Library automation's effect on library interior design: A study of how technologies for public service have affected the interior design of California public libraries

This bibliographic study and library survey addresses ways in which technologies for public service have affected the assignable interior public service areas of public libraries in California. The focus is on function and aesthetics of the design, specifically in the areas of space utilization, furnishings, and lighting. Eleven California public libraries tell how they renovated interiors or built new facilities to accomodate library automation. The survey addresses design concerns such as access and flow; workstation size and ergonomics; veiling reflections and glaring on computer screens; and electrical wiring problems. New design elements such as "electronic islands" for the OPAC, and study rooms for public use computers are becoming as much a part of the new public libraries as the card catalog used to be. New interiors are becoming more focused on the library user. Librarians are becoming more knowledgeable and more actively involved in the planning stages of new facility building.