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Home > Departments > Presentations > Public Library Construction > 3. Building Programs
- The creation of a written building program is the first step in a building project.
- In almost every case, the library consultant is the person responsible for the preparation of the building program.
- The program specifies how much space of what kinds and in what juxtapositions your library needs.
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The program should also include a review of the existing facility, a statement of required equipment for each space, and information on the special architectural needs of libraries.
- Architects tend to view projects in terms of problems and their solutions. From this perspective, programming consists of defining the problem.
- After the program is complete, use it as a yardstick for evaluating your current building and your various options for expansion or starting over. Remember that until you know what you need, you can't evaluate what you have.
- While you are discussing your building program with your consultant, it's important to divorce yourself mentally from the service attitudes and procedures that are dictated by your current building rather than by community needs. Some people call this "thinking outside the box."
- It's tremendously important that your program be in print and in detail. As Francis Bacon said, "Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion."
- When in doubt, involve more rather than fewer people in programming. Seek inputs widely. And the more people who read drafts of your program, the more likely you are to catch errors and omissions. (Remember that shelvers and custodians see the world in terms of the difficult of doing their jobs, and that their problems matter.)
- When you are hiring architects, make sure that firms know they will be quizzed on your program at the time they are interviewed. This helps you make sure that they read the entire program and not just the page summarizing square footages.
- The program will be modified during the design phase of the project, but insist that the architects indicate up front where and how they wish to modify it, and then discuss the change as a group.
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