Best Practices

Who Says Library Shelving and Lighting Can't be Designer?

Katie Lowell

When you think of a library, does this stereotypical image come to mind? Rows and rows of shelving filled with books, dimmed lighting due to the structural masses of the book stacks? I know you’ve seen it and more than likely you have experienced it.

Did you know that rows and rows of bookstacks and lighting can actually work together to be the total solution with design at the top of mind? Great examples of this exact solution can be found at Seattle Central Library, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Fleet Library, University of California – Berkeley, East Asian Library, just to name a few.

What’s so great about this solution is you are able to utilize designer lighting, such as Bartco Lighting, and be able to incorporate it right into the cantilever shelving. It doesn’t have to look like an afterthought, nor does any of the wiring need to be showing from the power source to the lights. Being able to incorporate the wiring into the brackets with raceway frames provides the clean and sophisticated look.

To further enhance the importance of the lighting to pass-through the rows of book stacks, custom end panels can be designed to finish off the shelving. Two great examples of this can be found at the Seattle Central Library and RISD Fleet Library. 

At the Seattle Central Library, due to the nature of the building design the use of light is a critical design element. To ensure the book stacks dovetail with the principal design concept at Seattle Central Library, the static shelving systems throughout the library are decked out with translucent acrylic materials to make the most of natural light that shines through the building’s glass envelope. Another option to allow light to pass through is to have perforated steel end panels to finish the shelving, which can be found at the RISD Fleet Library.  With the proper coordination between two product suppliers and making sure to accomplish the goals of the application, a successful installation of the bookstacks and lighting can be fully integrated.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSID images provided by Pitwill & bowtoo on Flickr

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Katie Lowell is interactive marketing manager at Spacesaver Corp. www.spacesaver.com