T11: Interior Reckoning: Notes on Community Library Design
Session Description
In the summer of 2017, the Powell River Public Library relocated from its 30-year home in the basement of city hall to a pre-existing structure in a strip mall at the heart of the city’s commercial zone. Although the future building underwent serious upgrades to become library-habitable, the layout was simple, maintaining the rectilinear, box-like features of the existing warehouse. From early on in the consultation process, it was clear that visual interest would come less from the floorplan and more from the interior design elements within. With this in mind, two members of PRPL’s staff formed an Interior Design Committee and created a document of recommendations, stating that: “Our goal is to have a strong vision for the interior so that we can feel assured that the outcome will be a functional space that is also cohesive, inviting, flexible, and a reflection of the community it serves.” On opening day, with a mixture of commercial and locally designed and built furnishings and interior elements, the space was not only functional, it was beautiful.
Led by one of PRPL’s two-person IDC, this session invites library workers to think deeply about the design facets of their work environment and to dare to have an opinion. Delegates will see how a staff-generated document became the basis for a comprehensive design plan and how one risk-taking manager let a staff design-nerd-turned-teen-programmer become the champion of a creative re-evaluation of the future library’s interior. Serving up the actual project design boards and Requests for Designs and Proposals, with a healthy seasoning of insights and lessons-learned, this session aims to open a dialogue about how libraries can reflect, represent and inspire their communities through design.
Speakers
Sonia Zagwyn, Powell River Public Library
Biography
Sonia Zagwyn has worked a gamut of creative jobs—as a gallery administrator, sculptural technician, graphic designer, and project assistant for various writers and artists. Between studies in visual arts and creative writing she worked in three B.C. library systems, completing an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC in 2011. Her projects are often interdisciplinary, from graphic fiction to musical-theatre collaborations. Her poetry has appeared in Versal and Front Magazine. In 2013, she became the Teen Services Coordinator at PRPL. From 2014-2017, she worked on the interior design plan for the new library. She is now PRPL’s Children’s Services Coordinator.