Blank Canvas - Library Brush Up
Jefferson Market Library
Children's Room.
* early morning preschoolers and caregivers
* after school children
* young weekend visitors
 |
- Promotes human contact and social activities.
- Is safe, welcoming, and accommodating for all users.
- Has design and architectural features that are visually interesting.
- Promotes community involvement.
- Reflects the local culture or history.
- Relates well to bordering uses.
- Is well maintained.
- Has a unique or special character.
That was then, this is now.........
If Jefferson Market has many of these aspects,
why do we encounter? THIS....
why do we encounter? THIS....
Why is this space not used more? How can we make what is NOW
have more WOW?
This branch library serves...
This space serves all these people in the area. We are focusing on the first three groups.
Preschoolers and their caregivers
Preschoolers and their caregivers
- Mom’s after dropping their children at school
- School children doing homework after school
- Retirees
- Business people of the community
- LGBT community
- College students too
The user that we are focusing on in this Library Brush Up is the young and their caregiver.
Lily is a preschooler living two blocks
away from Jefferson Market Library on West 12th Street. Her big brother, Jack, attends PS 41 nearby
where Lily will go when she is old enough to attend. Both parents work, one in
the design field and the other in sales.
They care that their children get all the enrichment out of New York
that they can while they are at work. Shelley, a caregiver, takes care of the
children during the day. After dropping the brother off at school, since it is
getting too cold for the playground, Shelley will take Lily to the library’s
story hour before Lily’s nap. Lily enjoys
the company of the children and Shelley enjoys chatting with other mothers and
caregivers before naptime. Story hour is
a good time to set up play dates for later in the afternoon. They both would love to have a juice and
muffin after story hour and look forward to the installation of a Bird Bath
Coffee Shop in the lobby. After 3 pm,
Lily’s big brother will come to the library for homework help and the afternoon
book club while Shelley and Lily go grocery shopping nearby. Jack is
excited to read on the information kiosk in the lobby about the installation of
a new music lab in the Library soon. Lily is a young member of Greenwich
Village and her small world exists within a 3 block radius within it and the
Jefferson Market Library is in the center of all of it, offering so many things
to its residents.
The demographic is diverse in economic access, race, and gender. The hours of usage varies with the age demographic. In the morning, parents and caregivers inundate the space with strollers and preschoolers. Story time and quiet one-on-one reading is what this group uses the space for. Later in the day many of the students from the nearby schools come to get homework help or use the space to be with friends before their parents come home from work. One the weekend, especially when the weather turns cold, whole families come to escape the apartment. Looking for books, interesting videos or book club discussions are a popular distraction as well as special programs that the library might offer.
Lily is a preschooler living two blocks
away from Jefferson Market Library on West 12th Street. Her big brother, Jack, attends PS 41 nearby
where Lily will go when she is old enough to attend. Both parents work, one in
the design field and the other in sales.
They care that their children get all the enrichment out of New York
that they can while they are at work. Shelley, a caregiver, takes care of the
children during the day. After dropping the brother off at school, since it is
getting too cold for the playground, Shelley will take Lily to the library’s
story hour before Lily’s nap. Lily enjoys
the company of the children and Shelley enjoys chatting with other mothers and
caregivers before naptime. Story hour is
a good time to set up play dates for later in the afternoon. They both would love to have a juice and
muffin after story hour and look forward to the installation of a Bird Bath
Coffee Shop in the lobby. After 3 pm,
Lily’s big brother will come to the library for homework help and the afternoon
book club while Shelley and Lily go grocery shopping nearby. Jack is
excited to read on the information kiosk in the lobby about the installation of
a new music lab in the Library soon. Lily is a young member of Greenwich
Village and her small world exists within a 3 block radius within it and the
Jefferson Market Library is in the center of all of it, offering so many things
to its residents.  |
| Parents and caregivers are the targeted adult group |
 |
| Mornings are filled with preschoolers and strollers |
 |
| Young children make up the storytime demographic |
 |
| School age children fill the space after 3 pm. |
Should we toss out all the old books
and create........
T H I S ? ?
Information is delivered and discovered in so many different ways now. Yes, delivering it digitally is BIG but libraries can be so much more than this.....Yikes!
What can we do to make it better?
Interactive kiosk in the lobby could be
But, why toss the baby out with the bathwater or the books from the library? Why not rethink the way a library should be?
Information is delivered and discovered in so many different ways now. Yes, delivering it digitally is BIG but libraries can be so much more than this.....Yikes!What can we do to make it better?
Start at the beginning, by making the first user experience a good experience, the entrance. Replace failing replacement doors with rotating ones to enter straight into the space. Then upon entering,
what can the building say? Welcome!!
what can the building say? Welcome!!
Interactive kiosk in the lobby could be
partnered with the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation. Information about the village could be accessed by tourists and library history, the libraries historical Greenwich Village Collection could be promoted and hours and floor plan could be found there too.
Adapt2U Kiosks by Bozear
These installations use our adapt2u Disability Discrimination Act Compliant touch-screen Kiosks.
Maps of the village with overlay software can show Greenwich Village now and as it was years
ago. Historical events can be discovered on a timeline and located on the map along with buildings
contributing to the history and flavor of The VIllage. All of this, upon entering, will compliment
Jefferson’s Greenwich Village Collection of books.
Then,
linger a moment.The NYPL took a leaf out of book store playbooks
by launching a food-and-drink area. Patrons could buy drinks and snacks from kiosks inside the library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Library users at Jefferson will be able to order up items including coffee, chocolate chip scones and sandwiches.These stands will be a welcome addition and will enhance the experience for everyone, from those tourists, visiting for a few minutes, caregivers and their charges, to those researching in the building all day. The kiosks will have seating areas around them.
Next stop
The Children's Reading Room.
After making the lobby more welcoming, it’s time to address the Children’s Reading Room. What can be done with that room immediately and with no investment?
To look up a favorite story book or locate the
perfect information for that day’s
homework assignment.
User experience should not just exist on the computer screen, but throughout the process of information access. The experience of getting to the basement’s Resource Room Reading Room is daunting. How can we make these stairs an interesting way to get there?
How can we make rounding the corner, less a spooky movie scene and more a part of the information experience?
Stay tuned for the answer in the next installment of...
LIBRARY BRUSH UP!
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