This is a sponsored event by the Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education.

In this program, we will think about and test a range of aspects of space planning for academic library facilities, including space design, understanding the library’s relationship with the broader institution, trends in academic libraries, and specific impacts on space design.

The ways in which students learn is changing and that impacts how academic libraries are evolving their collecting priorities, the space taken up by collections, and new ways spaces are used in our libraries. We will focus on the specific aspects of academic libraries and how to think about designing new library spaces in academic institutions that meet these shifts in information consumption, teaching, and learning. It is comprised of tours, short lectures and case studies, discussions with instructors and attendees, in-class activities, and design exercises to apply the principles discussed throughout the day.

The program will begin with a walking tour of several Harvard Library locations and their surrounding areas. Harvard Library is the network of Harvard University’s libraries and services. Established in 1848, it is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and the largest private library in the world.