A Study of Middle School Library Remodeling Design through User Participation

Abstract

(Background and Purpose) The role of the library in school is not only a storage of knowledge information, but also a cultural space, and the new curriculum requires a change to an learning support space. Most of the middle and high school libraries so far have been remodeled from the existing standardized classroom space and arranged uniformly, so they have not been able to respond to these changes. In order to provide a library space that reflects the characteristics of the school and the needs of the students in a limited space that varies depending on the situation of the school, a user participation design process is needed more than any other space. The purpose of this study is to propose a library design that meets the needs of users and fits the characteristics of Y Middle School, which is conducted as the Dream Classroom Project through a user participatory design. (Method) The first step is to understand the Dream Classroom project and analysis the examples of libraries that have been completed by the project. Second step is to identify user needs and generate initial design ideas through surveys, classroom meetings and brainstorming workshop. Third, the design is developed through design workshops and committee meetings reflecting users’ opinions. Finally, the design is constructed through the construction document and the design supervision process. (Results) The design direction of the subject school library derived through the user participatory design process is as follows. First, the design proposes to convert a space that was previously used as various spaces into a library, giving it a sense of unity and making it recognizable as a single space. Second, the arched bookshelves are applied along the walls and windows, leaving the center open to accommodate diverse learning and cultural activities to meet the needs of users. Third, the library is designed to accommodate the diverse needs of users by presenting reading spaces of various sizes to meet the characteristics of libraries where learning takes place at various scales, including individual, small group, and group activities. Finally, the library is designed to bring in ample natural light creating a bright and open ambiance, which is the user's request. (Conclusions) In this study, a design customized to the characteristics of the subject school is derived through the design process of school library remodeling through user participation design. This is expected to increase the utilization rate by making the library a psychologically and environmentally intimate space as well as providing convenience of use for the users who participated. The library design process through user participatory design recorded in this study will serve as a guideline of improvement planning for school libraries in the future.