Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The participatory-design process in renovating the University of Maryland's McKeldin Library is detailed from the perspectives of the volume's four coauthors--a library director, a dean of architecture, an architect, and an anthropologist. Maryland's unique approach to determining the needs being met by the library's design plan made excellent use of the local knowledge and expertise of the university students, faculty, and staff instead of turning to an outside design firm for solutions. The collaborative initiative described in the volume reveals details of the planning process, methodology, and results in response to addressing the current and future learning needs of its users while improving the functionality and purposeful use of library space. Most chapters feature an abundance of charts, tables, and black-and-white photographs along with building plans and diagrams to illustrate concepts discussed within the multi-phase process. Notes sections and several appendixes interspersed among the chapters provide background on interview questionnaires and various stakeholders. Where readers may benefit from viewing fine details or color images, URLs provide links to additional materials. Concisely written, the book's easy-to-browse format will attract readers interested in space utilization, architecture, and ethnographic studies in campus (particularly academic library) settings. Author biographies and a bibliography are included, but oddly (for an ACRL publication), there is no index. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through researchers/faculty; professionals/practitioners. --Tina Franks, The Ohio State University