What's new in the 2020 online version
Comparison 2012 publication to online version
In August 2020 an online version of People Places was launched. This is an update of People Places: a guide for public library buildings in NSW, 2012 (third edition). Changes from the 2012 publication included consolidating information, reducing repetition, and updating language and descriptions in line with current use and library practice. The changes below are as at 18 August 2020.
The table below outlines sections from 2012 publication with the corresponding section in the online version.
| 2012 edition | Level of changes | Online version |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1: Needs | minor | Planning |
| Planning tools | ||
| Section 2: Trends | major | Influence |
| Service areas | ||
| Features and considerations | ||
| Section 3: Project establishment | minor | Planning |
| Section 4: Planning | minor | Planning |
| Planning tools | ||
| Features and considerations | ||
| Section 5: Key design issues | minor | Features and considerations |
| Planning | ||
| Service areas | ||
| Section 6: Post occupancy | minor | Planning - Post construction and post occupancy |
| Planning tools - Evaluating your public library building |
The main change was to the Trends section. The 2012 publication had 16 trends, many of these are now considered business as usual for libraries. These were added to the Service areas and Features and considerations sections. Some trends were removed altogether, other trends were edited and combined to create the five Influences.
Changes to trends
| 2012 publication | Online version |
|---|---|
| Trend 1: Libraries as places of social capital | |
| Influence: Library as community place | |
| Influence: Regeneration and prosperity | |
| Trend 2: Community living room | Influence: Library as community place |
| Trend 3: Breakdown of hierarchy | Removed |
| Trend 4: Urban and sociocultural regeneration | Influence: Regeneration and prosperity |
| Trend 5: Whole of life value and design excellence | Removed |
| Trend 6: Libraries and ESD | Removed (information covered by Features and considerations: Sustainability) |
| Trend 7: Programs and partnerships |
Influence: Programs and partnerships |
| Trend 8: Ageing of NSW community |
Service areas: Older People |
| Trend 9: Youth culture | Service areas: Youth |
| Trend 10: New information technologies | Removed |
| Trend 11: Collaborative learning environments | Removed |
| Trend 12: Our Multicultural society | Service area: Multicultural |
| Trend 13: Our Indigenous community | Service area: Indigenous |
| Trend 14: Competition and marketing | Influence: Competition and marketing |
| Trend 15: Cultural development | Removed |
| Trend 16: Demographics | Influence: Library as community place |
Tools
The tools were the first step in the update of People Places with the Library building calculator published on the website in February 2019 and the other tools in the following months. The most significant changes were made to the Library building calculator.
Library building calculator
Changes to Library building calculator included the addition of the renovation calculator which works in a similar manner to the service calculator while allowing you to begin with a library building area and allocate spaces until the total area is used.
An anomaly in the service calculator was fixed. The formula in the previous version had a stepped aspect to it which caused it to recommend that a building for a population of 20,000 people would be bigger than a building for a population of 20,001. This happened at a few stages of population growth. This has been smoothed into a curve, with the formula changing accordingly, so that the recommended floor area gradually increases as the population increases.
The percentage aspect of the service calculator has been removed. The previous version provided floor areas for each space within the library building as a percentage of the total floor area rather than in square metres. This caused confusion and the changes make it easier to plan and allocate library spaces.
Library building briefs
The Library building briefs have been updated to use more contemporary terminology and for consistency across the small and large building briefs.
Library evaluation
The post occupancy evaluation tool has been broadened to become an evaluation tool that can be used at any stage in the building lifecycle. It has also been upgraded to automatically total scores in each section.