Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah Houghton

The Greenboro District Library in Ottawa has opened with a bookstore and marketplace feel. 

[T]he first thing you see is 2,000 to 3,000 books facing out on display shelves, something branch manager Dave Thomas calls a "power wall" approach to library organization that encourages reader browsing.

More than that, there’s a drive-through book return, free wireless, meeting rooms, a computer training lab, a fireplace, artwork galore, and a computer area just for teens.  I’m seeing more and more new libraries being built in this bookstore-esque manner, and while the anti-retail part of me cringes a bit internally, it is what our users want.  It brings them in to use the resources their tax dollars went to, and gets people thinking "Hey, the library can actually do something for me."  So, abandon your strict Dewey order, place some stuff face-out, and see your usage increase!