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Long Beach Main Library

The role of the Civic Center's Main Library is two-fold. The Main Library is the home to the library's administration, which manages acquisitions, program planning, user services, financial services, and technology delivery for the entire system and it is home to the Library Foundation. It is where the unique collections and services such as the Petroleum Collection, the ICPD, the local history and archives, and the large meeting and performance spaces are located.

The Main Library also serves as the community library for the service area. The constituents served by the Main Library include Park users, visitors to the Civic Center, tourists to the area, and neighborhood residents. As the number of residents in the Civic Center area increase, this role will become more significant. Currently the Main Library serves less as a community library than as an administrative hub while the branch libraries are the work horses of the system.

The Main Library houses 41% of the library's total collections, but accounts for only 16% of the system's annual circulation. The movement of materials within the system is weighted outward to the branches with 11,479 items sent out to the branches monthly and 2,241 items received and picked up at the Main Library. Factoring in the items loaned out to the branches, increases the proportion of items circulated from the Main Library to nearly 50% of total circulation delivered conveniently to the location of their choice. Relative to the amount of seating and the hours of operation, use of the Main Library is disproportionately low. While accounting for 61% of the library's total square footage, the Main Library hosts only 19% of the library‘s annual visits. With 485 seats available for 2,080 hours per year, the facility is underutilized with 256,000 visits per year. Low use may be attributed to issues with the current facility, including inadequate infrastructure to support personal computing devices, lack of quiet and comfortable seating areas, outdated décor and furniture, and a general lack of the welcoming atmosphere found in the branches. One challenge faced in the programming is to create a space that addresses the needs of the residential population in a large urban library.

At 135,000 square feet, the current library feels cavernous and empty. Vast areas of empty and under-filled stacks and storage spaces make portions of the building feel abandoned. Shelving is poorly organized, seemingly random in some cases. Group study rooms are closed to the public. Furniture is uncomfortable and unwelcoming and the way finding is confusing. In the California State Library's annual report for 2012, the building's adequacy is rated "2" on a scale of 1 to 10.

The goal of the building program is to provide an environment that is flexible and welcoming; that breaks down the space into more discrete and identifiable areas; that maximizes use of square footage and enhances staff efficiency; that provides a variety of spaces for users that are filled with natural light, views, and comfortable seating, and; that serves new and different ways of collaboration to use and create information. Staff is strategically located for user assistance, supervision and security. Areas requiring supervision, such as group study rooms and technology dense zones will be located adjacent to service points. The new Library will serve the needs of the grab-and-go crowd by locating self-service technology, holds and reserves, and the most popular and heavily used collections in a busy Market Place located near the main entrance to the facility. By maximizing the use of floor space through efficient housing of collections and eliminating the need for expansive service desks through the introduction of self-service technology, the building can be downsized without sacrificing content. The space allocation for the planned building is 26% for collections and 24% reader seats. With a 35% non-assignable allowance, the building will feel comfortable, not vacant.

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COLLECTIONS

Maximizing Space Utilization

The shelving capacity of the new Library has been planned to hold the existing collections in a more compact configuration. Future growth, if needed, may be accommodated as collections are phased out due to changes in format and technology. Audio CDs will likely go the way of VHS tapes in the short term with expanded music offerings available for free via Freegal. The future of other distributed media, such as audio books, is also uncertain. The Library currently offers downloadable e-books and audio books through Tumblebook Library®, 3MCloud®, TumbleBookCloud®, TumbleBookCloudJunior®, Audiobook Cloud®, and Overdrive®. The recent addition of AXIS 360® significantly increases the titles available for children. Availability of materials will be limitless with digital offerings and download stations. Providing assistance with personal devices will become increasingly important in the Library's plan of service.

Current best practices recommend re-allocating square footage from stack space to user space. The existing Long Beach Library is heavily weighted with stacks, which are underutilized, inefficiently using the available floor area. By utilizing six shelves per shelving section for most collections, instead of the current four, the Library will maximize the use of floor space with a potential saving of over 5,000 square feet in the adult collections alone. This represents 5,000 square feet that do not have to be built, lighted, maintained, or heated and cooled over the life of the building.

The planned capacity of the new library is 323,000 print volumes (including archival, government, and special collections) and 36,750 media items.

User Friendly Collection Management

On the second floor where the adult collections and reader seats are located, the stacks will be laid out utilizing the column bays to organize the ranges and their collections. Users will have a clear sightline along the end panels to identify the location of specific items. This organization will foster staff efficiency in collection management. In the program and plan, one area is dedicated to fiction and large print collections. Large print will be conveniently located adjacent to the ICPD. With the future of these collections uncertain as well, shelving capacity is not increased. Reading devices such as the Nook® and Kindle® allow the reader to enlarge text, increase contrast and change color of text and background to accommodate those with visual disabilities. A hand held device and access to the Library's Overdrive® offerings will provide unlimited access to reading materials.

The non-fiction collections will provide an acoustical barrier between the busy center core and the southern light filled bays, which will house the adult reader seating. The non-fiction collection will contain the Central Information Collection, non-fiction, plays, music scores, automotive manuals, and government documents. The Magazine Reading Area will provide a buffer between the busier Information Commons and the desirable Quiet Reading Area in the southwest corner.Less used collections, archives, and the Petroleum Collection will be housed in a closed stack which can be climate controlled for preservation and secured from the public.

USER SPACES

Finding Balance and Meeting the Need

A primary goal of the program is to return space to users and create a variety of learning, collaborating and creating spaces. The current facility seats 485, the majority of which are at 4-person tables. The group study rooms are closed and there is little comfortable seating except in the teen and children's areas.

The number of user seats will be increased to approximately 514 but more importantly, a variety will be available in light filled reading areas with comfortable seats, individual tables and WiFi access throughout reflecting the changing trends in user requirements. Group study rooms will accommodate study groups, small business meetings, clubs, and workgroups.

The program includes 52 seats in group study and collaborative rooms, 82 lounge seats, parent child reading seats in the early childhood area, tables for one and two, and technology counters for use of personal devices. The group study rooms are located within sightlines of service desks for security. The ICPD will contain three small tutoring rooms in addition to the four adult group study rooms, two teen collaborative rooms, and two children's group study rooms. We have also provided an outdoor room for the Library with connection to Lincoln Park.

People Spaces: Maximizing Views and Natural Light

The location of portions of the program further reflects the siting of the Library within the Park area. The most beautiful views are of the Park from the south end of the Second Floor. This area houses the majority of the adult seating and there are no enclosed spaces in this area. The treasured quiet reading area occupies the southwest corner of the top floor. Areas rich with natural light will allow the Library to reduce lighting costs. Areas that do not want natural light, such as the Public computer stations, are in the center core of the building. The design provides for transparency of Library services. From the Park, one can look up and see readers in the Second Floor reading bays. From other perspectives, one can see activity in the Children's Library and the array of materials in the Market Place. Inside, the Library will proudly feature the ICPD, the Innovation Center, and the Information Commons building on its unique and innovative services.

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SERVING THE FUTURE

Leveraging Technology and Innovation

The current library has 70 public use computers. These are largely consolidated in one area with a smaller area for training and additional stations in the children's and teen areas. The program for the new Library calls out space provisions for 163 public stations, with a larger Information Commons containing 45 public Internet stations, a 24-seat public training lab which can also be used for overflow public computing, 24 laptops to borrow for use in the building, more teen computers, a digital media lab, children's and homework center computers, AWE early childhood learning stations, and up to 10 high-end multimedia stations in the MakerSpace "Studio."

The evolving "Studio" which opened in the late Spring of 2014, currently offers 3-D printing, editing software, a green screen, video recording equipment, Adobe® software, and iMac® and iPad® hardware. It is open to people with interest in computers, technology, science, digital art, and electronics. A combination of a Center for Scholarly Technology, a workshop, and a technology “petting zoo,” the future vision for the space includes the addition of Makerbot replicators, vinyl cutters, Lego builder kits, Makerbot® Mini, an Airwolf® 3D FDM (fused deposition modeling), and likely technology tools that are yet to be invented. An endowment will allow the Library to keep the technology current. The Studio will occupy an expanded space located near the heart of the Information Commons and the Teen Area. A small training lab, collaborative workrooms, and a teen digital media center will complete the suite.

Better Support for WiFi and Laptops

A small laptop designated area in the current library seats 28 at tables with power sources bolted to the tabletops. This popular area is the one location in the building where users can be assured to find power for their personal devices. The entire new building will be WiFi loaded with sufficient power sources available to accommodate users' needs. The program for the new Library includes two laptop-dispensing stations, located in the Circulation Services Area on Level One and the Information Commons on Level Two, which will allow customers to borrow laptops and choose their own location in the Library.

COMMUNITY BUILDING

Creating Multi-purpose Spaces

With annual program attendance for the Long Beach Library system at over 408,000, the value of the community meeting spaces cannot be overlooked. The new Civic Center campus will offer a wide variety of meeting and performance spaces including potential use of Council Chambers, food service areas, and small and medium sized meeting rooms distributed around the campus; however, the need for these spaces within the Library's envelope cannot be stressed enough. Programs and events ranging from author talks, Mother's Day crafts, 3D print and design classes, films, teen book clubs, Long Beach Symphony, and Annie Banannie and Magician Abbit the Average, are major to the Library providing community outreach and engaging the community in the Library's programs and services. Off-site presentations do not enhance the Library's exposure to the community.

The program for the new Library includes two adjacent meeting rooms (75 and 70 seats). A well-designed acoustical moveable partition will enable programs up to 145 to meet on site. The Meeting Room suite is completed by a series of smaller conference rooms and storage. The Miller Room is also included to provide convenient access to the lobby gathering area and other meeting spaces nearby. The program includes accomodations for multimedia projection and sound as well as nesting tables and stacking chairs to increase flexibility and facilitate quick reconfiguration of the spaces. The program and plan conveniently locate meeting rooms on the entrance level with adjacent restrooms so they can be available when the Library is closed.

Additionally, the Children's Library includes a Storytime Theatre with an 80-person capacity and its adjacent craft studio with 32 table seats for children's projects. These spaces will be available to parents and children when not being used for Library programs. The craft studio will also accommodate the learning/play activities for the early childhood program with small manipulatives, play stations, and buckets of Legos for creative play similar to the MakerSpace, designed for young children.

Smart Zoning

Individual areas will be distributed to create zones for acoustics, for security and for the proximity of staff assistance. Quieter locations will be the most removed from the paths of travel. The noisier teen area will be located near the larger Information Commons with its 45 public Internet stations and near the public technology training room. The Market Place and the Children's Library will be among the noisiest and most active locations in the building. The Children's Library is zoned with the area for the smallest children adjacent to the Storytime Theater and the crafts area, similar to the current configuration. Each of the areas has a central service point. The Information Commons Desk will have sightlines to a great deal of the upper floor with adjacency to public Internet stations, the Studio MakerSpace, and the ICPD. The Customer Service Desk at the main entrance will maintain security at the Library entrance and have a visual connection to the Market Place.

The Children's Library will have its own desk near the entrance to supervise access to the space. Staff offices and workrooms will be located adjacent to their specific public service area to increase staff efficiency and supervision. The design recognizes that Library customers are often busy, rushed, or arriving near closing time after a long workday. For customers' convenience, high use collections are located most conveniently near the public entrance. Self-service options will include selfcheckout and check in, laptop loan, holds and reserves, patron self-registration, PC booking stations and download stations. DVDs, new books, and other high use media formats will be conveniently located near the entrance to the Library adjacent to the self-check machines and the holds shelves.

The organization of the spaces will provide the Library with the option to offer extended hours for selected services including reserve pick up, materials return, and popular materials. The meeting room complex can be used when the rest of the Library is closed. Another option permits the Market Place to stay open later or open earlier to accommodate picking up holds and reserves and returning materials.

The floor plan allows this area of the Library to be kept open later, open earlier, or on days the Library is not open with minimal staff required. This concept was recently implemented in Walnut Creek (California) where the configuration allows the library to isolate service areas for community convenience and available funding. The Children's Library can be closed allowing larger meeting and programs to spill into the lobby areas after the Library is closed. The Administrative Suite can be secured from the rest of the First Floor when the staff's work day has ended. An exterior customer inlet into the materials handling system will allow customers to return and check in their materials 24/7, a quick transaction not requiring entrance to the building and a quick turnover of parking spaces.

Staff and Operating Costs

Public libraries typically spend upwards of 72% of their operating budgets on staff salaries and benefits packages. Long Beach spends approximately 66% of their total operating expenses on personnel costs and consequently operates with a lean staff. The recent purchase of two self-service machines installed in late spring of 2014 will be supplemented in the new building by another four machines located in the Market Place and Children's Library. Additionally, the number of public service positions required will be reduced, replacing with self-service opportunities where possible; e.g., patron registration, etc. Public service desks will be strategically located with sight lines clearly identified to minimize the number of people required to operate the facility. Four desks require staffing for minimal operations including the Customer Service Desk, the Information Commons, the Children's Desk, and the ICPD Desk. A fifth desk in the Teen Area is available for specific times of the day such as after school.

The Library currently reports 54 FTE staff at Main Library. The program includes 58 workstations representing both individual's workstations and shared task stations such as sorting, processing, and clerical stations.