Architectural realisation of a building and its opening to the public with a range of services are central components of the building and design process of libraries. Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is the final step in this process. It provides a opportunity to assess whether the construction and design of the building has indeed met the library's and users' requirements and how effectively the building functions.

In recent years the library community has seen a renewed interest in library architecture and design. This is due to the change of focus from content and collection development to how libraries engage with their users in a digital age. This means that librarians, architects, politicians and patrons must develop new visions, concepts and ideas for the design and building of libraries. This book brings together a number of articles based on presentations from the IFLA World Congress 2009: historical view of the development of children's libraries over the last century, a look at how children use new media, libraries of the future, innovative design projects for children's libraries from around the world. current theme historical view and new projects

The information society and the information age are changing library services as well as library premises. This raises questions about what needs to be considered when planning and designing new library buildings in order to achieve attractive, efficient and future-oriented new library spaces. This new publication provides information and guidelines for the building planning process, whether you are planning a new public or academic library building. It reflects on fundamental issues, on new development trends and on the planning process. The library building process is seen from both the library manager's perspective as well as that of the architect and designer. Issues covered include what to consider when investigating the need for space, library design from a marketing viewpoint, green management and sustainability relating to library buildings and a layman's guide to reading plans. This publication and the IFLA guidelines provided are not seen as a traditional set of recommendations to be rigidly adhered to since this would be unrealistic in a fast-changing and global context. Rather, library managers and architects should read them in order to inform their thinking on key issues and establish a planning programme. They must then relate them to their own countries and circumstances by making the relevant local adjustments.

This book focuses on difficulties and opportunities in revitalization of old, derelict or abandoned buildings into a library and investigates the transformation of buildings which originally had a different purpose. The publication shows worldwide best practice examples from different types of libraries in historic environments, both urban and rural, while maintaining a focus on sustainability concerning the architecture and interior design.

Contributions and case studies from Germany and other European countries, as well as from Asia, Australia and the US, demonstrate different aspects of reducing the "ecological footprint" in libraries. As well as looking at everyday procedures, the social role and responsibility of libraries as leaders in environmental sustainability are considered. Contributions are written in German or in English and all have German and English abstracts.