Bookstore Design

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WHAT: In Holland, the Nieuwe Bibliteek (or Almere's New Library) underwent a radical redesign in 2010. The idea was to make the layout of the public library resemble that of a bookstore. Perhaps the biggest change was organizing books by theme, which meant, for example, fiction and non-fiction titles were mixed together.

SO WHAT: The new design was based on research showing that the library's patrons wanted to browse, rather than retrieve a preselected item. Other libraries have adopted the Bookstore Model, though I remember reading about one which had to reverse its decision after push back by patrons. That said, the Nieuwe Bibliteek has been a "stunning success," according to the article linked below.

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