Library as (outdoor) place

Alice asked in an Earth Day celebration on the "It's all good" blog if anyone has photos or ideas for an outdoor library.

The opening keynote address at ACRL featured architect William J. Mitchell of MIT. He touched on topics related to outdoor libraries. One of his slides showed a student working in a tiki hut, a structure in a botanical garden that was close enough to a university that the student had wireless internet access. He called this the future classroom, but, perhaps a more apt metaphor (since the student was working alone at the moment the photo was taken) would be the future library.

Elsewhere in the talk, Mitchell suggested that we consider the implications of the library as sidewalk cafe. Here's the picture that creates in my mind:

• tables and chairs in an attractive area with pedestrian paths and benches
• a cafe serving coffee, soda, sandwiches,and snacks
• wireless access to the internet and the library's databases
• an information kiosk staffed with a reference librarian, featuring some key print reference books
• a "newstand" staffed by circulation with a small selection of popular magazines and paperbacks that can be checked out, as well as the student newspaper and other free campus publications

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