Architecture and Access: Navigating A New Space
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1845Keywords:
Oregon, Oregon libraries, academic library, libraries, librarians, northwest, information science, information literacy, social media, writing, library trends, books, donors, library funding, Oregon library association, quarterly, Oregon library association quarterly, American library association, ala, ola, reading, library success, success, evolving roles, new discipline, changes in libraries, career, careers, library careers, library career, new department, University of Oregon, student workers, library kits, spring, 2016, access services, professional journal, scholarly, academic, circulation, public, engine, Linden How, Sara Bystrom, Pacific Northwest College of Art, PNCA, new library, library spaces, service desk, light filled rooms, emporiaAbstract
Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is a small, private art and design college founded in 1909. PNCA is located in downtown Portland and hosts approximately 600 students in ten undergraduate programs and five graduate programs. In January 2015, the campus was moved from our old building — a converted warehouse — to the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design, a former federal building located on Portland’s North Park Blocks in the heart of the city.
This move almost doubled the square footage of the library, affording us more space for our collection, three new study rooms, a reference desk, a built-in IT help desk, and more seating and workspace for our patrons. Like any new space, however, the Albert Solheim Library required many adjustments, both in our approach to access services and in the usage and layout of the space itself.