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Ad Terrace Review — - Wednesday. September ll, 1991

Consultant examines local
library to advise board

by Tod Strachan

Bryan Bacon of Bacon Consult-
ing was in Terrace over the week-
end of Sept. 7 and met with Ter-
race Public Library trustees Sept.
9. The purpose of that mecting was
to discuss a report Bacon filed
with Soutar and Associates Aschi-
tects regarding the coming library
expansion referendum.

After reviewing the report, the
library board will present a copy to
Terrace city council for their con-
sideration. After council considers
the information contained in
Bacon’s report, it is expected that
its contents will become public
knowledge and form the basis of
design considerations and the
referendum question regarding the
local financing aspects of the ex-
pansion. Bacon will also be work-
ing with project architects during
the design phase to make certain
the ultimate design will be work-
able.

In an interview with the Terrace
Review, Bacon offered some
insight into the future of libraries
in general, and in particular, the
future of our own public library
over the next two decades. Bacon,
a resident of West Vancouver, was
the chief librarian at the Burnaby
Public Library ‘for 19 years. Fol-
lowing his retirement, he formed a
private consulting firm and now
works as a sessional lecturer at
UBC’s School of Library, Archival
and Information Studies.

What does the future hold for
libraries in our changing world?
Will the library of tomorrow be a
technological wonder not much
larger than a phone booth? No
books... Just a talking boxful of
electronic pieces and parts that
contains all man’s wisdom? It
won't happen, says Bacon. At least
not in our lifetime, and probably
not in the lifetime of our children.
-If you’re a computer whiz, you
might question Bacon’s unambigu-
ous stand. Skeena Junior Secon-
dary Schoo! library, for example,

clopedias on a disk similar to what
you might listen to music on at
home, and allows to you use
Boolean logic to search for infor-
mation.
A remarkable and invaluable
system, says Bacon. But not practi-
cal if you start thinking of the
entire reference section on perhaps
50 or 100 compact disks. The
advantages began to dwindle, the
cost begins to skyrocket... And
besides, who’s going to sit down
and type several thousand books to
create the system?

But, the enthusiast might argue,
we're not talking CD ROM. We're
talking about a monstrous main-

frame somewhere in the world .

with phone lines to every library
on Earth. Perhaps... some day, says
Bacon. And it’s a possibility that
needs to be considered in the
design of today’s libraries. Nobody
can predict the future, so there
must be flexibility in the design of
new libraries.

What might come first, though,
notes Bacon, are computer connec-
tions to the mainframes of major
newspapers. That, he says, would
be an invaluable resource. You
will still want your newspaper,
though. And when the day of the
monster mainframe arrives, says
Bacon, it still won't challenge the
need for books.

"T don’t think it’s entirely practi-
cal," says Bacon. "You will never
replace books. The weight, the
smell, the joy of skipping through
the pages... Scanning information.
It offers a sort of aesthetic pleas-
ure. Something you can’t get from
a pile of CD ROM disks."

Perhaps, though, you buy
Bacon’s computer based informa-
tion centre theory, but are still a
non-believer. Books will disappear,
you might say. And it could hap-
pen very soon. The public can get
all the knowledge, information and
entertainment they want simply by
watching television. Particularly
public broadcasting channels.

Sounds reasonable, but according
to Bacon, that isn’t the present day

ibrary expert says books have

where do they go? The public
' library, says Bacon.

More than that, Bacon explains,
television is even good for book
Stores; in larger centres these types
of businesses like to locate Close to
public libraries. After finding the
reference material you want in the
library, you just might like to
purchase copies of your own.

One library, in Windsor, Ont.,
even has a book store selling gov-

emment publications right on the
premises. And many art museums
have book stores with related
publications. This is an interesting
concept. According to Bacon: “I

think it’s worth considering. The

library board would have to ask
themselves what business they’re
in or may not want to be in."
Having established, then, that
books aren’t about to disappear
any time soon and that, in fact, the
demand for books will even
increase over time, what should the
library of tomorrow look like?
Obviously, they will be required
to stock a greater number of vol-
umes, so they will have to be
larger. And a greater number of
volumes will provide a stimulus in
itself. Says Bacon: "A library is a
focal point of an informed com-
munity. And the more material in
a library the greater the stimula-
tion... The greater the demand."
But what about the interior

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design of the library of tomorrow?
As you enter, the first thing you
should see is an enquiry desk. This
should be centrally located in
telation to the fiction, reference
and children’s sections of the
library, should be separate from
the check-out counter, and should
be controlled by a professional
librarian.

"The enquiry desk should be a
highlight," says Bacon. "It’s where
the action is, a place to get that
personal assistance that means so
much."

The building should be air-condi-
tioned for user comfort, says
Bacon, and the various sections of
the library should be roomy with
appropriate amenities. For
example, easy chairs to lounge
with an intriguing novel. Or
carrels, individual study desks
walled off for privacy, in the refer-
ence section. Each carrel would
have individual video or audio tape
capabilities or possibly even a
computer terminal for making
notes or writing letters.

The children's section should be
safe, secure and a place children
like to be. "Designed to suit

children in size and scale," says
Bacon. Ideally, behind a glass wall
in full view of the enquiry desk.
"You need visual oversight and
acoustic control, Bacon says. “A
glass wall makes it an open and

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a future

public place... You can see them
but not hear them. You don’t have
to tell them {o ’shut up’. That’s the
last thing you want to do. Let them
make noise."

Meeting rooms can.be included,
says Bacon. Whether they are or
not, though, depends on the role of
the library as seen by the library
board. "If it’s. seen as a mult-

purpose facility, then provide the
appropriate space," he explains,
but, "Another board might say
meetings are not central to our
purpose, so there will be none,
expect minimal space for board
meetings."

Also, exterior landscaping and
architecture will be important.
Bacon says the library of tomor-
row will have to be attractive,
warm, friendly... Brightly lit and
accessible to all. Walls of glass
will offer passers-by an inviting
view of the warmth and activity
inside. "Lighted, warm, people
relaxing... They will want to go
in," Bacon explains.

Now, having established that the
demand for books is on the rise.
And having determined what the
inside of a library should look like.
How does our own public library
stack up?

For Bacon’s analysis, see Part II
in next week’s Terrace Review.

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