| dc.contributor.author | Braaksma, Nicholas | |
| dc.description.abstract | How can architecture create context and facilitate understanding of the information presented in public libraries through both physical and digital media to encourage community engagement? This thesis analyzes the architectural relationship between the public, information, and the city. Historically, library buildings have acted as the interface through which the public accessed information. As the way we access information has changed, libraries have changed as well. The proliferation of easy and remote access to information can lead to the assumption that libraries, as portals to information, are obsolete. However, information that is less exclusive is also less edited, driving the amount of information up and driving the quality of any given piece of information down. Among the strategies to interpret this large amount of information, context is one of the most valuable. To provide context, this thesis focuses on public library architecture as a lens for understanding and viewing how different forms of connection impact the city. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | The library, as the architectural medium between
people and information, is being challenged.
Information continues to become easier to access,
decentralized from its architectural counterpart.
The public library no longer seems necessary to
provide information to public. Citizens can view a
virtually limitless source of information on a mobile
device in most urban spaces. Yet, the explosion
of information through the internet creates its
own problems, lacking the editing and credibility
inherent in most physical media. In the flood
of information, the need for context becomes
paramount for understanding. Providing this
context can bridge the gap between information
and engagement, a problem the internet, for all its
collective creativity, has not been able to address.
The public library already shows incredible promise
for establishing a thriving public realm, marrying
the access to information with the public space
necessary for democratic activity. By expanding
the cultural context for information through
architecture, the public library can contribute a
community’s public realm.
The rise of digital information can easily
lead to the assumption that physical media
is no longer important. Alternately, purists
may claim that physical artifacts hold value
over their digital counterparts. In reality,
neither physical nor digital information exist
independently; both influence and shape
the other. Augmented space combines
digital and physical information to provide
a dense layer of cultural information reliant
on both forms of media. Augmented spaces
can be seen where digital information,
such as tagging, already exists and informs
movement through physical, urban areas.
Recent examples include the popular mobile
game, Pokemon Go, where gamers move
through physical space, dictated by digital
prerogatives. Designers can be mindful of
both digital and physical media by providing
cultural context for information through
architecture. Library architecture can
anticipate the future of information, while
cultivating the public realm, by creating
cultural context for information. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU Policy 190.6.2 | |
| dc.title | Emerging Public: The Public Library's Role in Building Community | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-05-12T12:44:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-05-12T12:44:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10365/26016 | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Public libraries. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Library buildings. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Library architecture. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Spokane (Wash.) | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Washington (State) | |
| ndsu.degree | Master of Architecture (MArch) | |
| ndsu.college | Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences | |
| ndsu.department | Architecture and Landscape Architecture | |
| ndsu.program | Architecture | |
| ndsu.advisor | Christenson, Mike | |
| ndsu.award | Peter F. McKenzie Memorial Award for Architectural Design Finalist | |
