This book contains the proceedings of the 13th seminar of IFLA's Library Buildings and Equipment Section, which was co-organized with IFLA's Public Libraries Section this time. The event took place as one of the satellite meetings of the World Library and Information Congress 2003 in Berlin, and was held in Paris at the end of July 2003.

Seminars like this have been held every two years (The Hague 1997, Shanghai 1999, Boston 2001) to allow architects and librarians to share experiences in the field of library planning and the building process. The goals of this seminar were to explore the issues affecting the future development of library space, and to help prepare to envision innovative library spaces that are responsive to user needs and community interests.

This compilation of 12 papers given at the Paris seminar includes a huge amount of information regarding the state of the art in library building.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the information profession. The series IFLA Publications deals with many of the means through which libraries, information centres, and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems.

Is an intelligent building automatically a functional library? Part of a continuing work on the physical framework of the library, these proceedings reveal how libraries around the world are meeting the design challenges posed by the new priorities and dynamics of the information environment.

The experiences and expertise of library managers as well as architects and engineers are featured within papers covering specialized institutions and public libraries alike, including the Tilburg Digital Library; the Rotterdam Library; the Denver Public Library; the New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library; the Venezuelan National Library; and more. (IFLA Publication. Vol. 88)