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‘Millennials are the ones keeping libraries alive’ for

Quartz. ‘Having somewhere to go that is both free and

safe is valuable under those circumstances.’

There could be another driver behind the

statistics, too. Millennials are not just boosting the

sharing economy; they’re at the forefront of the big

wellness boom as well – and reading books is appar-

ently good for us. A recent study by The Reading

Agency and think-tank Demos claims reading can

reduce feelings of loneliness for people aged 18 to

64. Does this mean reading in a space specifically
    designed for socializing further amplifies the benefits?
    Some people believe so. ‘Libraries sit at the heart of
    any solution to loneliness through reading – we must
    know this by now,’ argues Arifa Akbar in an opinion
    piece for The Guardian, condemning the closure of
    libraries in the UK. ‘Where will elderly people, young
    people, single mothers, unemployed or the partially
    sighted people access books that they can’t afford
    to buy if their local library has closed down or has
    depleted its resources?’
    Modern libraries have long served the less fortu-
    nate by providing access to computers and the internet
    alongside shelves stacked with volumes. But their appeal
    today is also down to their willingness to adapt to the

present. Rather than allowing themselves to wither into

history, relics of an age of tangible media, they’re adopt-

ing a role that goes beyond books. Back in 2013, the

Arts Council England published a paper called ‘Envi-

sioning the library of the future’. While confirming the

reputation of libraries as ‘trusted places, open to all’, the

research outlined potential challenges for the coming

years, including ‘advances in technology, which affect the

ways in which people want to connect to information

and culture; reduced public expenditure; the increasing

involvement of citizens in the design and delivery of

public services; and the needs of an ageing population’.

The Arts Council went on to list four priorities for future

libraries, which stakeholders corroborated and tested:

place the library as the hub of the community, make the

most of digital technology and creative media, ensure

that libraries are resilient and sustainable, and deliver

the right skills for those who work in libraries.

While the Arts Council’s memo can’t have

reached the global population of designers, many were

on the same page regardless. Six years on, the latest

breed of libraries is addressing those exact priorities.

Take Oodi Central Library by ALA Architects in Hel-

sinki, for example. Bibliotheken are cherished in Finland,

where citizens have a statutory right to accessible

CENTRAL LIBRARY, CALGARY

Snøhetta and Dialog’s concept for the new Central Library in Calgary,
Canada, takes cues from today’s offices and co-working environments.
The building caters for various activities, shifting from livelier public
spaces on the lower levels to quiet study areas above.
snohetta.com
dialogdesign.ca

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134 LIBRARIES