100 Ideas to Inspire Smart Spaces and Creative Places

The ideas in this book are all about helping your library building become a more exciting, interesting, experiential space where people are engaged and want to spend time. More time spent in the library increases the library's value and relevance to its users - and the more intriguing the space is, the more it helps draw in new patrons. Taking inspiration and examples from companies and non-profits outside the library world, this book's engaging ideas includeusing "biophilic design" to bring nature into your library through gardens, plants, and greenery;transforming static spaces into "Instagram bait";putting art installations in bathrooms;turning underutilized spaces like hallways and mezzanines into welcoming "chill" zones;creating pop-ups and other flexible spaces that change regularly;developing co-working spaces in libraries;preserving and promoting silent spaces; andcreating "parklets" from parking spaces.Complete with lists of additional resources for discovering even more ideas, this book will help all kinds of libraries create innovative spaces that will delight their communities.

Elisabeth Doucett is the director of Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine. In addition to a master's degree from the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, she has an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She is author of the books Creating Your Library Brand and What They Don't Teach You at Library School. She speaks and teaches nationally, generally focusing on the topics of library marketing, branding, and trend tracking.