assess public interest. When reviewing acquired data, before determining that some of the ideas are not feasible due to space issues, consider consulting with a compact storage product expert to investigate options. Once the priorities are identified, Hi-Cube consultants, specializing in SpaceSaver options can work with the designers to maximize the space utilization.
Hi-Cube Storage Products understands the challenges faced by library planners and staff. We offer a wide range products and compact storage solutions engineered for durability and function while keeping pace with design and style trends. More importantly, we have trained space and furniture experts available to assess your library to help you determine possible options for your repurposing projects. Our expanding offerings and services can assist the smallest neighborhood libraries, as well as the largest metropolitan facilities to meet these new challenges. Hi-Cube representatives will gladly share their expertise to help you utilize your space to the fullest while meeting budget concerns. We have been involved in library projects for more than twenty years and continue to offer many compact storage solutions to meet the ever changing needs of the modern library.
For Library Storage Solutions contact vvesser@hicube.com
For Library Furniture contact tbushnell@hicube.com