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staceythinx: Bookyard is an outdoor library built by artist Massimo Bartolini for the Belgian TRACK art festival. About the project: For TRACK, Bartolini [built] an open-air library in the vineyard at St Peter’s Abbey, an oasis of greenery and tranquillity in the centre of Ghent. This vineyard originated in the Middle Ages and Ghent’s Guild of Wine-Measurers breathed new life into it in the 1970s. Visitors can borrow, buy or exchange secondhand books here in the symbolic shadow of the Book Tower. Bartolini installs the bookcases in line with the vines, leaning against and parallel to the slope of the garden. According to Bartolini, books too can broaden the mind, just like good wine. staceythinx: Bookyard is an outdoor library built by artist Massimo Bartolini for the Belgian TRACK art festival. About the project: For TRACK, Bartolini [built] an open-air library in the vineyard at St Peter’s Abbey, an oasis of greenery and tranquillity in the centre of Ghent. This vineyard originated in the Middle Ages and Ghent’s Guild of Wine-Measurers breathed new life into it in the 1970s. Visitors can borrow, buy or exchange secondhand books here in the symbolic shadow of the Book Tower. Bartolini installs the bookcases in line with the vines, leaning against and parallel to the slope of the garden. According to Bartolini, books too can broaden the mind, just like good wine. staceythinx: Bookyard is an outdoor library built by artist Massimo Bartolini for the Belgian TRACK art festival. About the project: For TRACK, Bartolini [built] an open-air library in the vineyard at St Peter’s Abbey, an oasis of greenery and tranquillity in the centre of Ghent. This vineyard originated in the Middle Ages and Ghent’s Guild of Wine-Measurers breathed new life into it in the 1970s. Visitors can borrow, buy or exchange secondhand books here in the symbolic shadow of the Book Tower. Bartolini installs the bookcases in line with the vines, leaning against and parallel to the slope of the garden. According to Bartolini, books too can broaden the mind, just like good wine. staceythinx: Bookyard is an outdoor library built by artist Massimo Bartolini for the Belgian TRACK art festival. About the project: For TRACK, Bartolini [built] an open-air library in the vineyard at St Peter’s Abbey, an oasis of greenery and tranquillity in the centre of Ghent. This vineyard originated in the Middle Ages and Ghent’s Guild of Wine-Measurers breathed new life into it in the 1970s. Visitors can borrow, buy or exchange secondhand books here in the symbolic shadow of the Book Tower. Bartolini installs the bookcases in line with the vines, leaning against and parallel to the slope of the garden. According to Bartolini, books too can broaden the mind, just like good wine.

staceythinx:

Bookyard is an outdoor library built by artist Massimo Bartolini for the Belgian TRACK art festival.

About the project:

For TRACK, Bartolini [built] an open-air library in the vineyard at St Peter’s Abbey, an oasis of greenery and tranquillity in the centre of Ghent. This vineyard originated in the Middle Ages and Ghent’s Guild of Wine-Measurers breathed new life into it in the 1970s. Visitors can borrow, buy or exchange secondhand books here in the symbolic shadow of the Book Tower. Bartolini installs the bookcases in line with the vines, leaning against and parallel to the slope of the garden. According to Bartolini, books too can broaden the mind, just like good wine.

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Abandoned Wal-Mart converted into state-of-the-art library in Texas After Wal-Mart abandoned one of its retail stores in McAllen, Texas, the city decided to reuse the structure as a new main library.  The primary challenge of reusing the building was to create a highly functional, flexible library of 124,500 square feet on a single level. This area is equivalent to nearly 2 1/2 football fields, making the new library the largest single-story library in the U.S. To meet this challenge, the designers had the old store interior and new mechanical systems painted white to form a neutral shell for new patron and service areas, which are designated with color. Primary program areas—including community meeting rooms, the children’s library, adult services, and the staff area—are located in quadrants of the building. This clear organization allows easy wayfinding and patron access from a central service spine, delineated by a patterned wood ceiling that runs the length of the building. A secondary spine in orange bisects the first to further distinguish the public community meeting rooms from the private staff area and the children’s from the adult services areas. (via McAllen Main Library | MS&R Architecture) Thanks to @citylightsbooks for the tip!

Abandoned Wal-Mart converted into state-of-the-art library in Texas

After Wal-Mart abandoned one of its retail stores in McAllen, Texas, the city decided to reuse the structure as a new main library. 

The primary challenge of reusing the building was to create a highly functional, flexible library of 124,500 square feet on a single level. This area is equivalent to nearly 2 1/2 football fields, making the new library the largest single-story library in the U.S. To meet this challenge, the designers had the old store interior and new mechanical systems painted white to form a neutral shell for new patron and service areas, which are designated with color. Primary program areas—including community meeting rooms, the children’s library, adult services, and the staff area—are located in quadrants of the building. This clear organization allows easy wayfinding and patron access from a central service spine, delineated by a patterned wood ceiling that runs the length of the building. A secondary spine in orange bisects the first to further distinguish the public community meeting rooms from the private staff area and the children’s from the adult services areas.

(via McAllen Main Library | MS&R Architecture)

Thanks to @citylightsbooks for the tip!

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Yes–our residents want eBooks. But does that mean that we trade away our core values and ethics to provide anything, under any terms? Does it mean that we spend our residents’ limited tax dollars on sub-par products with sub-par usage terms and no ownership or longevity guarantees? Or is the fact that people want eBooks from their libraries and we can’t get them going to turn out to be enough reason to stop the madness and engage in a massive national boycott of the societal conflagration that we are faced with for the future of digital information?

So why keep up the ruse that eBooks are in libraries and all is awesome? Why continue the whitewashing? I’m personally done with the whitewashing. I’ll continue to support positive steps toward eBook independence like Open Library, Gluejar, the Hathi Trust, DPLA, and projects like those undertaken at the Douglas County Public Library and Califa. However, I’m finished promoting an inferior eBook product to our patrons. I’m finished throwing good money after bad money. And I’m finished trying to pointlessly advocate for change when change has to come from places waaaaaaay above my influence level or pay grade.

Sarah Houghton, the Librarian in Black | I’m Breaking up with eBooks (and you can too)

(Source: thepinakes)

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